16 of the best cookbooks of 2009. 17 talented and opinionated judges.
1 prize: the coveted Piglet Trophy.
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Bet you thought we were going to announce the winner today, huh? Not so fast -- we want to hear what you think! Between now and Monday, post your votes (for Canal House Cooking or Seven Fires) in the comments section below. We'll tally them up and then announce the People's Choice Award, along with Nora Ephron's final decision, at the Piglet Party Monday, November 9th at Astor Center in New York (for tickets, go HERE). Nora Ephron's full decision will be posted on food52 at midnight on Monday.
The Piglet—inspired by The Morning News' Tournament of Books—is where the 16 most notable cookbooks of the year face off in a NCAA-style bracketed tournament. Watch the action and weigh in on the results!
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Written by: Food52
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259 Comments
Food52
November 9, 2009
Thanks to everyone who weighed in! Voting is now CLOSED, and all winners will be announced tomorrow!
Cooker_NL
November 9, 2009
Seven Fires gets my vote. It is beautiful, great recipes and well written! The Best!!
Thomas_PQ
November 9, 2009
I think the winner should be Seven Fires. Is the best cooking book that I´ve ever read.
ChristineQ
November 9, 2009
Much as I love fire, my vote goes to Canel House Cooking. Can't put it down and keep going back.
George_w
November 9, 2009
SEVEN FIRES. Some cookbooks are a stack of recipes. Seven Fires goes back to first principles of fire and food. It's like falling in love with the magic of cooking all over again.
MrsWheelbarrow
November 9, 2009
I've gone back and forth - it's a really tough choice, but I've got to go with Canal House. (and secretly hope for both under the Christmas tree)
trix
November 9, 2009
Canal House Cooking is my choice. The cover alone begs you to open and enjoy what's inside!
Marie K.
November 9, 2009
Canal House Cooking, of course! The recipes are fantastic and the artwork is out of this world.
anotherhomecook
November 9, 2009
I see alot of people voted at the page from the wildcard round... do those votes count too?
jsinger
November 9, 2009
Seven Fires all the way! Every recipe I've tasted or made myself is delicious.
lekorn
November 8, 2009
Canal House gets my vote. The recipes are perfect for entertaining many or an evening at home for two. It combines an accessible aesthetic, with whimsy and personality. It is inspiring to me as both a writer and a cook. My husband and I read it together and I love vol. 2 which just arrived in the mail.
Gardenerskitchen
November 8, 2009
Canal House Cooking brought me back to the kitchen and my lover back to the table and my bed. For the love of food and one another I vote hands down for Canal House Cooking! Can hardly wait for volume 2. This is the kind of cooking I always wanted to do, made simple!! Bravo! It is beautiful AND delicious!! Thank you!
BestTasteBudOfTheEast
November 8, 2009
I vote for Canal House -- a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.
cookingfanatic17
November 8, 2009
Canal House is the winner. It reminds me that not everything has to be cooked with thirty different ingredients to be delicious. Most of the best dishes on this earth are not complex, hard to understand or impossible to execute, which is exactly what this book encompasses. The recipes are easy to follow, and rewarding as soon as the food hits a single taste bud.
Alejandro
November 8, 2009
Seven Fires, es el mejor libro de cocina que pude haber comprado.
Felicitaciones !!!
Felicitaciones !!!
boojam
November 8, 2009
Definitely Canal House! It's absolutely inspirational and makes me want to spend more time in the kitchen.
dymnyno
November 8, 2009
SEVEN FIRES...beautiful, great recipes, I prefer hard cover books... a real commitment to sophistication. Canal House is like a great school project in comparison. Nice but not on the level of Seven Fires, Momofuku or Ad Hoc at Home. A great first effort.
clanging P.
November 8, 2009
I am absolutely nuts about Canal House - it's always 5 o'clock somewhere.
Ernesto V.
November 7, 2009
Seven Fires it´s my choice.
