Norman Van Aken S Cooking In The New World

200 make-at-home masterpiece dishes from the virtuoso of new world cuisine, Norman Van Aken.

No Experience Necessary is Chef Norman Van Aken’s joyride of a memoir. In it he spans twenty-plus years and nearly as many jobs—including the fateful job advertisement in the local paper for a short-order cook with “no experience necessary.” Long considered a culinary renegade and a pioneering chef, Van Aken is an American original who chopped and charred, sweated and seared his way to cooking stardom with no formal training, but with extra helpings of energy, creativity, and faith. After landing on the deceptively breezy shores of Key West, Van Aken faced hurricanes, economic downturns, and mercurial moneymen during the decades when a restaurant could open and close faster than you can type haute cuisine. From a graveyard shift grunt at an all-night barbeque joint to a James Beard–award finalist for best restaurant in America, Van Aken put his trusting heart, poetic soul, natural talent, and ever-expanding experience into every venture—and helped transform the American culinary landscape along the way. In the irreverent tradition of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential,and populated by a rogues’ gallery of colorful characters—including movie stars, legendary musicians, and culinary giants Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, and Charlie Trotter—No Experience Necessary offers a uniquely personal, highly-entertaining under-the-tablecloth view of the high-stakes world of American cuisine told with wit, insight, and great affection by a natural storyteller.

Award-winning chef Norman Van Aken has been cooking in Florida for 40 years. My Key West Kitchen is his love letter to Key West, where he first found the passion to cook, and where the unique cultural makeup of the island influenced his cuisine today. Follow Chef Van Aken as he strolls through Key West, reminiscing and re-creating dishes from "little joints" and restaurants both past and present. Norman includes recipes for his own take of the first foods and drinks he experienced in Key West and how they seemed "different than ordinary American fare," from the Sunday Fish Fry at Capt. Tony's to the Rib Sandwich and Dark & Stormy from the Bahama Village Elk's Club. Norman also focuses on the home cooking of Key West, whether it's "Yard Bird" Fricasse with Collard Greens and Pot Likker from the Tropical American South, Plaintain Soup from the Spanish Caribbean, or Nassau Grouper in Banana Leaves with Coconut "Run Down" from the British Caribbean. The colorful stories behind the recipes make My Key West Kitchen essential reading both in and out of the kitchen.

What do we turn to for both everyday sustenance and seasonal celebration? Food. Often, though, we're like the hungry ghosts of Taoist lore, eating mindlessly, wandering aimlessly, and wanting more - more than food itself can provide. Ellen Kanner believes that if we put in a little thought and preparation, every meal can feed not only our bodies but our souls and our communities as well. Warm, wicked, and one-of-a-kind, Ellen offers an irreverent approach to bringing reverenceinto daily living - and eating. She presents global vegan recipes that call you to the table, stories that make you stand up and cheer, and gentle nudges that aim to serve up what we're hungry for: a more vital self, more loving and meaningful connections, a nourished and nourishing world, and great food, too. 'Feeding the Hungry Ghost' will challenge you to decide: keep reading or start cooking?

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.

In New World Kitchen, Norman Van Aken explores the rich influence of Latin American cuisine on the American palate. From the African-influenced Creole cuisines of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica to South American flavors from Brazil, Peru, and Argentina to the distinct tastes of Mexico, Van Aken works his particular magic on this luscious cornucopia and emerges with a wealth of brilliant recipes, such as the exquisite Masa-Crusted Chicken with Piquillo Peppers, Avocado Butter, and Greens in Grapefruit-Honey Vinaigrette. Well known in the culinary world for his passion and genius, Norman Van Aken has earned a reputation for innovation and artistry. Armed with his signature recipes, employing a cast of rich ingredients in inventive combinations, anyone can masterfully harness the fire-and flare of Latin American cuisine. With a preface by Anthony Bourdain, author of the bestselling Kitchen Confidential, and enticing color photo graphs by Tim Turner, winner of the James Beard Foundation's award for food photography, New World Kitchen is a lush, beautiful book that new worlds of flavor.

Chef and restaurateur Charlie Trotter shares seventy-two of his favorite recipes; including salmon roulade, scallop ceviche, spicy tuna tartare, rabbit rillette, squab salad, and crispy quinoa pudding. Includes photographs.