By Charles Dubow

As those of us who are fortunate to live in, using the words of Erika DaSilva, “the magical corner along the border of New York and Connecticut” know, we are blessed with great natural beauty, excellent local farms, and world-class restaurants. To celebrate this trinity, DaSilva, who along with her husband Minh Le, runs The Lantern Inn in Wassaic, NY, put together a cookbook using recipes from many of the region’s best chefs. The result is The Corner Table.

“I started reaching out to our local community of makers and was surprised by how many chefs knew of each other but hadn’t actually met,” says DaSilva. “It was a way to bring this community together.” Among the many chefs represented are Robert Arbor of Le Gamin, Christian Hunter of Community Table and Gabe McMackin of Troutbeck. (DaSilva plans on doing a second edition that will include even more chefs.)

DaSilva moved to the area five years ago after working in New York at such restaurants as Otto and Ssam Bar. She was inspired to create The Corner Table by small indie publishers, such as Cherry Bombe and Kitchen Table, and wanted to emulate their pure, ad-free aesthetic. “You can find so many recipes online but I wanted to do something tactile, something you could put on the shelf and share with friends. When you go back to one of these recipes you could see the smudges you made previously and remember a time when you made a meal with people you love.”