Francis Mallmann rescues and highlights the products when preparing food.
Simply the best.
Francis Mallmann rescues and highlights the products when preparing food.
Simply the best.
MariaBermejo
November 7, 2009
Seven Fires is great Congratulations Francis!!
My vote is yours
Att : Maria Bermejo
My vote is yours
Att : Maria Bermejo
Majito1980
November 7, 2009
My vote goes to Seven Fires.
Francis is what I describe as "an artist that cooks", a teacher of how through cooking we can nourish both body and soul.
Francis is what I describe as "an artist that cooks", a teacher of how through cooking we can nourish both body and soul.
tunaboat
November 7, 2009
Albeit facing a worthy competitor, Canal House gets my vote, as their marriage of stunning graphics and friendly relaxed tone has repeatedly motivated me from the armchair to the stove. The recipes are winners. I'll be giving subscriptions for Christmas this year.
And I love rewarding the steel of this pair for creating a new format, and self-publishing it to boot.
And I love rewarding the steel of this pair for creating a new format, and self-publishing it to boot.
lzdemori
November 7, 2009
Canal House gets my vote. It's an exceptional book--straightforward yet beautiful, inspiring yet accessible, useful and delicious. I love it.
luckylies
November 7, 2009
seven fires is the jam. Francis is a living god, the recipes, tasty and simple.
Michael80
November 6, 2009
Seven Fires, the best cooking book in a long time. Great recipes. Great photographs.
frlfletcher
November 6, 2009
I vote for Canal House Cooking. Simply direct. Simply original. Simply attainable. Simply savory and sweet. Simply beautiful. Kudos!
trinaldi
November 6, 2009
I am a doctor of the psychological arts and science of excellence. For months I have been treating a patient with super messed up mental problems. You may know him as the Hamburglar. After sampling on him everything from electric cattle prods to furious Chinese bamboo beatings, I was outdone by the authors of SEVEN FIRES, a book with so many fine recipes and photos that it has cured all of my cartoon patients just by its smell. I believe the secret to immortality is in or around this book.
HankShaw
November 6, 2009
My vote is for Seven Fires. How can you go wrong with open flame and large cuts of beef?
[email protected]
November 6, 2009
Seven Fires all the way! My mouth is already watering just typing the name!
Marianne S.
November 6, 2009
My vote goes to Seven Fires. Mallmann is es marvellous cook, a perfect host, pilosopher and nature lover.
Sully
November 6, 2009
Are you kidding me? Seven Fires! Life after Seven Fires can be categorized two ways: B.S.F and A.S.F., the former a dark time, the latter better by a million miles.
danielm
November 6, 2009
I want to buy Canal House for everyone I love, and even some I don't. It's a wonderful cookbook - a wonderful book, really - and wins this one running away.
usuba D.
November 6, 2009
Canal House is the winner. The collection of recipes and stories are real . . from the heart and minds of great cooks.
upsstore
November 6, 2009
Canal House gets our vote! We've started experimenting with the recipes and they are delicious!
sweetswan
November 6, 2009
I VOTE for Canal house!
wonderful - pallet panging pops from simple ingredients -
a beautifully put together book thats a prized jewel
in my kitchen as well as my family's stomach!
I feel spoiled to have it!
wonderful - pallet panging pops from simple ingredients -
a beautifully put together book thats a prized jewel
in my kitchen as well as my family's stomach!
I feel spoiled to have it!
cburnssr
November 6, 2009
We LOVE Canal House Cooking. The moment I learned of this fabulous book (from Head Butler) I pruchased it. I shared the book with Chef Nicholas Martschenko and he agrees - it rocks. Great recipes, simple cooking, wonderful presentation. If we could vote, our vote would be for Canal House!!!
