Chefs of Aloha: Favorite Recipes from the Top Chefs of Hawai'i

I have enjoyed trying many of the recipes. The only problem, I have with the nook is the preparation directions are not clear

Super! They got me my book quickly, and it was in beautiful shape -- especially since it was only $.36! LOL

This is one of my favorite Hawaiian cookbooks--authentic Asian and Hawaiian cuisine, with easy preparation.

I did not find all the recipes in this book difficult to follow, and I have made a number of them. I don't consider complexity to be a valid criticism. After all, we're talking about A-list Hawaiian chefs here, not Rachel Ray. But these recipes do assume a fairly high level of knowledge on the part of the reader. For example, the "Lemongrass Coconut Cream" recipe has as one of the ingredients "1 cup thick bechamel sauce". I hope you know how to make that, because the cookbook doesn't say. Similarly, some recipes call for demi-glace without further explanation.The editing of this book was sloppy and could have been better, and it would have avoided some rather ridiculous snafus like the "Rotisserie Island Chicken" that has "Huli-Huli Sauce" as an ingredient. Not so helpfully, the recipe is immediately followed by something called "Huli-Huli Style Sauce", one of the ingredients of which is 1/2 cup of Huli-Huli sauce! I'm still wondering what the hell Huli-Huli sauce is.My number one criticism of this book is that many chefs include unusual, local-to-Hawaii, and hard-to-find ingredients in the recipes. Even those of us who live in an area with many Asian markets may have a hard time finding some of the ingredients like sambal olek, or ogo seaweed. It would have been good if the chefs would give the reader who does not have a lot of experience with this particular style of cuisine just what it is about these ingredients that make them special, and what one might substitute when the preferred ingredients are unavailable.I do give this book 4 stars, because many of the preparations are indeed delicious.

I purchased this book during my honeymoon in Kauai. I'm a chef and enjoyed learning about Polynesian cuisine while in Hawaii, I bought this book because after skimming through several, this seemed like the best one. I wasn't disappointed.The chefs who wrote these recipes are award winning and the recipes work. Other reviewers said they find the recipes hard to follow, that is not the chefs faults. That's like blaming scientists because you don't understand a science text book. Recipes are written a certain way and are meant to be read a certain way. The recipes in this book assume the reader knows how to read them. They are superbly written and well tested in Hawaii's best kitchens, unlike what you find in most cook books. These recipes are served at the best restaurants and hotels on the islands.Here is my version of the cover recipe that I made just tonight: [...]Summary: If you love to cook, have a little know how, and want a book with some really stellar recipes, this is the one for you. If you are just a passive home cook, or maybe are not used to recipes written by chefs, this may not be the best choice.

Incredible cookbook. Great and easy transaction

I got this as a gift from someone who visited Hawaii. I was looking forward to cooking from it, but I don't eat seafood, and most of the recipes are seafood based. The book is very pretty, but the index leaves much to be desired. It simply restates the table of contents recipe titles, so it's not helpful if you are trying to find dishes based on certain ingredients.Some of the ingredients are obscure or really oddly specific, like 'Sweet 100s Tomatoes' instead of 'cherry tomatoes' or 'Hawaiian Chocolate' instead of 'chocolate'.

I've been an avid home chef for years, and the recipes seem complicated to me.