Joe Beef and Odd Bits nominated for James Beard Book Awards

The U.S.-based James Beard Foundation has announced the shortlist for its 2012 book awards, and two popular Canadian cookbooks have made the cut.

The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A Cookbook of Sorts by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan, and Meredith Erickson (Ten Speed Press) is nominated in the Cooking from a Professional Point of View category, facing steep competition against Nathan Myhrvold’s six-volume, 2,400-page cookbook series, Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.

Jennifer McLagan’s ode to offal, Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal, is nominated for Best Single Subject Cookbook. McLagan’s last two books, 2008’s Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient (McClelland & Stewart) and 2005’s Bones: Recipes, History, and Lore (HarperCollins Canada), have both received the award. Fat was also named Cookbook of the Year by the foundation.

The winners of the 2012 awards will beannounced May 4.