BBowman
November 6, 2009
Canal Street. I love the look, the feel, the writing. And, I have prepared the pork braised in milk 4 times with great success. Awaiting volume 2.
falcinelli
November 6, 2009
simply the finest, refreshing writing and subject, francis delivered through the eyes of kaminsky with cooking techniques that are utterly amazing....a must have for anyone with a hearbeat
hortulus
November 6, 2009
I love everything about CANAL HOUSE COOKING. Breezy style, deceptively easy recipes, big tastes, smart twists, lovely graphic choices. I'm giving a year's subscription to a bunch of my favorite foodies this holiday: you should, too!
[email protected]
November 6, 2009
SEVEN FIRES. Some cookbooks are a stack of recipes. Seven Fires goes back to first principles of fire and food. It's like falling in love with the magic of cooking all over again.
Silvina
November 6, 2009
Francis Mallmann is a great cook , his book is outstanding and I really like preparing his recipes !
feluchobv
November 6, 2009
SEVEN FIRES ROCKS!!!
Mallmann teaches how to cook with fire, which I found really difficult before reading his book!!!!
Seven fires is THE cooking book
Mallmann teaches how to cook with fire, which I found really difficult before reading his book!!!!
Seven fires is THE cooking book
Chrisp
November 6, 2009
Canal House is about simple cooking with deep roots. I love their enthusiasm for the ingredients and making them shine. Isn't that what home cooking should be? I keep going back to it -- for the recipes and the friendly voices of the authors. This one's got my vote!
[email protected]
November 6, 2009
We've been cooking from Vol 1 and 2 since we received them. This is wonderfully simple delicious food and a great resource. Plus the idea of a seasonal cookbook is great--can't wait for the next one!
the E.
November 6, 2009
My vore goes to Canal Hous - great recipes - great photographs - fun to use !
melicious
November 6, 2009
Vote for Canal House Cooking -
delicious, straightforward recipes and flavors!
delicious, straightforward recipes and flavors!
PippaT
November 6, 2009
My vote goes to Canal House - simply stunning - real recipes for everyday cooking.
juliagillard
November 6, 2009
Canal House!! It is a one of a kind cookbook, the makers really really care about this book and it shows- quite a lot of thought and love was put into these pages.
Vuala
November 6, 2009
My vote goes to Canal! As important as what went into this book is what you create from it, and each is just as amazing! Thank you for this book!
jctomas
November 6, 2009
The winner HAS to be Canal House Cooking - total revelation and not just about cooking meat! :P
MTrue
November 5, 2009
I vote for Canal House Cooking. Can't stop cooking from it! It suits me and my life.
mcvl
November 5, 2009
Seven Fires is awesome, but I find myself using Canal House's recipes more, and lingering over the drawings, and, well, just liking it better.
Chef S.
November 5, 2009
Both books are really nice. Seven fires inspires more love more passion, more roots and the recipes are simply amazing and not challenging or difficult to execute. True Love is exposed onto the pages of this beautiful piece of art. Seven Fires has my vote!!!!!!!!!!!!
sandratfairbank
November 5, 2009
canal house cooking is a labor of love. what i love is that these are not
restaurant recipes, but home cooking that we can follow and proudly offer to family and friends. go canal house....
restaurant recipes, but home cooking that we can follow and proudly offer to family and friends. go canal house....
ingmar O.
November 5, 2009
7 Fires is 49 times better than anything else. i am totally bowled over by the veg recipes, as well as the photos, and the grace of the book. Go Francis and team!
Cheff M.
November 5, 2009
I vote Seven Fires. Elegant, sophisticated, creative. Developed by a brilliant chef, this is the most refined grilling book ever written.
mayak
November 5, 2009
Canal House Cooking has warmth and beauty and soul. Hurray for Christopher and Melissa! I hope you win the big pig prize.
vermonter
November 5, 2009
The generations of knowledge and experience that Francis Mallmann brings to bear on the art of cooking with fire is deftly aided by Peter Kaminsky's literary skills in Seven Fires. This is by far the best cookbook I have received this year (and for many years past.) It is rare that a cookbook makes me dream of welding together my own bits of metal to properly cook my meat.
