Sauteeing
Sautée [V. soe-tay] is a method of cooking food in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Sauter means "jump," and the food being sautéed is kept moving, not unlike stir fry technique using a wok.
Food that is sautéed is usually cooked for relatively short periods of time in order to give it color and flavor. Sautéeing differs from searing in that food is cooked in the process of sautéeing it and one may sear simply to cook the outer juices and color the meat before another process is used to cook the inside. This is very common with tenderloin meats, like Filet Mignon. The common fat used in sautéeing is olive oil because it will not burn as quickly as pure butter. Clarified butter or other oils are sometimes used. The butter and olive oil can be mixed together as well in order to guarantee the butter's flavor but prevent it from burning.
It is important to ensure that the oil is very hot and the pan large enough, so that the food browns well and fast without absorbing the fat or stewing in its own juices. Furthermore, the food must be completely dry, again in order to avoid stewing it instead. This is particularly important in the case of food that has been marinated.
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