Sarah Leah Chase is a lifelong New Englander. She grew up in Connecticut, summered in Maine, attended colleges in Vermont and Boston, ran a business on Nantucket, and now resides with her family in Cape Cod. Her love of all food New England in every region, from the mountains to the shoreline and in every season, is the inspiration for her just released “New England Open House Cookbook.”

Chase is the author of “Nantucket Open House Cookbook,” “Cold Weather Cooking” and the “Pedaling through Burgundy and Provence” cookbooks. She collaborated on “The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook” and is recipe consultant to Ina Garten, author of the “Barefoot Contessa” cookbooks.

The following is an interview with the author about her new cookbook and the joys of New England food.

Q. You say in the book’s introduction that you selected a favorite area in each of the six New England states to anchor your recipe research and that you avoided cities like Boston, Providence, Portland, in lieu of rural New England home cooking. Why is that?

A. I tried to make my recipes very friendly to the home cook. I was afraid if I did too much of the urban sophistication in the cities that the recipes would be too complex and not as user-friendly and folksy as the ones I selected for the book. A perfect example: there’s been a pork belly craze across the country on high-end restaurant menus. I included a recipe in the cookbook — “Stowe Mountain Lodge Pork Belly” that’s simple, delicious, and can easily be prepared at home. It has a certain amount of polish, but is still a down-home (dish).

Q. This book is a huge undertaking — 300 recipes! What are the overarching themes about the recipes you selected versus what you left out?

A. I tend to tell my life story through recipes. My mother is the person who writes notes in a diary of the day’s happenings when she goes to bed. I don’t do that, but realized, basically, I was telling snippets of my story of growing up (in the recipe intros). The other theme was just kind of a nostalgic retrospective through nearly six decades of living in New England.

Q. What are some of your most important principles or feelings about cooking?

A. I feel in this day and age, when there’s so much convenience and fast food, you should introduce real ingredients. I’m not into sugar or butter substitutes. Your efforts should be rewarded with good food. I also think you shouldn’t be too much of a perfectionist. The way you chop a vegetable is the same as how you print your signature. And, to take the time to cook for your true friends and family.

My son, who’s a teenager, would like to spend the minimal amount of time at the table. But we make a point of sitting down at the table for meals and it’s part of our evening and day’s process. (I think about) ‘What are we going to have for dinner?’ I’m not someone who goes to BJ’s and stocks up. It’s not necessarily fussy — it could be roast chicken or grilled salmon. But it’s the European way of getting fresh food every day.

Q. What do you have in common with Ina Garten that made the two of you click as soon as you met?

A. We like the same kind of food. We don’t apologize for using butter or cream but love the freshness of bountiful salads. I think there are similarities in the types of food people enjoy in those coastal areas. (In the late 1980s) she was in East Hampton, New York, running the Barefoot Contessa (specialty food store) and I was in Nantucket, running my Que Sera Sarah (specialty food store) when we met and we’ve been friends ever since.

Q. The million-dollar question: what are your feelings about the lobster roll — it’s such a New England icon — hot or cold? You have recipes for both in the cookbook. It’s interesting how regionalized the two versions have become.

A. In the summertime, I’m definitely a fan of the cold lobster roll — like the one on the front of the cookbook. Having spent a lot more time in Maine, my palate is somewhat more (accustomed) to the cold lobster roll. It’s so delicious when you make it at home — the juxtaposition of the buttered hot roll against the cold salad. Particularly in fall or winter, there’s nothing like having that hot, buttery lobster roll. I find lobster rolls are great if you have summer guests and everyone wants lobster. It’s so much easier than cooking the whole lobster dinner.

“New England Open House Cookbook” by Sarah Leah Chase (Workman Publishing) is $24.95.

SUMMER’S BEST TOMATOES WITH BURRATA AND BASIL

— By Sarah Leah Chase, from “New England Open House Cookbook”

I have been making this simple but sensational tomato salad for years, but only recently have I been able to take it to the next and ultimate level by replacing the more customary fresh mozzarella with its far richer and irresistibly creamy and oozy cousin, burrata.

Years ago, I was scolded by an Italian woman for putting balsamic vinegar on my sliced tomato salads and told in no uncertain terms that Italians use only olive oil. I am not sure if this is 100 percent true but I have never used any vinegar since on my Caprese-style sliced tomato salads and believe they are all the more perfect for this admonishment.

Don’t even think of making this salad unless you have the very best ingredients on hand. Your tomatoes need not be heirlooms but they must be the lushest, local vine-ripened tomatoes you can get your hands on.

Serves 4 to 6

3 very large vine-ripened summer tomatoes, heirloom, beefsteak, or any combination of favorites

Small handful of vine-ripened cherry and/or pear tomatoes (optional)

4 to 6 tablespoons best-quality extra virgin olive oil, possibly a bit more

Fleur de sel or other crunchy sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 large fresh basil leaves, thinly slivered, plus basil leaves or sprigs for garnish

8 to 12 ounces burrata cheese

Core tomatoes and cut them crosswise into slices 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Arrange slices in an overlapping pattern on a large platter. If you are using cherry and/or pear tomatoes (I almost always have them growing on my deck), cut them lengthwise in half and scatter them, cut sides facing down, over the larger sliced tomatoes. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of the olive oil evenly over tomatoes.

Season the tomatoes generously with fleur de sel and pepper, and sprinkle the slivered basil leaves over the top. Break the burrata into small, oozy, bite-size blobs and arrange these evenly over and in between the tomatoes. Drizzle at least 2 more tablespoons of olive oil over entire salad, adding even more if deemed necessary or you are simply in the mood.

Garnish the tomato platter in an artistically pleasing fashion with whole basil leaves or small top sprigs and blossoms. The salad can be served at once, but I usually let it stand for 15 to 30 minutes before serving. If there are any leftover tomatoes, I cover them, leave them overnight at room temperature, and tuck them into a BLT, or other sandwich the following day.

IF YOU GO

What: Talk and booksigning with Sarah Leah Chase; the event is free, but seating is limited.

When: Wednesday, July 15, at 7 p.m.

Where: R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Rd., Madison.

Details: Register online at www.rjjulia.com or call (203) 245-3959.