Norman Van Aken's Florida Kitchen

by Norman Van Aken

Overview

Gourmand International World Cookbook Awards, Selected to Represent the USA in the Local Category Florida Book Awards, Gold Medal for Cooking

Award-winning chef and restaurateur Norman Van Aken invites you to discover the richness of Florida's culinary landscape. This long-awaited cookbook embraces the history, the character, and the flavors of the state that has inspired Van Aken’s famous fusion style for over forty years. Drawing from Florida's vibrant array of immigrant cultures, and incorporating local ingredients, the dishes in this book display the exciting diversity of Van Aken’s "New World Cuisine."

Recipes include Key lime beignets; cornbread-stuffed quail with strawberry-ancho-guava jam and sweet and sour parsnips; "Spanglish" tortillas with hash browns, creamed spinach, and serrano ham; pork stew with raisins, tamarind, plantains, and chiles; and fully loaded cracked conch po' boys.

While preparing these dishes, readers will enjoy advice and stories straight from the kitchen of a master chef. Van Aken infuses his recipes with tips, techniques, and personality. He reveals the key to a good gumbo, praises the acidity of a pickled peppadew, connects food innovation to jazz and blues music, describes hitchhiking adventures across the state with his wife, Janet, and tells the tale behind the Mustachioed Swimmer, a cocktail named for Tennessee Williams.

Norman Van Aken's Florida Kitchen is a delicious read—the definitive guide to the historic past and multicultural future of Florida’s abundant foodways. With its forward-thinking blend of old and new, thoughtful step-by-step instructions for wonderful meals, and plenty of friendly conversation, this book is a rare immersion in a culinary artist’s world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813054506
Publisher:	University Press of Florida
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,054,884
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Norman Van Aken is chef-owner of NORMAN’S at The Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes, Orlando, and 1921 by Norman Van Aken in Mount Dora, Florida. Additionally, he is chef-partner at Three, a fine dining restaurant, and No. 3 Social, a roof deck lounge, in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami. His cooking school, In the Kitchen with Norman Van Aken, is also in Wynwood. Van Aken is the only Floridian inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America and was a 2016 MenuMasters Hall of Fame inductee with Jacques Pépin and Wolfgang Puck. He is the author of five cookbooks, including My Key West Kitchen: Recipes and Stories with Justin Van Aken, and a memoir, No Experience Necessary: The Culinary Odyssey of Chef Norman Van Aken.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 "Got a Spoon, Got a Spoon, Got a Spoonful …": Soups and Stews 1

2 Snacks and Small Plates to Warm the Soul: Hot Starters 19

3 Turn Off the Stove: Salads, Ceviches, and Cool-Down Dishes 35

4 The Lunch and Brunch Bunch: Eggs, Sandwiches, and Daydreams 57

5 In a Fusion State of Mind: Cooking in a World of Change 83

6 Rockin' the Boats: Fish and Seafood 101

7 Barns, Wallows, Coops: Meat and Poultry 117

8 'N' Threes: Side Dishes 157

9 The Sweet Fleet Desserts 175

10 Cocktailing: Drinks 199

11 Our Root Cellar and Miss Lazy Susan Stuff: Relishes, Salsas, Sauces, and More 213

Acknowledgments 245

Index 247

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A window into Florida's foodways through time, from the heart to the palate."—Sandra Gutierrez, author of The New Southern-Latino Table

"The recipes in this book are timeless and a delicious reference to food history in America."—Jon Shook, chef and co-owner, animal

"Norman Van Aken is a visionary, a grand essayist and, after reading this book, the person you will most want to share a toast to a tangerine-mango- colored Florida sunset."—Heather McPherson, coauthor of Good Catch: Recipes and Stories Celebrating the Best of Florida’s Waters

"Touches on the influences—from as far as the Middle East to as close as Cuba—that have helped mold and shape the dishes and ingredients of Florida's cuisine. Delicious and compelling, it has become a regular 'go-to' cookbook in my kitchen."—John Currence, chef-owner, City Grocery Restaurant Group

"The big dog of Florida cooking."—Anthony Bourdain

"An excellent collection of recipes that showcase the abundance of seafood and fresh produce of Florida combined with Cuban, Caribbean, and South American influences."—Emeril Lagasse

"A lively and wonderfully usable book."—Colman Andrews, author of My Usual Table: A Life in Restaurants

"Norman Van Aken is a pioneer in Miami for creating modern cuisine inspired by Latin American and Florida flavors. Norman Van Aken's Florida Kitchen embodies this creativity and excitement and pays homage to the melding of traditions and innovation. A new essential!"—Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner, Le Bernardin

"Norman Van Aken is single-handedly the greatest influencer of new American cuisine."—Vinny Dotolo, chef and co-owner, animal

"Norman elevates flavors that are the core of Florida's cuisine. He is truly gifted in the way he makes them shine."—Nina Compton, chef-owner, Compere Lapin

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Editorial Reviews

[Van Aken’s] easy-to-follow recipes unlock the secrets of . . . the power of Florida foodways.”—Creative Loafing Tampa Bay “In his love letter to Florida’s abundant seafood, tropical produce and multicultural flavors, Norman Van Aken weaves lore and stories among his recipes.”—Edible South Florida

From the Publisher