Cassoulet [KA-soo-LAY]

WHAT? Languedoc’s long-simmered stew. “There are many versions of cassoulet, all of them good and all monumentally substantial,” wrote James Beard in The Armchair James Beard. It appears that chefs across the country couldn’t agree more—versions of the classic dish will be served at three Beard House dinners this month. Cassoulet comes from the southwest Languedoc and Toulousain regions of France and is rumored to have first appeared in the seventeenth century (when the key ingredient—white beans—were brought over from the New World). Although it’s one of France’s most famous dishes, there is little consensus within the country about what constitutes a classic cassoulet. The recipe varies from region to region and from cook to cook, though it always contains various meats, beans, and vegetables that are prepared separately before being arranged in layers in a cassole—the glazed earthenware pot from which the dish gets its name. The cassoulet is then topped with a heavy sprinkling of fine breadcrumbs and baked until a golden crust forms. The crust is cracked and reincorporated into the stew and the dish is returned to the oven to allow the crust to reform. This process is repeated anywhere from one to seven times over the course of seven hours to two days, depending on the recipe, resulting in a rich, hearty stew—and a lot of time logged in the kitchen.

WHEN? December 5, Mark Orfaly, French Christmas; December 16, Brian Walter, Barilla Italian Luncheon; December 29, Scott Lahey, Anthony Loos, and Konrad Meier, Benchmark Holiday Dinner.

Eggnog

WHAT? Holiday spirit. Decking the halls, singing carols, and supping on yuletide fare can render a reveler somewhat parched. Enter eggnog, a seemingly harmless holiday beverage that has been known to lure many naïve merrymakers into making fools of themselves at office Christmas parties. The sweet, creamy concoction is said to owe its heritage to posset, an English drink that early Americans adapted to create eggnog. In The Complete Book of Spirits, Anthony Dias Blue wrote, “[George] Washington’s two favorite drinks were eggnog and rum punch both of which were served at almost all events in the colonies during…the War of Independence.” Though various recipes exist, the base for eggnog almost always consists of eggs, cream, sugar, and vanilla. And though it most often is mixed with rum, bourbon and whiskey are common alternatives. This season, three chefs have found decadent ways to present the merry mixture—two of which are with foie gras. You won’t find that in your office party punch bowl!

WHEN? December 3, Jacques Van Staden, Great Regional Chefs of America; December 18, Louise Duhamel, Holiday Brunch; December 22, Robert Fallon, Desert Christmas Dinner

Hominy

WHAT? Indigenous edible. This venerable grain is in fact dried corn kernels that have been processed with an alkali—traditionally a lye or limewater solution—to remove their tough outer skins. Its consumption dates back to ancient Mesopotamian cultures; in her book Crazy for Corn, Betty Fussell referred to hominy as “the world’s oldest chemically processed food.” Hominy was a staple of the Native American diet, and vestiges of its past can be found in Mexican soups and stews like menudo and posole. Its most common contemporary American iteration is as grits, the Southern staple in which dry hominy is ground, simmered over slow heat, and served with butter and cream in either savory or sweet variations.

WHEN? December 28, Jeff White, Wine Lovers’ Dinner