Smoke & Semis

Milkwood and 610 Magnolia Chef Edward Lee's "Smoke and Pickles" cookbook reached the semifinal round of Food52's "Piglet" award, a three-week-long cook-and-criticize fest for "the 16 most notable cookbooks of the year." Unfortunately for Lee, that's as far as it went. Judge Aran Goyoaga, a twice-James-Beard-awarded food stylist and photographer from Seattle, chose "Roberta's Cookbook" from Roberta's in Brooklyn over "Smoke and Pickles," saying she "needed more surprise" from Lee's tome.