The 2009 James Beard Awards were just announced and I wanted to highlight the book awards. I own or have read many of these books and the rest will no doubt end up on my list. I am thrilled to see Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes win Cookbook of the Year, and it won Best Single Subject too. I have flipped through it at the store and will most likely buy a copy once I test drive it from the library, though there are still 16 people ahead of me in the queue. I may just break down and buy a copy.
Cookbook of the Year
Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes
Author: Jennifer McLagan
American Cooking
Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook
by Martha Hall Foose
Baking
Bakewise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking
by Shirley O. Corriher
This is a fantastic book. I have her first book written up in Essential References, and need to add this one.
Beverage
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
Cooking From a Professional Point of View
Alinea
by Grant Achatz
A beautiful book with some of the most complicated recipes I have ever seen. Really interesting read and great for inspiring ideas.
General Cooking
How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition)
by Mark Bittman
Healthy Focus
The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
by Ellie Krieger
International
Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China
by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
This is one of my favorite books. It is stunningly beautiful and takes you on a journey. I have a review in Essential References.
Photography
The Big Fat Duck Cookbook
Photographer: Dominic Davies
Reference and Scholarship
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
One of my most referenced books. I keep this out on my kitchen counter and turn to it all the time for inspiration. Read my review in Essential References.
Single Subject
Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes
by Jennifer McLagan
Writing and Literature
In Defense of Food
by Michael Pollan
This isn’t a book award, but I have to highlight a local Seattle journalist, Rebekah Denn of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. She won for Newspaper Feature with Recipes for her article, “High on the Hairy Hogs: Super-Succulent Imports are Everything U.S. Pork Isn’t.”
Happy reading! Check out the rest of the 2009 winners of James Beard Foundation Awards.
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Thanks for drawing our attention to these, Carol. Some of my favorites are on the list! I encourage you to check out Carol Blymire’s blog Alinea at Home. She’s cooking through the Alinea cookbook and blogging about it, just as she did with French Laundry at Home.
Thank you for this, darling!
I am going to buy the Bakewise book.