Recipe: Lentil Soup with Chard and Lemon

by Anna Mowry on December 13, 2012

With the official start of winter and its accompanying chills only about a week away, it's time to ready our defenses in the kitchen. One of our staples for the season is lentil soup, and this year our plan is to make James Beard's "rather different" version, which was inspired by the vibrant flavors of Syria. He added three quarters of a cup of lemon juice just a few minutes before the soup was finished, giving it a welcome undercurrent of acid. For extra flavor and heft, we like to throw in some diced bacon when we start cooking the lentils. James Beard favored cotechino, an Italian pork sausage that's a classic mate for these legumes. 

Get the recipe here.

Your can also find this recipe and more of James Beard's classic dishes in... Read more >

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Recipe: White Chocolate–Cassis Crème Brûlée

by Anna Mowry on December 12, 2012

These days a crème brûlée needs to be pretty unique to get our attention. Chef Travis Brust, who helms the kitchen at the historic Williamsburg Inn, has a bi-level version that succeeds. He makes a syrup of crème de cassis, port, cinnamon, and star anise, then drizzles it into ramekins before adding the requisite custard, which he soups up with white chocolate. The syrup needs to be heated to 228°F in order to reach the correct consistency (pastry chefs will recognize this as the thread stage), so make sure your candy thermometer is taking accurate readings.

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Video: The James Beard Foundation Scholarship Program

by JBF Editors on December 11, 2012

A cookbook author and teacher, James Beard was dedicated to educating and mentoring generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. In honor of his supportive spirit, the James Beard Foundation established the JBF Scholarship Program in 1991. Since its inception, the program has awarded over $4.2 million in financial aid to over 1,400 deserving recipients. At last month's Silver Anniversary Gala, we debuted the following video that highlights this important aspect of our mission and features interviews with three scholarship winners. Watch below:

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Recipe: Pignoli Tart with Mascarpone Crema

by JBF Editors on December 10, 2012

Cynthia DePersio is nuts for nuts. "I adore them, so I decided to use Italian pignoli cookies for the inspiration for this tart," she told us. The New Jersey–based pastry chef adds pulsed pine nuts to a classic French frangipane, then bakes the filling in a sandy sablé crust. "I like to pinwheel thinly sliced banana slices on top, sprinkle them with raw sugar, and brûlée," she says. We're partial to crowning our pieces with a dollop of mascarpone-boosted whipped cream.

Get the recipe here.

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