Schultzois
November 5, 2009
Francis is an absolutely extraordinary chef, not only in the strict sense of the kitchen (which he is without a doubt), but also in the sense of a man who can lead others to great things. I was ecstatic to see his Seven Fires book come out, and even happier to pick it up when I saw him in Mendoza recently. For the food and attention to preparation alone, Francis is exceptional. Beyond that - which should be quite enough to win this distinction - he is an artist in every sense of the word. This book is more than a cookbook... it's a work of art as well.
Juan M.
November 5, 2009
Seven Fires!!! Es una obra de arte!!! Francis sos el mejor!
Muy buenas recetas, fáciles de preparar y sobre todo deliciosas!
Merece ser el ganador del premio !!!
Muy buenas recetas, fáciles de preparar y sobre todo deliciosas!
Merece ser el ganador del premio !!!
iowafran
November 5, 2009
Canal House - You go girls...Everyone who gets to taste their spareribs Monday night at the Piglet party is very lucky indeed!!!
Patty R.
November 5, 2009
Canal House gets my vote - innovative and beautiful. It's inspiring just to read and cooking from it is a true pleasure.
MurryC
November 5, 2009
Definitely Canal House. Got V1 and spent the following weekend cooking it front to back. Those lemons are waiting in my fridge as we speak. Oh, BTW, they make a great margarita!
bataille2
November 5, 2009
canal house had too many familiar, basic recipes. seven fires had more interesting ones. i've cooked & will cook more out of seven fires than canal house, tho i am looking forward to vol 2 & 3.
eatboutique
November 5, 2009
Canal House. Canal House. Canal House. I am in love with Canal House... Can ya tell? ;-)
jiemeimei
November 5, 2009
Canal House Cooking -- without a doubt. Their pork in milk beats (and this is said with much respect) the version by Marcella Hazan.
Marisa M.
November 5, 2009
I am completely in love with Canal House Cooking. I've been taking my copy to bed with me at night and reading it as if it were a novel.
ddonn
November 5, 2009
I vote for Canal House. I've enjoyed this cook book immensely. Try the Pork Loin Cooked in Milk, simply delicious.
Kelsey B.
November 5, 2009
I just got my Canal House in the mail today (I ordered it yesterday - they have great customer service!) I have to vote for Canal House, it is fantastic.
maria
November 5, 2009
Canal House brings us delicious flavors from all over, and shows us how to enjoy fresh ingredients that we find in our local markets. We are waiting for volume II.
oliveyou17
November 5, 2009
my vote goes out to Canal House Cooking! My mom is actually Melissa Hamilton and she is so excited and happy about this book! She cooks great things from it all the time and i know that it deserves to win!
Jbard
November 5, 2009
I vote for Canal House. I am thoroughly impressed and delighted with its content and style-- Cheers!
poppyt
November 5, 2009
Canal House Cooking is the most captivating new way of cookbook publishing I have seen! It is approachable and exquisitely beautiful at the same time. It gets my vote hands UP!
pcurtan
November 5, 2009
Canal House Cooking is amazing. Christopher and Melissa made the entire book themselves: writing, cooking, photographing, and designing. They are talented enough and committed enough to do it on their own—self published and self distributed! It's a pure expression of who they are and what they love about food. This is volume one, with more to come seasonally. Everything I've tried so far was delicious, especially the paella. Can't wait for more!
rutabaga
November 5, 2009
Canal House Cooking is a down-to-earth but sophisticated, terrific, inspirational enterprise. We need these talented gals. They deserve a prize!
sapelo
November 5, 2009
Canal House Cooking is simply a beautiful, beautiful book.
We love the recipes and stories but also the lovely layout and design of this book. We'll go back to Canal House for inspiration again and again.
We love the recipes and stories but also the lovely layout and design of this book. We'll go back to Canal House for inspiration again and again.
