James Beard Semifinalists

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Paul Kahan

Kahan serves dishes like spicy pork rinds at his Chicago restaurant, The Publican, but he was game to create a healthy alternative. His idea: a focaccia made with spelt flour, which is high in protein. He tops the focaccia with tangy marinated kale, sweet slices of winter squash and shavings of nutty pecorino cheese.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Suzanne Goin

Goin (an F&W Best New Chef 1999) is beloved in Los Angeles for Lucques and AOC, and her most recent spot, Tavern in Brentwood.

 More Lamb Recipes

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Frank Stitt

Stitt's Bottega Favorita focuses on his creative use of Italian and Southern ingredients.

 More Easy Weekday Recipes

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Jerry Traunfeld

Dried porcini mushrooms flavor these crisp, creamy-centered croquettes, which Traunfeld serves in walnut-size balls. An easier way: Use shiitake mushrooms in place of porcini, and make the croquettes larger for a vegetarian main course.

 Amazing Vegetarian Dishes

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Tom Colicchio

Serve Colicchio's fresh-tasting chickpea salad with warm, soft pita bread to soak up the olive oil dressing.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: José Andrés

One of Andrés's favorite American sweets is pecan pie. "We love nuts in Spain too, but I confess I find pecan pie a little heavy. This version is my attempt to lighten it up a little." This twist was inspired by tocino de cielo, a rich, eggy cousin of flan.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Charles Phan

Phan, the chef and owner of San Francisco's Slanted Door, thinks banh xeo (a.k.a. "happy pancakes") should be lacy thin and crackly crisp. After years of obsessive experimentation, he recommends refrigerating the batter overnight, so the starches have time to relax, then cooking the crêpes in a nonstick pan.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Robert del Grande

The 1980s ushered in the era of the celebrity chef. Some big names, like del Grande, never left. He has reinvented Houston's Cafe Annie as Bar Annie with dishes like this Southwestern pork rib stew.

 More Rich, Hearty Stews

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Michael Mina

Mina invented this soup in the early days of Aqua, the San Francisco restaurant where he rose to fame in the '90s. He started playing with the combination of black truffles and caramelized onions and went crazy for the mix of earthiness and sweetness. This version of the soup calls for truffle-infused pecorino cheese (sold in any good cheese shop), which is melted to form a marvelously gooey topping for the oniony broth.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Sam Hayward

Hayward prefers cooking with pork from small farmers who raise heritage breeds, such as Berkshire, Gloucestershire Old Spot or Duroc. This pork is deeply colored and often as marbled as high-quality beef, and Hayward treats it with the special care it deserves. His two-day curing process is worth the time because it allows the spices to penetrate these thick and juicy chops.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Mark Peel

Peel's satisfying riff on smothered pork chops calls for skinless chicken drumsticks, which have only slightly more fat than breasts, as well as more zinc and iron and tons more flavor.

 Fast and Easy Chicken Recipes

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Ana Sortun

Sortun likes to serve this tangy Middle Eastern twist on the classic French sauce with oily fish like bluefish. But the intense flavor of the tahini stands up equally well to charred lamb.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Gary Danko

The unusual thing about Danko's lemony cakes is that while they are baking, the batter splits, creating a creamy, puddinglike top and soufflé-like bottom.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Scott Peacock

When Peacock and Edna Lewis first began appearing as co-chefs in the early Nineties, they were dubbed The Odd Couple of Southern Cooking.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Marc Vetri

Vetri's exquisite tortellini combines subtle toasted almonds and sweet ricotta. Start the recipe a day ahead to allow time for the ricotta to drain and the pasta dough to rest.

Outstanding Chef semifinalist: Julian Serrano

The custard for Serrano's flan needs to stand overnight so it can be infused with the flavors of the orange zest and the vanilla bean. Plan accordingly, and start the recipe one day in advance.