Finalists for James Beard cookbook awards

The 2011 finalists for the James Beard Foundation awards were announced this week. The chefs get much of the attention, but for those of us who love cookbooks, those awards are at least as significant. The winners of the cookbook awards will be presented on May 6 in New York City. For more on the awards, see www.JBFAwards.com. Compare the Beard selection with the finalists of the International Association of Culinary Professions (IACP), mentioned in an earlier post.

American Cooking
"The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking" by Joseph E. Dabney (Cumberland House)

"The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual" by Frank Castronovo, Frank Falcinelli, and Peter Meehan (Artisan)

"Pig: King of the Southern Table" by James Villas (John Wiley & Sons)

Baking and Dessert

"Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours" by Kim Boyce (Stewart, Tabori & Chang)

" My Sweet Mexico: Recipes for Authentic Pastries, Breads, Candies, Beverages, and Frozen Treats" by Fany Gerson
(Ten Speed Press)

"Sarabeth’s Bakery: From My Hands to Yours" by Sarabeth Levine (Rizzoli New York)

Beverage

"Opus Vino" by DK Publishing (DK Publishing)

"Reading Between the Wines" by Terry Theise (University of California Press) 

"Secrets of the Sommeliers: How to Think and Drink Like the World’s Top Wine Professionals" by Jordan Mackay and Rajat Parr (Ten Speed Press)

Cooking from a Professional Point of View

"Michael Chiarello’s Bottega" by Michael Chiarello (Chronicle Books)

" The Modern Café" by Francisco J. Migoya and The Culinary Institute of America (John Wiley & Sons) 

"Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine" by René Redzepi (Phaidon Press)

General Cooking

"The Essential New York Times Cook Book: Classic Recipes for a New Century" by Amanda Hesser (W.W. Norton & Company)

"Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys" by David Tanis (Artisan)

"Radically Simple: Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease" by Rozanne Gold (Rodale)

Healthy Focus

"Clean Start: Inspiring You to Eat Clean and Live Well" by Terry Walters (Sterling/Epicure)

" The Simple Art of EatingWell Cookbook" by Jessie Price & the EatingWell Test Kitchen
(The Countryman Press)

" The Very Best Recipes for Health: 250 Recipes and More from the Popular Feature on NYTimes.com" by Martha Rose Shulman (Rodale)

International

"Cook Italy" by Katie Caldesi (Kyle Books) 

"Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy" by Diana Kennedy (University of Texas Press) 

"Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories" by Grace Young
(Simon & Schuster)

Photography

"The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook" Photographer: Sara Remington (Andrews McMeel Publishing)

" Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine" Photographer: Ditte Isager (Phaidon Press)

" Tartine Bread" Photographer: Eric Wolfinger (Chronicle Books)

Reference and Scholarship

"Encyclopedia of Jewish Food" by Gil Marks (John Wiley & Sons) 

"Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes" by Mark Bitterman (Ten Speed Press)

" What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets" by Faith D’Aluisio and Peter Menzel (Material World Books/Ten Speed Press)

Single Subject

"Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meat" by Deborah Krasner (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) 

"Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarter" by Mark Scarborough and Bruce Weinstein (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) 

"Meat: A Kitchen Education" by James Peterson (Ten Speed Press)

Writing and Literature

" Empires of Food: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations" by Evan D. G. Fraser and Andrew Rimas
(Free Press) 

"Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food" by Paul Greenberg (The Penguin Press) 

"Peace Meals: Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and Other War Stories" by Anna Badkhen (Free Press)

The winner of Cookbook of the Year selected from all nominees in the Book Category and the Cookbook Hall of Fame Inductee will be announced on May 6, 2011.