Product Description

"Norman Van Aken is one of America's greatest and most innovative chefs, whose fusion of flavors and cultures explodes on your palate. Norman's New World Cuisine celebrates one of the most exciting regional cuisines in America. "
--Emeril Lagasse

Chef/proprietor of Norman's, the widely acclaimed new Miami restaurant, Norman Van Aken is the founding genius and champion of America's most visionary new cuisine. His dazzling New World Cuisine--a blend of Latin, Caribbean, Asian, and American flavors--celebrates America's dynamic ethnic mix. Healthful and vibrant with flavor, this is the cuisine of the future.    

    



Norman Van Aken received the James Beard Award in 1997 for the Best Chef in the Southeast and the Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence in 1996. He was one of three nominees for the Julia Child/IACP Award for the Best Chef of the Year and was selected by Cooking Light as one of the top five chefs in America.    

    



There are over 160 recipes in this book--for everything from cocktails and sunset snacks (Machete Colada, Calypso Calamari) to soups (White Bean, Chorizo, and Collard Greens Caldo; Cracked-Hacked Conch Chowder with Saffron, Coconut, and Oranges) and seviches, salads, and paellas. Norman's fish fare is unforgettable--Rhum and Pepper-Painted Grouper, Grilled Florida Spiny Lobster with a Spicy Cumin Seed Drizzle, Yuca-Crusted Florida Striped Bass--and his recipes for birds, such as Roasted Stuffed Game Hen with Pearl Onions and Sherry, are breathtaking. And then there are Our Just Desserts: A Cubano Bread Pudding Brûlée, Havana Bananas with Barbados Rhum, a Stirfry of Exotic Tropical Fruits in Aromatic Spiced Crêpes.
    


Every recipe was tested at home and is set forth with great clarity by John Harrisson, a former teacher and veteran cookbook writer. Full of vitality and startling originality, Norman's New World Cuisine will introduce you to the treasures of Norman Van Aken's irresistible world of flavors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1000991 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10-28
• Released on: 1997-10-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Ingram
The chef/proprietor of Norman's, the widely acclaimed Miami restaurant, offers a collection of recipes for his dazzling and multicultural New World cuisine--a blend of Latin, Caribbean, Asian and American flavors.

About the Author
About the Authors:    


Norman Van Aken was born and raised in rural Diamond Lake, Illinois. After a few years of college, he rambled around the country working at odd jobs--from short-order cook to carny. He moved to Hawaii in 1970 and to Key West in 1973, where he developed a passion for vibrant Asian and Caribbean flavors. A self-taught culinary genius, he now lectures internationally on New World Cuisine. Van Aken was the first chef to use the term "fusion cooking"  in describing the principles of New World Cuisine. After close to two decades in Key West, Van Aken moved to Miami and opened Norman's, a highly acclaimed, award-winning restaurant in the historic section of Coral Gables.
  

    


John Harrisson was raised and educated in England and became a food writer by way of an earlier career as an academic economist. He has co-authored cookbooks with many of America's leading chefs, including Mark Miller (Coyote Cafe), Roy Yamaguchi (Feasts from Hawaii), Stephan Pyles, and John Sedlar. The cookbooks to which he has contributed have sold over three quarters of a million copies.
    


About the Photographer:    


Tim Turner was one of three James Beard Award finalists for Best Food Photography for The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook. His other books include Charlie Trotter's, Charlie Trotter's Vegetables, and Charlie Trotter's Seafood, and his photographs have appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, and Ladies' Home Journal, among other publications, as well as in numerous advertisements.

Customer Reviews

A way to change cooking
Norman Van Aiken's New World Cuisine signaled a turning point in cuisine that offered the world of the islands, Florida, and Latin America with a fever for taste and a lust for culinary adventure. I not only read and re-read every word of this book I also cooked my way through most of the recipes.
His writing style is very inviting and brings the reader/cook into the New World kitchen in such a way that the flavors he explores become familiar by the end of each recipe.
When New World Cuisine was published it changed the way I cook the same way that the Silver Palate Cookbook changed cooking way back in 1980.
Norman Van Aiken is one of todays culinary heroes and for me stands above the lot of the over-exposed chef/actors that litter the stages and bookshelves of contemporary dining.
This book is highly recommended for people who already posess a good bit of cooking knowledge. It is not for the meek, this book is for people who love to cook, and who love the world of fruit, spice and the sea. His cooking style is bold and very alive. New World Cuisine is a must for anyone interested in why food tastes so great today.

Elegant but not Easy Recipes!
The recipes in this slick cookbook are neither for beginners, the lazy or the poor. One could invest a good deal of time and money in preparing some of these elaborate dishes. There are some fairly simple bread recipes in this book that I want to try; and I can testify that the Key Lime Cheesecake with a Toasted Nut Crust (page 258) is as good a cheesecake recipe as I have ever seen. I believe the secret is that the eggs are separated. The cake is as light as a souffle when done. I have baked it three times now, and my friends cannot get enough of it. (This recipe alone makes the book worth owning.) Directions are minimal, however, so you're on your own. (For example, you are never told to grease the springform pan. Neither are you given any indication as to how the cake will look when done.)

What this book does provide, however, is insight into what a meal would be like at Norman's Restaurant. Also, all information about the wonderful fresh vegetables and fruit of South Florida--complete with great photographs-- makes those of us who must drive half a day to see the ocean hungry for salt air.

Awesome Spicy Fusion Cooking
There are a lot of ways to do fusion, Norman's is simply one of the best I've encountered. But be warned, a lot of work is needed to prepare the dishes. Most of his recipes require that you prepare an additional sauce or prep-kit (like his bean kit that can be used for soups or BBQ sauce), so you have to read the recipes very carefully. If you do spend the time, you will be greatly rewarded.

Norman's dishes are all generally rich and spicy. His themes are Caribbean and South American, with Asian and European (primarily French and Spanish) influences. He uses a lot of Habanero (VERY hot), red onion, assorted tubers, and plantains, he is clearly very influenced by creole cooking (he is based in Florida afterall).

Starters: He has a great "starter" section with drinks (his delicious "Hot Lolita" is a tequila drink with honey and hot peppers) and accompanying nibblers (Norm's "Not and Nasty Nuts", peanuts baked and spiced); a great way to kick off a dinner party. His guacamole with fried plantain chips are great for picnics. He also has an eggplant with goat cheese that is simply excellent.

Soups: Very very rich, but oh so good. He has a plantain chicken soup that is to die for. Again, so rich it's good in small portions for a dinner party. He also has a gazpacho that is completely unlike any you've tasted, and a "conch" soup that he says his "patrons would riot if I took it off the menu". I believe him.

Salads and Main dishes: Tea Spiced Pan Seared Tuna and Spinach Salad has become one of my favorite quick meals (great citrus dressing). Juicy steaks (venison and traditional beef), lobster dishes, chicken (creole in nature), and others, his main dishes are a little eclectic, but generally excellent.

You'll also find side dishes (lots of peruvian potato and boniate sides), sauces, and prep kits in the back which I've enjoyed. I made BBQ oysters with his BBQ sauce and they we're superb. He has desserts, bit I personally haven't gone there yet...

If you are into the effort (for intermediate to advanced cooks) and like or want to get into (spicy) fusion then you should buy this book. I've given it away to two friends and will likely continue to buy it for others.