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 The Project Foodie 'straw poll' results of the James Beard Foundation 2009 book nominees are in. Before we share the poll results we'd like to congratulate all of the James Beard Foundation Nominees and in particular thank the book author nominees who over the past two weeks provided all of us with some great reading in the Project Foodie James Beard Book Nominees Guest Blog series. For those of you who may have missed an article here is a quick recap of the participating authors and their guest blogs: Now for the 'straw poll' results - we had tons of votes, yet as you'll see some categories were really close. We've listed the book that received the most votes for each category first, followed by the other two books based on the votes by you, The Foodies. For some of the books we've included quotes from Project Foodie Team telling you what we liked about the books.
Curious how the Project Foodie 'straw poll' results will fare against the official James Beard Foundation award results? We certainly are! Check back here on Monday May 5th and we'll compare them...
Project Foodie 'Straw Poll' Results for the 2009 James Beard Book Nominees American Cooking | Baking | Beverage | Cooking from a Professional Point of View | General Cooking | Healthy Focus | International | Photography | Reference and Scholarship | Single Subject | Writing and Literature
American Cooking Baking | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com
| Baking for All Occasions: A Treasury of Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by by Flo Braker (Chronicle Books) - 36% of votes Flo Braker's expertise shows in every recipe. These aren't trendy sweets with unconventional ingredients, but ones that are classic and will stand the test of time. -- Carolyn Jung Reviews: Project Foodie, Montreal Gazette, Baking Bites
Accessible Recipes (5) | |  Amazon.com | Bakewise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking by Shirley O. Corriher (Scribner) - 30% of votes Shirley is a master at using science to improve cooking. In BakeWise, she focuses her attention on teaching us how to make the best baked goods we can. -- Foodie Pam Reviews: Project Foodie, NPR Accessible Recipes (5) | |  Amazon.com
| The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008) - 34% of votes "The Art and Soul of Baking'' is a meticulous compilation of sweet and savory treats. With clear directions, and a wealth of recipes, it's a book you'll turn to again and again. -- Carolyn Jung
Reviews: Project Foodie, Gourmet, in Rich, Bay Area Bites Accessible Recipes (11) 2009 IACP Winner in the Baking Category.
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Beverage | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com
| 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.) - 55% of votes The most comprehensive guide to wine that I've seen in years, the first book that I turn to when I have a question about wine. -- Foodie Heather
Reviews: Project Foodie, Washington Post, The Passionate Foodie, Visit Vineyards, Got Tanins? | |  Amazon.com
| The Wines of Burgundy by Clive Coates (University of California Press) - 10% of votes Reviews: NY Times, BKWine
| |  Amazon.com | The Harney and Sons Guide to Tea by Michael Harney (The Penguin Press) - 35% of votes A compact little book that will tell you everything you've ever wondered about tea. I've seen a lot of tea books over the years. But this is the first one that even mentions the rare yellow tea. -- Carolyn Jung
Reviews: Curled Up, Lainie Sips | Cooking from a Professional Point of View General Cooking | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com
| How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) - 64% of votes | |  Amazon.com
| Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook by Martha Stewart with Sarah Carey (Clarkson Potter) - 26% of votes Arranged by cooking techniques this guide to cooking has recipes, photos and explanations of how to set up a kitchen. It's the closest things to having Martha Stewart in your kitchen, guiding you every step of the way. -- Amy Sherman Reviews: LA Times, Paper Palate, Sun Sentinel, Slash Food Accessible Recipe (1)
| |  Amazon.com
| The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast, Easy, Fresh by Barbara Fairchild (John Wiley & Sons) - 10% of votes "The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast, Easy, Fresh" contains recipes I have cherished for years, now all in one place, just like Project Foodie! With great well-tested recipes, this book could easily be your weeknight recipe bible. -- Amy Sherman
Reviews: Serious Eats Accessible Recipes (2) 2009 IACP Winner in the Compilations Category.
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Healthy Focus | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com
| 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) - 47% of votes This isn't a diet book, it's more of a lifestyle book aimed at showcasing healthful eating of seasonal and great tasting food through a collection of seasonally inspired menus. -- Foodie Pam Reviews: Boston Globe, The Kitchn Accessible Recipes (2) | |  Amazon.com
| EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook by Philip A. Ades, M.D. and the Editors of EatingWell (The Countryman Press) - 17% of votes Accessible Recipes (3) | |  Amazon.com
| The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger (Taunton Press) - 36% of votes Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave" features recipes that are full of flavor and don't make you think "healthy" but rather "tasty." Kreiger uses real ingredients, nothing fake and doesn't shy away from flavor enhancers such as butter, olive oil, lots of herbs and spices and fresh ingredients to make really appealing food. -- Amy Sherman
Reviews: Delish, Dallas News Accessible Recipes (5) 2009 IACP Winner in the Health and Special Diet Category.
