Boston Chef's Table

Clara Silverstein is a former food writer at the Boston Herald who edited the Here's How column for readers to request recipes from their favorite New England restaurants. The Boston Chef's Table grew out of her interest in working with local chefs. She is a founding member of the Ladies Who Lunch networking and social group for Boston food writers. She has contributed articles to Runner's World, the Boston Globe, and The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America and is the co-author, with chef Marjorie Druker, of the forthcoming New England Soup Factory Cookbook (Rutledge Hill Press). She is Program Director of the Writers' Center at Chautauqua in western New York. She lives near Boston with her husband and two children.

Introduction - lays out Boston's culinary history and current landscape, and thensegues right into the recipes! Chapter 1 - is all about appetizers--from eggplant caviar to fried oysters. Chapter 2 - covers soups, including many that use Boston staples in new ways, such as butternut-pumpkin soup and lobster gazpacho. Chapter 3 - Salads that range from Tamarind Bay's chickpea salad with Indian spices to Chez Henri's elegant spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. Chapter 4 - Pastas that reflect Boston's rich North End Italian heritage. Chapter 5 - moves into entree territory, covering seafood, poultry, meat, and vegetarian options. Sweet Basil's polenta and mushroom ragout, Skipjacks' gingered sea bass, and Todd English's take on the traditional lobster roll are among the more than 30 entrees featured here. Chapter 6 - features side dishes, including sweet potato spoonbread and the Union Oyster House's baked beans.Chapter 7 - devoted to desserts such as Prose's maple custard, Maria Merola's Italian cheesecake, and the classic Boston Cream Pie as prepared by the Omni Parker House, where it was created in the 1850s. Chapter 8 - Finally, in a category all its own, comes Brunch, with recipes from some of Boston's most venerable hotels, including the Boston ParkPlaza and the Seaport Hotel.