Entrees

An entrée (/ˈɑːntreɪ/ /ˈɒntreɪ/ AHN-tray; French: [ɑ̃tʁe]) in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world (apart from the United States and parts of Canada) is a dish served before the main course of a meal; it may be the first dish served, or it may follow a soup or other small dish or dishes. In the United States and parts of Canada, an entrée is the main dish or the only dish of a meal.

Historically, the entrée was one of the eight stages of the “Classical Order” of formal French table service of the 18th and 19th centuries. It formed a part of the “first service” of the meal, consisting of potage, hors d’œuvre, entrée, and relevé. The “second service” consisted of roast, salad, and entremets (the entremets sometimes being separated into a “third service” of their own); and the final service consisted of dessert.

The word “entrée” as a culinary term first appeared in print around 1536, in the Petit traicte auquel verrez la maniere de faire cuisine, in a short section titled “Here is what is needed to make a banquet or wedding after Easter" ("C’est que fault pour fair ung banquet ou nopces apres pasques"). Each of the menus that follow begins with “Bon pain, Bon vin” (Good bread, Good wine) followed by a list of dishes grouped under a series of four headings, which mark the four stages of the meal.

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Wikipedia