A Special Dinner Menu That Celebrates the Best of America’s Cuisine

This year, the friends of the late James Beard have been celebrating not just his memory, but the essence of what he represented--the very best of fine American cuisine.

Throughout the country, events have been held to raise money for the James Beard Foundation, which is buying the brownstone house in New York’s Greenwich Village in which Beard lived for nearly half his life. Here the foundation will house a gastronomic library, develop programs of information and research and act as host to culinary activities.

Composing a menu Beard would have enjoyed was easy. The meal had to be centered on beef, for Beard was famous for his love of prime red meat. At dinner it can be a problem to combine cooking the perfect rare roast with greeting guests, so with a bit of experimenting, I developed an escape route.

A whole fillet of beef is roasted ahead of time, sandwiched with bacon, mushrooms and tomato mixture and wrapped in foil. The leftover stuffing is used to fill some tomatoes. Reheating takes less than 30 minutes, and the meat emerges still juicy and rare. A classic Madeira sauce comes with it, and in the same traditional spirit, I like to add a baked potato as an accompaniment.

Seafood a Favorite

The first course for a Beard dinner was equally evident, for Beard came from Portland, Ore., and loved any kind of seafood. English Potted Shrimp was just his kind of dish: baby shrimp sauteed with spices, then packed in pots and sealed with butter.

Dessert was a chocolate mold coated so thoroughly with whipped cream that it resembles a snowball. The chocolate mixture is wickedly rich, baking to a cross between fudge and devil’s-food cake. A little goes a long way, but in my experience seconds are always demanded.

Like all gastronomes, Beard was as interested in what he drank as what he ate. His favorite tipple was what I call “cheap fizz”--the white sparkling wine made by the Champagne method. Good examples are agreeably light and dry, costing less than half the real thing.

JAMES BEARD-INSPIRED DINNER FOR 8 Potted Shrimp Beef Fillet Cherniavsky Chocolate Snowball Suggested wine: Dry sparkling white made by the Champagne method This menu has a perfect schedule for the busy host or hostess because all the dishes must be made ahead.

POTTED SHRIMP

3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Dash red pepper

1 pound cooked peeled baby shrimp

Salt

1 lemon, cut in wedges

Toasted whole-wheat bread

Heat 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet or wok. Add nutmeg, allspice and peppers. Cook very gently, stirring, 1 minute.

Increase heat to very high. Add shrimp and stir-fry until very hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and additional spices, if desired. Pack shrimp tightly in individual ramekins or crock. Chill at least 1 hour.

Melt remaining 1/3 cup butter for sealing. Skim off white foam. Spoon butter over cold shrimp so it sets at once. Be sure to cover shrimp completely with butter, discarding any milky whey at bottom of melted butter. Potted shrimp can be kept up to 3 days in refrigerator. Serve chilled with lemon wedges and toasted whole-wheat bread. Makes 8 servings.

Note: If night is cold, shrimp can be stir-fried at last minute and served piping hot. Cooked medium shrimp may be substituted for small ones. Shrimp should be very coarsely chopped.

BEEF FILLET CHERNIAVSKY

3 to 4 pounds beef fillet, trimmed and tied

Salt, pepper

1 tablespoon oil

3 cups veal stock

2 shallots

4 ounces sliced bacon

1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped

2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

8 medium tomatoes

2 tablespoons arrowroot

1/2 cup Madeira

1 bunch watercress

Season beef to taste with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet until very hot. Brown meat well on all sides. Bake at 450 degrees 11 minutes. Remove to plate. Let cool.

Discard fat from pan. Add half of stock. Boil, stirring to dissolve pan juices. Strain juices back into remaining stock.

To make stuffing, chop shallots and bacon to fine paste in food processor. Cook in skillet, stirring, until paste begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until all moisture has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste to adjust for seasonings. Let cool completely.

When fillet is cool, discard strings. Slice into 3/4-inch slices, cutting almost through meat so underside is still attached. Spread 1 tablespoon stuffing on each slice. Press fillet back into original shape. Reserve remaining stuffing. Wrap fillet in 2 layers of foil. Refrigerate.

Discard cores from whole tomatoes. Cut off tops to form lid. Slice base so tomatoes sit level. Set tomatoes in greased baking dish. Top each with 1 tablespoon reserved stuffing and tomato lid.

To make sauce, bring stock to boil. Mix arrowroot with 1/4 cup Madeira to form paste. Pour mixture into stock, whisking constantly, until sauce is thick enough to lightly coat spoon. Add remaining 1/4 cup Madeira. Taste to adjust for seasonings. Meat, tomatoes and sauce can be kept up to 2 days in refrigerator, providing stuffing was cold before adding to beef.

Roast beef, still wrapped in foil, at 425 degrees until skewer inserted in center of meat is warm to touch when withdrawn, about 25 minutes. Bake tomatoes in same oven until tender when pierced with skewer, 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer beef to platter. Remove foil. Arrange tomatoes on 1 side of platter. Keep warm. Bring sauce to boil. Spoon a little over beef. Serve remaining sauce separately. Garnish platter with watercress. Makes 8 servings.

Note: Pork roast is also good with this recipe, but it must be thoroughly cooked before it is sliced for stuffing.

CHOCOLATE SNOWBALL

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup strong black coffee

1 cup butter, cut in pieces

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

4 eggs

2 tablespoons brandy or 1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whipping cream, stiffly whipped

Sprigs of mint or candied violets

Line 1-quart charlotte mold or deep metal bowl with double thickness foil.

Heat chocolate with coffee in heavy pan over medium-low heat, stirring until melted. Cook, stirring, until mixture is almost thick enough to hold ribbon trail when spoon is lifted.

Add butter and 1 cup sugar. Heat until melted. Bring mixture almost to boil. Remove from heat. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time. Heat from chocolate mixture will cook eggs and thicken mixture.

Strain mixture into mold or bowl. Bake at 350 degrees until thick crust forms on top, 45 to 55 minutes. Mixture will rise slightly, but falls again as it cools. When cool, cover mold and chill at least 24 hours. Dessert can be kept up to 1 week, or frozen.

Not more than 2 hours before serving, run knife around mold. Turn out dessert onto platter. Peel off foil. Mixture tends to stick and look messy.

Beat brandy and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar into whipped cream. Continue beating until stiff again. Fill pastry bag fitted with rosette tip with whipped cream. Pipe rosettes over chocolate mixture to cover it completely. Top with single large rosette. Decorate with mint sprigs. Chill until serving time. Makes 8 servings.