From Publishers Weekly
Half seafood cookbook and half family history, this volume's greatest strength is in the recipes for over 70 dishes that define New England summers-corn on the cob, salt-crusted shrimp, and lots of lobster-reproduced here in honor of Charles's family's summertime trips to Maine. Charles, owner and head chef of the widely hailed Pearl Oyster Bar in Manhattan, offers her hard-drinking, quick-learning adventures in the restaurant business in the memoir portion of the book, and though they will be nothing new to Kitchen Confidential fans, they make for a piquant prelude to her recipes. The book gets a little bogged down, however, in the chapters that detail early family trips to Maine. Although Charles's desire to tell her family's story is heartfelt, she often leaves out important details, such as dates and introductions to the characters, that would make the narrative easier to follow. The story alternates from intriguing family explorations (how did the author's family locate the one hotel in the Kennebunk region of Maine that accepted Jews in the 1920's?) to textbook historical notes that don't quite mesh with the personal tone. Readers will wonder, too, about such asides as when she mentions her one-time estrangement from both parents ("I discovered my father's death in the late 1980s quite by accident"). Still, when the focus is on the food that Charles loves, the book is an accessible and authoritative guide to seafood preparation, as Charles offers not only divine recipes, from Pearl Oyster Bar Cocktail Sauce to Blueberry Crumble Pie, but tips on selecting (never buy wet scallops), cleaning (leverage is the key to shucking oysters) and preparing (don't marinate fish much more than 30 minutes) all types of seafood. B&w and color photos. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Los Angeles Times
"A book bound to leave readers feeling that summer just can’t come soon enough."
Michele Hatty, USA Weekend
"Intrigued by her past...Charles delved into her family history. The result is the deliciously entertaining Lobster Rolls & Blueberry Pie."
O, The Oprah Magazine
"Will remind you of the best summers you ever had."
Beverly Sills
"I remember Rebecca’s grandmother Pearle...made the best shortbread cookies, and Rebecca’s book is just as delicious as those cookies!"
USA Weekend
"Deliciously entertaining. A novel with recipes."
Daily News
"A charming memoir of summers spent on the coast of Maine."
San Francisco Examiner
"Personal and evocative."
Baltimore Sun
"A homespun travelogue that’s breezy, practical and likely to charm even armchair gourmands not partial to the beach."
Boston Globe
"A satisfying mix of memoir and cookbook."
Portland Phoenix
"A charming, well written account of three generations of women and their summer adventures in Kennebunkport."
Book Description
Escape to the Maine seashore, an exquisite summer sanctuary where vacations stretch out forever during long, golden days and food is the stuff from which memories are made.
The summers that acclaimed chef Rebecca Charles and her family spent swimming in the Atlantic, scouring the beach for shells, and eating shore dinners inspired her to open the famed Greenwich Village restaurant Pearl Oyster Bar. In this heartwarming memoir, Rebecca combines more than seventy of her favorite recipes with captivating family stories.
Rebecca's adventurous granduncle Sam Goldsmith first took the family from the sweltering summer streets of Brooklyn to the exclusive seaside resort of Kennebunkport. But it was his sister-in-law Pearle Goldsmith, Pearl Oyster Bar's namesake and an opera singer with the Metropolitan and New York City operas, who fell in love with the rugged coast of Maine. Pearle passed this love on to her daughter, Eleanor, and her granddaughter, Rebecca.
Now, in Lobster Rolls and Blueberry Pie, Rebecca recounts her family's three-generation love affair with the small Yankee fishing village and shares the recipes that have New Yorkers waiting in line for hours to taste what food writer Ed Levine described as "the best lobster roll I have ever eaten."
Rebecca breathes new life into classic beach food. Whether re-creating an old-time clambake or grilling a whole pompano, she imparts the expertise that has made her one of the foremost seafood chefs in the country. She teaches the secrets of clamming, demystifies the selection and preparation of fish and shellfish, and helps you make these delicious Maine favorites in your own backyard, with recipes for her famous Pearl Oyster Bar Lobster Roll, creamy Scallop Chowder, Fried Oysters on homemade tartar sauce, succulent Lobster Pot Pie laced with sherry, and, of course, her famous Blueberry Crumble Pie.
With her mouthwatering recipes and moving family stories, Rebecca will inspire everyone to create fond summer memories of their own.
About the Author
Rebecca Charles, the owner and head chef of Pearl Oyster Bar in Greenwich Village inNew York City, began her career in Manhattan, then left for nearly a decade to cook in Maine. Awarded four stars at the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, she returned to Manhattan to work as sous chef at the Upper East Side landmark Arcadia. After serving as executive chef at several New York City restaurants, she opened Pearl Oyster Bar in 1997 to enormous critical and popular acclaim. She lives in Greenwich Village but returns to the Kennebunks each summer.
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