1. James Beard Award Winners Announced!
2. Deconstructing Star Chef Jose Andres
3. Studio Techniques: Chef Ferrán Adriá of El Bulli
4. For Chocolate Lovers Only May: Endangered Species Chocolate Company
5. Star Vintner: Chalk Hill Estate
6. Star Cookbook: Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine
7. Wines Down Mexico Way
8. Loving Our Seafood to Death?
9. Candy for Adults: Affordable Dessert Wines
10. StarChefs JobFinder Top 5 Jobs
11. Recipe for Black Lobster Empanadas

1. James Beard Award Winners Announced!
http://www.starchefs.com/james_beard/2004/html/index.shtml
Check out the complete list of winners, plus video footage (coming soon!).

All-Clad Cookware Outstanding Chef Award:
Judy Rodgers of Zuni Cafe

Gallo of Sonoma Rising Star Chef of the Year:
Allison Vines-Rushing of Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar

All-Clad Bakeware Outstanding Pastry Chef Award:
Emily Luchetti of Farallon

American Express Best Chef: California
Charles Phan of The Slanted Door

American Express Best Chef: New York City
David Pasternack of Esca

American Express Best Chef: Northeast
Sam Hayward of Fore Street

KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year
The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

Lifetime Achievement Award
Alice Waters of Chez Panisse

3. Studio Techniques: Chef Ferrán Adriá
http://www.starchefs.com/events/studio/techniques/FAdria/index.shtml
Check out the StarChefs Studio techniques video of Chef Ferrán Adriá’s Apple Caviar, as demonstrated at Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía.

4. For Chocolate Lovers Only May
http://www.starchefs.com/chocolate_lovers/2004/html/may/index.shtml
Endangered Species Chocolate Company proves that it’s possible to run a responsible business with fun products while doing some good for serious environmental and wildlife groups.

5. Star Vintner: Chalk Hill Estate
http://www.starchefs.com/wine/starvintners/html/chalk_hill/chalk_hill.shtml
Mark Lingenfelder, Chalk Hill’s VP of Vineyard Operations, pays close attention each individual plot of land in the vineyard, helping to provide the winery with the best grapes possible.

6. Star Cookbook: Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine
http://www.starchefs.com/features/cookbooks/star_cookbooks/html/aquavit.shtml
Named "Best Chef: New York City" in 2003 by the James Beard Foundation, Star Chef Marcus Samuelsson incorporates his Scandinavian culture and his grandmother’s cooking techniques to create flights of fancy with astute culinary vision in his first English cookbook.

7. Wines Down Mexico Way
http://www.starchefs.com/wine/features/html/mexican_wines.shtml
StarChefs Wine Editor Jim Clarke uncovers several new Mexican wineries and some of the older wineries that have recently revamped their vineyards and production methods to produce quality wines.

8. Loving Our Seafood to Death?
http://www.starchefs.com/features/food_debates/html/sustainable_seafood.shtml
Whether buying fish for your own restaurant, ordering fish at your favorite café, purchasing from a local market or reeling it in yourself, the future of our seafood relies on all of us. There’s no avoiding the debate on sustainable seafood.

9. Candy for Adults: Affordable Dessert Wines http://www.starchefs.com/wine/features/html/dessert_wines.shtml
Making a good dessert wine is never child’s play – and making it affordable can be even trickier - but we have a few suggestions.

10. StarChefs JobFinder Top 5 Jobs

• Pastry Chef Instructor
  Where you learn it by living it!
  New England Culinary Institute - Montpelier, VT
  http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=168957&positionid=
  
  
• Restaurant Manager
  Signatures Restaurant - Washington, DC
  http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=168956&positionid=
  
  
• Sushi Chef – Morimoto Restaurant
  Opportunity to work with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto!
  Starr Restaurant Organization - Philadelphia, PA
  http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=168951&positionid=
  
  
• Line cooks needed at this renowned Wine Country Restaurant
  Auberge du Soleil - Rutherford, CA
  http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=168950&positionid=
  
  
• Sous Chef/Line Cook
  Up-and-Coming Brooklyn Restaurant Scene
  Loulou - Brooklyn, NY
  http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=168943&positionid=
  

11. Recipe for Black Lobster Empanadas
Chef Douglas Rodriguez of OLA – Miami, FL
Adapted by StarChefs

Yield: 10-12 Empanadas

Ingredients:

Squid ink dough:
• 1 ½ pounds all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces white arepa flour
• 1 Tablespoon black smoked sea salt
• 2 ounces vegetable oil
• 4 ounces melted butter
• 1 Tablespoon squid ink
• ½ cup warm water

Lobster filling:
• 4 (1 ¼ -pound) steamed Maine lobsters, meat removed from tail and claws and diced
• 8 ounces butter, room temperature
• Smoked black sea salt to taste

Method:

For dough:
Combine dry ingredients in mixer and mix well. Add oil, butter, squid ink, and water slowly and mix on low speed until well incorporated. Remove dough from mixer and place on a floured work surface. Roll out dough to about the thickness of piecrust and cut the dough into rounds using a 2-inch cookie cutter. (Rounds can be cut larger or smaller, if desired.)

For filling:
Combine diced, cooked lobster meat and butter, and season with smoked black sea salt to taste.

To assemble:
Place about 1 Tablespoon lobster filling in the center of dough. Fold circle in half and crimp edges with a fork to seal the dough. Fry empanadas in hot peanut oil until crispy. Serve with avocado salad and cold dipping sauce of your choice.