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International | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com
| Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food Lover's Treasury of Classics and Improvisations by Jayne Cohen (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) - 40% of votes A tour through the major (and minor) Jewish Holidays combined with celebrations of those holidays with traditional recipes. -- Foodie Pam Reviews: Sun Sentinal | |  Amazon.com
| Beyond the Great Wall by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (Artisan Books) - 39% of votes Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid have done it again -- created another gorgeous cookbook that takes you to a faraway place. Their books, always lavishly photographed and with recipes that sing of authenticity, are like cookbooks if National Geographic did them. -- Carolyn Jung Reviews: Gourmet, Slate, Culinate, Eat Magazine 2009 IACP Winner in the International Category | |  Amazon.com
| Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore by Robert Danhi (Mortar & Press) - 21% of votes Reviews: FriedChillies |
Photography Reference and Scholarship | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com | The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (Little, Brown and Company) - 56% of votes If you want to learn how to free yourself from having to follow recipe after recipe, one of things to learn is what flavors work well. The Flavor Bible helps you make the task that much easier, perfect for food professionals and the adventurous home cook alike. -- Foodie Heather This is not a cookbook per se. If you're expecting page after page of recipes, you'll be disappointed. But like so many of their other books, Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page, provoke and intrigue. They make you think about cooking in terms of flavors, rather then specific recipes. Once you're able to think in terms of what flavors go with what, you won't have to be tied to recipes to create magic in your kitchen. -- Carolyn Jung Reviews: Project Foodie, Chicago Tribune, Eat Me Daily, Super Chef, Epi-Log | |  Amazon.com
| Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages by Anne Mendelson, (Knopf) - 25% of votes Part science book, part historical text and part cookbook, Milk explores our complex relationship to milk and other dairy products. -- Amy Sherman Reviews: NPR, Eat Me Daily, Super Chef, The Kitchn, St. Petersburg Times, The Dairy Show Accessible Recipes (2) | |  Amazon.com
| The Science of Good Food by David Joachim, Andrew Schloss, and Philip Handel (Robert Rose) - 19% of votes Science can be interesting and this trio prove it while presenting some great info to make our food creations better. -- Foodie Pam
Reviews: Taste of Cincinnati, Philly Burbs, Spot On Accessible Recipes (3) 2009 IACP Winner in the Food Reference & Technical Category
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Single Subject | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com
| Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient by Jennifer McLagan (Ten Speed Press) - 42% of votes "Fat" is devoted to providing a different viewpoint from today's common culture of low-fat everything. Not only are there recipes, but history and the science behind all things fat. Jennifer McLagan goes into great detail on the good and bad of fat while celebrating the flavor that fat brings to cooking. -- Foodie Pam
Reviews: Bitten, Salon, Chicago Tribune Accessible Recipes (4) 2009 IACP Winner in the Single Subject Category
| |  Amazon.com
| Mediterranean Fresh: A Compendium of One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix-and-Match Dressings by Joyce Goldstein (W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.) - 24% of votes A wonderful collection of one-plate salads that will redefine your definition of salad from much more than merely tossed greens. -- Foodie Pam Reviews: Project Foodie Accessible Recipes (6) | |  Amazon.com
| The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever by Beatrice Ojakangas (Chronicle Books) - 34% of votes A collection of casseroles for all meals and occasions using quality ingredients that are sure to keep casseroles popular for years to come. -- Foodie Pam Reviews: YumSugar, Philadelphia Examiner, Post and Courier, January Magazine Recipes (3) | Literary Food Writing | |
Project Foodie Poll Winner!
| |  Amazon.com
| In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press) - 56% of votes This follow up to The Omnivore's Dilemma, addresses what food is healthy and explores how processed food is barely food anymore. It also provides an analysis of the typical Western diet and it's relationship to health and disease. -- Amy Sherman Reviews: Slate, Times Online, NY Times, LA Times, Salon.com | |  Amazon.com
| Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuschia Dunlop (W.W. Norton) - 16% of votes Fuschia Dunlop's book is part memoir and part cookbook. In it she shares her experiences living in China and experiences with Chinese food, including her time in a Sichuan cooking school, and her many travel adventures. -- Amy Sherman Reviews: NY Times, The Guardian, Super Chef Blog, Philly Magazine Winner in the 2009 IACP Literary Food Writing Category
| |  Amazon.com
| Raising Steaks by Betty Fussell (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) - 28% of votes Reviews: San Francisco Chronicle, NY Times Also an IACP finalist in the Literary Food Writing Category
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Disclosure: Review copies of books discussed in this post may have been provided to Project Foodie by publicists and/or publishers.
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