Cookies
November 5, 2009
FRANCIS MALLMANN, THE BEST!!! ... Seven fires the number one!!!...Gracias por representarnos de tan buena manera, Fran...
Diana.
Diana.
natypeart
November 5, 2009
Mi voto va para Mallmann, las recetas son increibles y simples , al mismo tiempo que permiten experimentar sabores y opciones novedosas, con simples toques. Los lugares las fotos, y la forma en la que esta escrito , ensamblan, no solo con un libro de recetas cuidado, sino mas bien con una obra de arte en su totalidad.
MI voto va para Seven Fires.
MI voto va para Seven Fires.
Markus
November 5, 2009
My vote goes to the Canal House - the recipes are beautiful in their simplicity, and it's simply one of the most gorgeous cookbooks I've come across in a long time!
John
November 5, 2009
the independent spirit of the Canal House ladies shines through without ever once seeming to condescend. i am inspired to be a cook without feeling embarrassed about not wanting to be a "chef" or wannabe foodie. i eat therefore i am.
anotherhomecook
November 5, 2009
Canal House is the BEST! I've made almost everything in it! I even have Volume 2! It's even better!
SueG
November 5, 2009
When I got Seven Fires, I read it for a couple of hours. I couldn't put it down. There's something really compelling about it. The recipe developers did a great job realizing Mallmann's vision, the writing is splendid, the story is interesting, the pictures are fantastic, the book design is great. It became an instant favorite as soon as I got it and it gets my vote.
peterkaminsky
November 5, 2009
dear piglet comrades. francis mallmann did not send in those comments saying he is the best. definitely not his style. someone is using his name. and he and i think that canal house is a fine piece of work.
Delvo
November 5, 2009
Seven Fires is everything a cookbook should be: Beautifully photographed and poetically written. The recipes themselves are wonderfully constructed. Seven Fires for life.
j.albert
November 5, 2009
sublimez, La combinaison parfaite de goût et de couleur.
Sublimate, The perfect combination of flavor and color.
My vote is for Seven Fires
Sublimate, The perfect combination of flavor and color.
My vote is for Seven Fires
federico T.
November 5, 2009
El Maestro de Cocina Mallmann le ha devuelto la dignidad a la cocina. Gracias por cocinar con la sazon del alma y con las multiples especias de las experiencias culinarias.
Dios lo guarde Maestro.
Dios lo guarde Maestro.
Gonzalo D.
November 5, 2009
EL SR. FRANCIS MALLMAN SORPRENDE , AQUINES NO LO CONOCEN , CON UNA COCINA QUE A SIMPLE VISTA PARECE SENCILLA , CASI PRIMITIVA. pUEDO ASEGURAR QUE CADA UNO DE SUS PLATOS SE TRATA DE UNA FIESTA DE SABOR , COLOR Y AGRADABLE PAUSA. ÈSTOY SEGURO QUE SU OBRA SERA VALORADA EN SU JUSTA MEDIDA. ATENTAMENTE
AbrilDiez
November 5, 2009
Seven fires gets my vote!
Francis Mallmann is a great person, an unique cook!
Francis Mallmann is a great person, an unique cook!
lqueen
November 5, 2009
Seven Fires gets my vote. It is beautiful, great recipes and well written! The Best!!
sciordia
November 5, 2009
I live in Argentina , and Francis gets the soul of the way to cook argentinian way , my vote goes for him
angelpuratic
November 5, 2009
Seven Fires...is a beauty pics from the meals of the patagonia...love it...my vote
MarionRose
November 5, 2009
7 Fires.
That flayed cow barbecue looks terrific: Wish I had the space to try it.
That flayed cow barbecue looks terrific: Wish I had the space to try it.
likestocooklovestoeat
November 5, 2009
I'm bewitched by Canal House Cooking...
mmurray
November 6, 2009
Canal House for sure. And you all have to check out volume 2 coming soon. beautiful.
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