Ted has photographed a number of the semifinalists – we salute them and will be cheering for them on March 19, when the five finalists in the Restaurant and Chef categories will be announced in Las Vegas. The winners will be revealed on May 7 at the black-tie James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. For the complete list of semifinalists, visit jamesbeard.org/awards. For Meredith Goad’s  excellent piece in the Portland Press Herald about all of the Maine chefs and restaurants in the semifinals, click here.

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

Petite Jacqueline – Portland, Maine

OUTSTANDING CHEF

Melissa Kelly, Primo - Rockland, Maine

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT

Fore Street – Portland, Maine (Chef/Restaurateur Sam Hayward, JBF winner Best Chef, Northeast in 2004)

BEST CHEF – NYC

Mark Ladner – Del  Posto

Michael White – Marea

BEST CHEF – PACIFIC

Beverly Gannon – Hali’imaile General Store, Makawao, Hawaii

From Spoon: In case you’re still casting about for alternatives to the usual wings-chili-big sandwich Super Bowl foods, or, if you’d like a wonderful winter recipe to inspire you, Virginia Willis’ Louisiana duck gumbo is IT. (And it’s not a stretch for Giants’ fans, who can think of it as a nod to quarterback Eli Manning and his hometown of New Orleans.) The recipe is from Willis’ most recent book, Basic to Brilliant Y’All,” which I featured in our column in The Record this week.

Willis, formerly the kitchen director for Martha Stewart Television and an accomplished food writer, recipe tester and stylist, is a Southerner who trained at Anne Willan’s famous Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne in France; her cooking combines classic French technique and Southern flavors.

Gumbo made with duck is definitely richer than the traditional chicken version. But the depth of flavor is absolutely worth the few extra calories. The column and the recipe are HERE.

From Shutter: This week’s photo of the week is from a recent photo shoot for a client. Normally I shoot high end food for this client but this past week we also shot some fun simple comfort foods. One of them was a common item in any NY / NJ pizza shop – garlic knots. Made of pizza dough, they are baked and then tossed with olive oil and butter mixed with garlic and and parsley. I have to say, this version was as good as they look.

From Spoon: Forget “farm-to-table” and “sustainable seafood,” two of the biggest phrases in the food world today are “gluten-free” and “lactose-intolerant.” At least that’s what you’d think, judging by the amount of email and number of books I’ve received on both subjects. When a gluten and lactose-free cookbook arrived authored by celebrated food writer Barbara Kafka, however, I was particularly intrigued.  “The Intolerant Gourmet” is comprehensive and deeply personal, full of enticing recipes like the Pomegranate Shrimp Saute I made for our column in The Record last week.  Whether or not you have to avoid gluten and lactose, the recipe is well worth making. You’ll find it HERE.

From Spoon: In the midst of renovating our living room this weekend, naturally I had to find time to bake something. I didn’t feel like running out to the grocery store in my plaster-and-paint-spattered work clothes, so I pulled off my dust mask, rummaged through the cupboards and fridge, and came up with this quick bread.

Ted repairing the old plaster walls

I love baking with cranberries through the winter, so always stockpile a few extra bags in the freezer during the holidays. But dried cranberries or diced dried apricots would work too – the bread will just be a little sweeter. Or, go whole hog and swap out the fruit for chocolate chips (the choice my son said he would have made.) If your cranberries are frozen (and even if they’re not), the food processor makes quick work of chopping them – I took the real lazy way out and threw in my toasted pecans too.

Because I’m trying to get more whole grains into my baking,  I used a combination of all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and old-fashioned rolled oats – and the result has classic quick-bread crumb with a little extra crunch. If you like a grainier texture, feel free to tinker with the formula, but I wouldn’t use all whole-wheat flour, or the bread will be too dense. The combination of maple syrup and light brown sugar gives it a mild sweetness, needed to balance the tartness of the cranberries. If you do use sweetened dried fruit or chocolate chips, you may want to reduce the amount of maple syrup.

Cranberry-Oat-Pecan Bread

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup milk (I used low-fat)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup light brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped (if frozen, don’t thaw them)

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

demerara sugar for sprinkling on top, if you like

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan. Nut toasting tip: while the oven is heating, put the pecans on a flat baking dish or piece of foil to toast for about 10 minutes (they will be done when you begin to smell them, but be careful not to let them burn).

In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, beat the egg until white and yolk are combined. Stir in the milk, oats, maple syrup, brown sugar and melted butter, mixing just to blend completely. Stir in the cranberries and pecans.

Scrape the batter into the greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with demerara sugar if you wish. Bake the bread for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool to room temperature before slicing.

For another good way to use fresh cranberries with whole grains, see our post on Cranberry-Cornmeal Soda Bread from the winter of 2010 here.