New World Kitchen: Latin American and Caribbean Cuisine

by Norman Van Aken

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.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

[liked by Charlie Trotter]
[liked by Mario Batali]

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Caribbean Cuisine 19 recipes
Latin Cuisine 19 recipes
Cuba 19 recipes
Mexico 18 recipes
Peru 14 recipes
Brazil 12 recipes
Colombia 9 recipes
Venezuela 8 recipes
Nicaragua 5 recipes
Argentina 4 recipes
Chile 4 recipes
Jamaica 4 recipes
Puerto Rico 4 recipes
Trinidad 4 recipes
Ecuador 2 recipes
Guatemala 2 recipes
El Salvador 2 recipes

[Yaaresse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The category of books where the GR rating system fails me the most is cookbooks.

For fiction, I rate based heavily on sheer enjoyment. For non-fiction, the deciding factors are whether I learned anything or if the book made me think/argue/converse with someone about the topic. For cookbooks, I find myself getting pragmatic, sometimes harshly so very pragmatic. No matter how much the foodie and cookbook junkie in me salivates (sometimes literally) over a cookbook, it really comes down to two questions:
Do I understand a region's foods or culture more than I did before reading it?
Once I finish reading it, will I ever make anything from it again?

The answer to the first question is easy. Yes, I learned quite a bit about the flavors and ingredients of South American and Caribbean regional cooking. Van Aken is known more for his fusion and modern take on those regions than for tradition, but he did include a wealth of information on the roots of his inspirations. Should I ever find myself with the opportunity to eat at a Caribbean or Peruvian cafe, I'll know what I'm getting into.

The answer to the second question is a solid "no." While there are a lot of intriguing and delicious-looking recipes in this book, I just don't see myself cooking from it much. Many of the recipes use ingredients that I cannot easily access at reasonable cost (if at all). I don't mind experimenting with unusual ingredients, and I'm not afraid of long prep times, but I'm not going to break the budget for one meal or spend hours hunting down ingredients.

Van Aken tosses out a few phrases that always send up flags for me:
1. "Ask your butcher to (insert special request)." Right. Can't remember the last time I was in a grocery that had a real butcher, much less one who knew how to do specialized cuts.
2. "Stop by the fishmonger on your way home..." Yeah, that works if you live in Miami or San Francisco, maybe Houston or Savannah. A quick search shows the closest fish market to my medium-sized town is an hour away. Based n the pricing I see in the Yelp photos of their seafood case, I'll need to go an hour in the other direction to buy lottery tickets first.
3. "With the convenience of overnight shipping...." Uh huh. We don't all have expense accounts, and $60-100 to overnight ingredients for a meal is not in most people's budget. Get real. It does little good to pick the brains of Paula Wolfert, Alice Waters and whoever else he asked for their favorite sources of exotic ingredients because those people a) get to write off ridiculously exorbitant shipping charges as part of their jobs, and b) tend to live in places like San Francisco, London, NYC, etc. where you can hit a half dozen specialty markets with a rock from your front door.

Sure, he tries to play the "I'm just from a tiny little town in Illinois," but that tiny little town is only half an hour from Chicago. And he's lived in Miami for so long he clearly has no clue what's available in even medium-sized town groceries. Butcher? Fishmonger? Hahahahahaha.

If you live in a major city with excellent international markets and have access to fresh, high quality seafood at reasonable prices, this cookbook has a lot of potential for use. For me, it was a good academic introduction to Caribbean and South America cooking, but not a very practical one.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

everything i've ever made from this cookbook was AMAZING!!! fun to make fun to eat.
the recipes are involved though, like all day or several day activities but i enjoy that. and there's an intro by anthony bourdain.

[Chaya Gladstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a bad cookbook. there are many great recipes