Stephanie Stewart-Howard is a bit of a renaissance woman. Well, she'd probably bristle at that description because one of her particular interests is living history in the periods before the Renaissance, and she's an active participant in groups that study and re-create aspects of society of the Middle Ages.
More to the point, Stephanie is known around town as an artist, actor, costume designer and food writer. A former editor of Nashville Lifestyles magazine, she developed relationships with many chefs around town, and those friendships have paid off well in her new book project Nashville's Chef's Table.
This restaurant guidebook/cookbook was published by Lyons Press of Globe-Pequot last year and is an excellent reference for Nashville diners looking for recipes from more than 50 local chefs and restaurants. Filled with gorgeous food and locale photography by Ron Manville, this book would be a great coffee table addition if the format was just a bit bigger. As it is, the book deserves to get a little flour on it from your kitchen counter as you cook your way through recipes like the incredible Tomato Basil Pie from Arnold's Country Kitchen, Biscuit Love's Princess Biscuit, Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Spiced Parmesan Cream from F. Scott's and the legendary Beets & Heat Salad from Sunset Grill.
International cuisine is also well-represented to make this an all-purpose cookbook that could provide a meal a week for an entire year. I'm looking forward to trying to re-create the vegetable korma from Swagruha sometime soon.
Stewart-Howard spreads the love among all levels of cuisine, with pitmasters appearing right next to white-tablecloth James Beard nominees. Her profiles of the chefs and restaurants are personal and revealing, and she also gives shout outs to some of the markets and farmers who provide the ingredients for these amazing dishes. There's even a cocktail recipe or two if you want to accompany your meal with something with a little kick to it.
Nashville's Chef's Table is available on Amazon or at bookstores around town.
