Manti is something I wanted to try when I reviewed Turkish cookbook Anatolia, there's something about the act of making little dumplings that I find soothing, so I felt it time to give them a go. The food is a fusion of classic American with a variety of influences from other cultures.

The side notes are sometimes helpful, sometimes overly pedantic for the home cook, sometimes funny and often utterly useless, like a specific note about not using a particular wonky table in the restaurant. Gabrielle writes with so much personality, though, that even these asides captivate. The pages are covered in a patina of fake food spills and faux-handwritten notes, important printed text is underlined and other ingredients are added in by hand, I guess to give the impression you've been given some sort of master book the restaurant actually uses. The recipes are very precise with detailed instructions and tips on what not to do. It's unlike any other cookbook I've ever read. Instead, Prune l aunches straight into a compendium of r ecipes that reads like an official guide to running the eponymous New York restaurant. After putting the book down, in theory you'd be able to walk into Gabrielle Hamilton's kitchen and run a service, tidy the walk-in cooler to her strict standards, organise leftovers and cook a hearty staff meal. I have no idea who Gabrielle Hamilton is, and this book has no time for my ignorance. On the front cover a sticker informs that this is a cookbook by the author of Blood, Bones & Butter, a New York Times bestseller that has somehow fallen off my radar. Prune begins with no 'about' section, no foreword, no list of kitchen items to buy or rundown of basic techniques. Read the original recipe from Prune here.

Gabrielle hamilton memoir