Bisque - A rich shellfish soup made with the shells of the animal. The soup is enriched with cream and Cognac and garnished with pieces of the shellfish meat. This name is also used to describe vegetable soups prepared in the same manner as shellfish bisques. Bistella - See pastilla for a definition. Bivalve - A mollusk with two hinged shells.
Examples are clams and oysters.
Blanch - Cooking foods in boiling water for a brief period of time. This applies primarily to vegetables so as to reduce their final cooking time. But blanching may be done to fish or meat as well. Blancmange - A sweet, flavored cream mold set with gelatine. Blanquette - A stew of white meats, usually veal, without initial browning.