A fricassee is a classic dish of pieces of meat — traditionally chicken or veal, though rabbit and lamb appear — gently stewed with vegetables in a little liquid that is then thickened into a rich white sauce. Unlike a brown stew, the meat is not browned first; it cooks pale in stock or water with onions, mushrooms, and herbs, and the cooking liquor is finished with a roux or a liaison of egg yolks and cream. The result is tender meat in a velvety, ivory sauce. As a verb, to fricassee means to cook in this manner. The dish belongs to traditional French home cooking, where careful, slow simmering turns modest cuts into something refined.