Harrietts Tomato

Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant

Alone In the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone--edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler.

Some favorite food writers and authors contribute to this gentle, entertaining study of food relationships.   Set for release this Thursday July 19, the collection of shorts is overall more observant in tone than sentimental.   Many of the pieces read like road trips, where eventually the protagonist ends up at this "place"--unaccompanied and pondering what to eat--and finding Discovery within.

Laurie Colwin writes the first and title story, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, and she's funny--always a good thing.   Last in the book, her daughter Rosa Jurjevics gives an entirely different and charming point of view in Food Nomad.  In between, we enjoy the brief and satisfying company of M.F.K. Fisher, Jonathan Ames, Anne Patchett, Paula Wolfert and many others. 

Yet the one that has proven unforgettable is Instant Noodles by Rattawut Lapcharoensap.  The immigrant experience and rising above circumstance while developing one's soul and humanity ...powerful themes, beautifully unraveled through the filter of food.

Each has been kept to a brief jolt of ten or so pages,  a perfect fit for the F train jaunt from Brooklyn to Rockefeller Center, while standing. 

Don't Try This At Home: Gabrielle Hamilton

Once again, we have managed to make precious, albeit momentary contact with a World Famous Chef.  And They don't get much cooler than Gabrielle Hamilton, owner-chef of Prune, one of Ms. Tomato's very favorite New York eateries.  (Trust us, we have her autograph.  But once we saw it up in lights we had bad dreams about identity theft.)

Hamilton has told the press that Prune was her nickname when she was younger, which is of course very cute. Even cuter are her handmade mojitos and platters of falling-apart roast suckling pig with a side of baby beets in butter.   Prune is tiny and full of humans at all times, but so worthy of the wait your attentions will move straight past the din and directly to the plate in front of you.

On a gossipy note, this chef is sexy without being coy, amiable while still giving off a healthy dose of attitude, has cool hair and, if memory serves us correctly, has a tattoo on her arm in the same place Ms. Tomato does.  Isn't that weird?  Can't you just see her clutching a ripe tomato to her bosom too?

She comes from a food family -- her father, Jim Hamilton, is a restaurateur, and her sister Melissa used to be in charge of the test kitchen at Saveur magazine.  Apparently when they were kids, dad would invite loads of people over for dinner and roast an entire animal in the backyard...and that was just for fun, before he got into the business.

Hamilton is also a good writer.  Her story here, called "The Blind Line Cook" involves the process of hiring a new chef...and one intrepid interviewee who happened to have serious eyesight issues, which became clear during his tryout day in her kitchen. 

We've heard through the grapevine that she just sold her first full-length book, a work of prose, and is expecting her 2nd child, on top of running a busy New York eatery. We are mystified at how this works...what about sleep?

Here is a sample of what you can expect on Prune's menu: shaved artichoke and celery salad with parmesan, lemon & olive oil; pasta kerchief with poached egg, French ham and brown butter; roast chicken with green salsa; fresh soft ricotta with dried figs, raspberries, toasted pinenuts and honey.  'Nuff said.

Prune is at 54 E. 1st Street, just behind Houston St. in view of the Sunshine Movie Theater through the trees. You must make a reservation -- 212.677.6221.

Last year "Don't Try This At Home" was released, a collection of short stories of Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs.  In a shameless ploy to meet some of the Worlds Greatest Chefs, Ms. Tomato has come up with a cunning plan to have each story autographed by its writer.  Thus far, she has collected a few prime signatures, and is awaiting her first FedEx bill before moving on.

Don't Try This At Home: Anthony Bourdain

Last year "Don't Try This At Home" was released, a collection of short stories of Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs.  Ms. Tomato has NOT been hired as a promoter of this book or anyone in it, let us clarify that immediately.  However, in a shameless ploy to meet some of the Worlds Greatest Chefs, she has come up with a cunning plan to have each story autographed by its writer.  Thus far, she has collected a few prime signatures, and is awaiting her first FedEx bill before moving on.

Anthony Bourdain writes a funny, clever story as always about New Year's Eve parties gone awry.  The reason we are so fond of Mr. B here at the Tomato Estate, besides his adorability quotient, is his truthful, irreverent portrayal of  kitchen culture which has somehow been romanticized by the myriads of would-be chefs  slapping down $40,000 or so for an education at pastoral campuses that in no way mimic the life of a kitchen hack, which is undoubtedly how they will begin their careers.

We wonder if anyone has mentioned that, before they hit it big on the Food Television Network,  they will spend hard time chopping onions, sweeping floors and getting paid $8 per hour.  They will, however, make enough money to live on since their workday will be  approximately 26 hours long.  During the first 7500 hours of work, they can expect an average of 3 thank-yous from gruff superiors.  Romantic?  Sure, if you like spending all that time in a hot galley with swearing, sweating  "pirates" as Mr. B has called them, and like to play tic-tac-toe on the burn marks you'll accumulate on your forearms.

And now Hollywood is getting on the bandwagon, sprucing up romantic comedies with chefs and caterers who seem to have endless hours for sex in the dry pantry, and are mysteriously at home during dinner hour laying out a candlelit meal.  Why, even Samantha, er...the actress who played Samantha on Sex in the City is dating a Cute Canadian Chef.  Hmmm...maybe we spoke too rashly about that culinary education, perhaps it pays off in other ways.

Anyway, we are pleased to present the autograph of Anthony Bourdain above, who we really DID meet in person, and recommend this book as pretty fun reading.  A second edition is planned by the editors who have invited several European chefs to contribute, so we'd better get on the bandwagon here...only 37 to go on this side of the pond before we take on another continent. 

More autographs to come.