7 replies to this topic

[DanM]

The 2009 James Beard Award nominees for cookbooks are in... Any thoughts or picks?

AMERICAN COOKING

Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited
by Arthur Schwartz
(Ten Speed Press)

Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans
Edited by: Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker
(Chronicle Books)

Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook
by Martha Hall Foose
(Clarkson Potter)

BAKING

Bakewise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking
by Shirley O. Corriher
(Scribner)

Baking for All Occasions: A Treasury of Recipes for Everyday Celebrations
by Flo Braker
(Chronicle Books)

The Art and Soul of Baking
by Cindy Mushet, Sur La Table
(Andrews McMeel Publishing)

BEVERAGE

The Harney and Sons Guide to Tea
by Michael Harney
(The Penguin Press)

The Wines of Burgundy
by Clive Coates
(University of California Press)

WineWise: Your Complete Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Enjoying Wine
by Steven Kolpan, Brian H. Smith, and Michael A. Weiss, The Culinary Institute of America
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

COOKING FROM A PROFESSIONAL POINT OF VIEW

Alinea
by Grant Achatz
(Achatz LLC/Ten Speed Press)

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook
by Heston Blumenthal
(Bloomsbury USA)

Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide
by Thomas Keller
(Artisan)

GENERAL COOKING

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition)
by Mark Bittman
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook
by Martha Stewart with Sarah Carey
(Clarkson Potter)

The Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook
by Barbara Fairchild
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

HEALTHY FOCUS

Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta: Recipes from the World-Famous Spa
by Deborah Szekely and Deborah M. Schneider, with Jesús González
(Stewart, Tabori & Chang)

EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook
by Philip A. Ades, M.D. and the Editors of EatingWell
(The Countryman Press)

The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
by Ellie Krieger
(The Taunton Press, Inc.)

INTERNATIONAL

Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China
by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
(Artisan)

Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food Lover’s Treasury of Classics and Improvisations
by Jayne Cohen
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore
by Robert Danhi
(Mortar & Press)

PHOTOGRAPHY

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook
Photographer: Dominic Davies
Artist: Dave McKean
(Bloomsbury USA)

Decadent Desserts
Photographer: Thomas Dhellemmes
(Flammarion)

Haute Chinese Cuisine from the Kitchen of Wakiya
Photographer: Masashi Kuma
(Kodansha International)

REFERENCE AND SCHOLARSHIP

Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages
by Anne Mendelson
(Knopf)

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs
by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
(Little, Brown and Company)

The Science of Good Food
by David Joachim and Andrew Schloss, with A. Philip Handel, Ph.D.
(Robert Rose Inc.)

SINGLE SUBJECT

Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes
by Jennifer McLagan
(Ten Speed Press)

Mediterranean Fresh: A Compendium of One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix-and-Match Dressings
by Joyce Goldstein
(W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)

The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever
by Beatrice Ojakangas
(Chronicle Books)

WRITING AND LITERATURE

In Defense of Food
by Michael Pollan
(The Penguin Press)

Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China
by Fuchsia Dunlop
(W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)

Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef
by Betty Fussell
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

[mjc]

I've got Alinea and Under Pressure and they are both great books. That would be a tough call for me.

Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages I've read a few times (I did some work with the author for my website). The first part offers the very interesting history of Milk, as well as some of the science, and agricultural issues. The second half of the book has lots of very interesting Dairy based recipes. Anne really gives a very good explanation of the culture and history of the recipes is this section.

In Defense of Food, is a great book. This work by Michael Pollan is very thoroughly researched and very convicing.

I just started reading Raising Steaks last weekend, I'm enjoying it so far, but can't say much else.

[Pierogi]

I'm certainly seeing some titles to add to my wish list.....

"Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans" probably tops the list because I do love N'Awlins food so very much.

[mbhank]

I have "Jewish Home Cooking," and "Beyond The Great Wall." Both excellent.

[OliverB]

Hmm, quite some that won't interest me much. I have all under the "professional" tag and they are all great books for sure. I'm curious about Southeast Asian Flavors and the Milk book.
I also have the Fat book, it's a great one too. Have but have not read In Defense of Food, Flavor Bible is a fun book to page through though I'm not sure I'd call it essential and I find it a bit convoluted. Beyond the Great Wall could be interesting, but I'd have to look at it first, make sure I won't have to climb over that wall first to find ingredients.

The rest more or less covers what I already have and would be of little use to me.

Interesting list though, anybody know what their categories for nomination are?

Oliver

[Shinboners]

COOKING FROM A PROFESSIONAL POINT OF VIEW

Alinea
by Grant Achatz
(Achatz LLC/Ten Speed Press)

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook
by Heston Blumenthal
(Bloomsbury USA)

Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide
by Thomas Keller
(Artisan)

Last year was a bit of a golden time for high end cookbooks. I think most of us would have been happy for just one of these books to be released in a given year, but to have all three released within a month of each other was extraordinary.

For me, I'd rate the Blumenthal book as the pick of the three books, followed by Keller, and Achatz in third. To my mind, Blumenthal's combination of biography, recipes, science, and the production values in the book make it one of the most outstanding cookbooks I've ever come across.

[Chris Hennes]

Hmm, I own distressingly few of those: Under Pressure, the Flavor Bible, and Alinea are it. Time to remedy that, so I just ordered Fat, Milk, and Raising Steaks. I've got some reading to do before I can begin handicapping this race...

[jmolinari]

Has anyone read
Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore
by Robert Danhi
(Mortar & Press)
?