A La Carte - French meaning - "According to the menu"; off the card.
Aioli - A simple mixture of garlic and maynaise.
Debone - To remove the bones from meat or poultry. This is best done with a flexible boning knife so that you can get as close to the bone as possible without losing meat. If in doubt, get a good cookbook that shows the process in stages, or watch the cooking shows. Your butcher will also do it for you, but it's fun to learn how.
Dice - To cut into small square pieces.
Grate - To rub on a grater (a utensil with a rough surface) and produce fine particles.
Parsley - There are dozens of versions of this herb in common use around the world. It is a known breath freshner with a refreshing taste and aroma. It is good in any non-sweet food, including bread and is so mild as to only hint at its flavor when used with stronger herbs such as oregano. Larger leaf varieties, combined with tomatoes and a vinaigrette make a suitable salad for a luncheonette. Parsley was once believed to ward off intoxication and in ancient times was associated with death. The expression "in need of parsley" once meant to be "at death's door". In the South, parsley is considered unlucky if you transplant it when moving from one house to another, old timers will tell you.
Skim - To remove an undesirable substance that forms on the top surface of a liquid, usually fat, foam or scum. This is normally done by passing a flat spoon over the surface, just underneath the substance to discard. In the case of fat, if you have the time, chill the liquid first so that the fat congeals, making it very easy to remove.
Stir - To move foods around with a spoon in a circular motion. Stirring is done to move foods when cooking. It is also used to cool foods after cooking. Most importantly, if a recipes calls for stirring to combine foods, such as a batter, before cooking, it usually means to gently mix just until well combined, as opposed to beating, which takes more strokes.
Sweat - To cook foods, usually chopped vegetables, over medium heat until they exude some of their moisture which, in turn, steams and softens the food without browning.