Meet the chef

Judy Allen

Over the past few years BookSmart Tulsa has sponsored many wonderful food-related events in Tulsa, including talks from Julie Powell, Amanda Hesser, The Pioneer Woman, Joanne Chang, and many more. But, this may be the best one yet. James Beard Award-winning chef Gabrielle Hamilton, owner of the popular NYC restaurant Prune, will visit Tulsa to talk about her bestselling memoir, "Blood, Bones, & Butter."

Hamilton is the owner of Prune restaurant in New York City, which she opened in the East Village in October of 1999. She has been nominated for the Best Chef in NYC award by the James Beard Foundation in 2009 and 2010, and finally won the category in 2011. Besides years of toiling in various kitchens, she also received an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and Food & Wine. Hamilton has also authored the "8-week Chef" column in The New York Times, and her work has been anthologized in six volumes of Best Food Writing.

I had been living in New York for just over a year when Prune opened. The tiny East Village restaurant was big on personality – who else in the big city is brave enough to put sardines and Triscuits on her menu? The menu has always been mouth-watering, yet well edited – chicken in vinegar sauce, pasta handkerchiefs and roasted marrow bones are just a few of the dishes I haven’t been able to get out of my mind.

According to Hamilton’s website, “'Blood, Bones and Butter' follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabited through the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; the soulless catering factories that helped pay the rent; Hamilton’s own kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected challenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton’s idyllic past and her own future family—the result of a difficult and prickly marriage that nonetheless yields rich and lasting dividends.” In a nutshell, an astonishing look into the life of one of the country’s best chef’s, and literary minds.

Hamilton is by all means a chef’s chef, and the accolades have been flowing from even the most well known food personalities. Some examples:

"Magnificent. Simply the best memoir by a chef ever. Ever." — Anthony Bourdain
"I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this." — Mario Batali
"Gabrielle Hamilton approaches storytelling the same way she does cooking—with thoughtful creativity that delights the senses." — Daniel Boulud

For more information, visit www.booksmarttulsa.com and www.cfbeo.org.

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, 1304 N. Kenosha Ave., (918) 585-2800
WHAT ELSE: The event is free!

If you can’t make it to the event, make a little “Prune” happen in your kitchen! I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite dish off of Gabrielle Hamilton’s quirky menu, but I savored this pasta dish on many an occasion at Hamilton’s restaurant, Prune, in New York City.

Pasta Sheets with Poached Egg and Ham

Serves 4 to 6

The first time I had this “lazy ravioli” – meaning the filling is on top of the pasta, rather than stuffed – at Prune in New York City, I knew I had to learn how to make it. This may sound like an odd combination, but trust me…the result is truly divine.

½ recipe Basic Pasta Dough (or store-bought pasta sheets)
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ pound sliced smoked cured jambon de Bayonne or other smoked, cured ham, cut into strips
2 cups loosely packed arugula, roughly chopped
4 to 6 large eggs, poached and set aside in warm water
¼ cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Good quality balsamic vinegar
¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

1. Following manufacturer’s instructions, roll the pasta dough to the thinnest setting on a pasta machine. Cut the pasta sheets into 4- to 5-inch squares. Place squares on a sheet tray dusted with semolina flour and cover with clean towels until ready to cook.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Turn on the oven to its lowest setting and warm 4 to 6 pasta bowls. Place butter in a small saucepan and cook, over medium heat, until it browns and has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and stir in ham and arugula, stirring to wilt greens; set aside and keep warm.

3. Cook pasta until tender yet al dente, 3 to 4 minutes. Using tongs, divide the pasta sheets among the warmed pasta bowls. Top each serving with a poached egg, followed by the ham and arugula butter. Serve, garnished with Parmesan, pepper, a drizzle of vinegar and a sprinkling of pine nuts.