mignonette

noun mi·gnon·ette \ ˌmin-yə-ˈnet \

|Updated on: 15 Jul 2018

Definition of mignonette

1 : any of a genus (Reseda of the family Resedaceae, the mignonette family) of herbs; especially : a garden annual (R. odorata) bearing racemes of fragrant whitish flowers

2 : a sauce made typically with vinegar, pepper, and herbs and served especially with oysters

Recent Examples of mignonette from the Web

For something more refined, Haute Quarter Grill offers a cold oyster dish served with a strawberry, cucumber and ginger mignonette.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Searching for Anchorage’s finest bites? Think seafood," 2 May 2018
Flowers to start: In addition to above there are the harder, smaller seeds that need individual cups ie nemophila, silane, mignonette, Arctic poppy, California poppy, morning glory, Shirley poppies.

— jeff lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, "Resist the temptation to rake your lawn right now — you’ll be thankful later," 27 Apr. 2018
The pristine and flawlessly handled seafood includes two Niantic, two Sagamore and two Wellfleet oysters, four littleneck clams, two jumbo shrimp, a shrimp & calamari salad, cocktail sauce and limoncello mignonette.

— spencer caldwell, courant.com, "Carbone's Prime, Rocky Hill," 24 Mar. 2018
Be sure to include some fragrant plants such as a fragrant rose, Four o’clocks, mignonette or petunias.

— margaret lauterbach, idahostatesman, "Cottage gardens can include edibles as well as ornamentals | Idaho Statesman," 21 Mar. 2018
Oyster fans can spend $2 for a plain East Coast variety with cocktail and mignonette sauces or splurge at $7 for two dressed- up mollusks (think oyster Rockefeller).

— lauren delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Where to spend happiest of hours in Central Florida restaurants," 22 Feb. 2018
Another current offering is borage sprouts and oyster leaf dressed in turnip juice mignonette with shallot and chive, meant to be eaten in just one bite.

— sam dangremond, Town & Country, "The Secrets to Eating at America's Fanciest Restaurants for Under $50," 17 Feb. 2017
Serving: Place the grilled fish on a serving platter, drizzle with the mignonette, and garnish with cilantro.

— debbi snook, cleveland.com, "Grilled Perch with Cucumber Mignonette (recipe)," 13 Sep. 2017
There emerges a gnawing need to have those lamb ribs again, and the omelet slathered with caviar, and the oysters spiked with Sichuan mignonette.

— jeff gordinier, Esquire, "The Best New Restaurants in America 2017," 18 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mignonette.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.