New England Open-House Cookbook

April 20, 2015
Nantucket-based cookbook author and food columnist Chase (Nantucket Open-House Cookbook) once again puts New England fare on the front burner with this 300-recipe collection inspired by fellow chefs, friends, and family members. Recipes reflect the seasons of New England, featuring a wealth of regional products and lauding Chase’s favorite eateries. Native fare includes plenty of dishes featuring maple, blueberries, and pumpkin, as well as farmstand and coastal seafood favorites. The book’s sections include appetizers, chicken, and baked goods. An entire chapter is dedicated to lobster, and there’s an abundance of classic chowders, soups, and stews. For a little bivalve bliss, there are Sal’s stuffed quahogs and mussels with fennel and tomatoes. A chapter on meat mains includes broiled lamb shoulder chops with cranberry and a peperonata. Maple and pear muffins with a walnut streusel, and a Vermont breakfast puff of bacon and cheddar, welcome the New England morning. Chock-full of eloquent essays and across-the-fence anecdotes, these uncomplicated recipes are rugged regional classics with original accents designed to deliver home-cooked comfort.

April 15, 2015

Targeting New Englanders and hospitable home cooks, former specialty food shop owner Chase (Nantucket Open-House Cookbook) shares 300 recipes for elegant coastal fare. There are appetizers, from refrigerator dilly beans to hot crabmeat dip, and plenty of chowders, stews, salads, and desserts. Chase devotes entire chapters to bivalves, lobster, picnic foods, and breakfasts, and she prefaces recipes such as Rhode Island-style clams casino and lobster mac and cheese with personal anecdotes and stories about New England destinations and residents. VERDICT Chase's recipes are delicious (she's a recipe consultant to Food Network star Ina Garten), but her new cookbook is maddeningly hard to work from. Recipes are crammed into a text-heavy, space-saving layout and grouped into confusingly titled chapters such as "harbingers" (appetizers) and "attitude adjusters" (drinks). Recommended only for regional collections.

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