Edward Weston, Cabbage Leaf, 1931
gelatin silver print, 19.1 x 24.1 cm

As one of the great 20th century photographers, Edward Weston had an expansive 40 year career that established him as an innovative and influential master. Cabbage Leaf was constructed during a time when Weston had a number of solo exhibitions. He did a series of abstract images of shells exploring their curving lines and fluid shapes. The series prompted him to continue his investigation with a collection of vegetable still-life images, from which Cabbage Leaf heralded.

{Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Parmesan}

Yield: serves 4

500 grams brussels sprouts, trimmed & quartered
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of chili powder
freshly ground black pepper + sea salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
lemon wedge

In an oven safe dish, lay the brussels sprouts in a single layer. Chop the butter into small cubes and evenly distribute over the sprouts. Cover with a light dusting of chili powder, black pepper and sea salt and a thin carpet of Parmesan cheese.

Place in a 200C oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until the cheese has melted and the edges of the sprouts begin to brown. Remove from the oven and immediately squeeze over the fresh lemon. Serve warm.

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1 Year Ago: Claude Monet – French Toast with Garlic + Herbs

2 Years Ago: Adriaen Coorte – Pickled Asparagus

3 Years Ago: Georgia O’Keefe – Apple Crisp with Caramel Sauce

Ed Ruscha, Stains, 1973
beet juice and pulp on paper, 58 x 74cm, Private collection

The American artist Ed Ruscha is commonly associated withe the Pop Art movement of the late 1950s. The work above is from the mid-1970s when Ruscha began experimenting with a wide array of materials ranging from gunpowder to chocolate syrup. In 1969, he compiled an editioned folio titled Stains which consisted of 75 sheets of paper each bearing the smears and splatters of the different materials.

{Slow-Roasted Beets}

This dish would be excellent with a handful of nuts thrown in at the end (walnuts or almonds) and feta could be substituted for the goat cheese.

Yield: 6 servings

4 large beets
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of sea salt and ground pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried chili flakes
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
small handful of fresh parsley, torn

In a large roasting pan, add the beets, onion, olive oil, salt, ground pepper, dried oregano, thyme, chili flakes and balsamic vinegar. Toss to coat and disperse ingredients. Spread out in a single layer at the bottom of the pan and dot the top with butter. Roast at 180C for 1 hour. Drain off liquid into a small sauce pan and reserve. Return to oven for an additional 2.5 hours. Stir occasionally.

Over a medium heat, add additional balsamic vinegar and simmer until thickened, around 3 minutes. Swirl pain occasionally to keep from burning.

Drizzle over balsamic reduction. Add goat cheese and parsley and gently toss. Serve warm or room temperature.
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1 Year Ago: Claude Monet – French Toast with Garlic + Herbs

2 Years Ago: Adriaen Coorte – Pickled Asparagus

3 Years Ago: Osias Beert – Vlaai with Berry Compote

In the words of the great Julia Child from Mastering the Art of French Cooking,

“You may think that boning a fowl is an impossible feat if you have never seen it done or thought of attempting it. Although the procedure may take 45 minutes the first time because of fright, it can be accomplished in not much more than 20 on your second or third try.”

With this advice ringing in our ears, Mel and I decided to forfeit the cooking class or online courses uk in favour of a self-taught approach. In the end, there will be none the wiser should there be a few extra cuts or or pieces after deboning a bird.

Gustave Caillebotte, Display of Chickens and Game Birds, c.1882
oil on canvas, 76 x 105cm, Private collection

Gustave Caillebotte was a French artist working in Paris during the era of Impressionism. Caillebotte worked with a loose brushstroke similar to that of the Impressionists but his paintings tended to be much more realistic in nature. In the early 1880′s, when Display of Chickens and Game Birds was painted, Caillebotte completed a number of still lifes – many of which featured meat at a butcher shop. He had an interest in photography and the painting is an excellent example of the cropping techiniques he appropriated from the medium. Through this technique, Caillebotte’s subject – butchery – has been mimicked by the visual decapitation of the row of birds in the bottom left corner of the canvas.

 {Spatchcock Stuffed Chicken}

Yield: 6 servings

1 chicken
1 spatchcock (baby chicken)
1 1/2 cups stuffing
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter

Carefully debone the two birds following this tutorial. Lay the large chicken down on a cutting board and spread a layer of stuffing. Place the spatchcock on top of the layer of stuffing and form the remaining stuffing into a long log down the middle of the small bird. Carefully wrap the spatchcock around the stuffing log and then wrap the edges of the chicken around the spatchcock. Secure with baking string.

Place in a large baking tray and season the outside with salt and pepper. Cover the top of the secured roast with butter. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and slide into an oven at 180C for around 2 hours. After the 1st hour, remove the aluminum foil and return to the oven. Check with a thermometer to ensure the inner bird is cooked thoroughly. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 20 minutes prior to removing the string and slicing.

{Lemon & Parsley Stuffing}

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup butter, softened
walnuts, chopped
almonds, chopped
1/4 onion, minced
1 small bunch parsley
lemon zest
salt & pepper
garlic clove, minced

Add all of the ingredients to a suitable sized bowl. Carefully rub the butter into the other ingredients until the mixture begins to clump together like wet sand. Use as the stuffing for a bird or as the filling for a roll. The stuffing (or dressing as it is oft called) will cook with the poultry.

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1 Year Ago: Janet Tavener – Vanilla & Blueberry Frozen Fruit Mold

2 Years Ago: Florentine Ricotta, Prosciutto & Walnut Salad

3 Years Ago: Édouard Manet – Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

Paul Cézanne, Still Life with Peppermint Bottle, c.1894
oil on canvas, 65 x 81 cm, National Gallery of Art, D.C.

In Paul Cézanne‘s Still Life with Peppermint Bottle, the entire tabletop is covered in the twisting folds of the tablecloth. The bottles and fruits appear to be sitting on different levels and looking at the centre glass jug, Cézanne has carefully rendered the translucency of the glass through which the fruit, cloth and wall are all visible. The painting not only explores the material density of objects but is a study in line and form with the liner and curving lines in direct contrast. Much of his work at this time concerns the disparity between geometric forms and the rhythmic repetition of shape.

{Peppermint Mojitos with Iced Peaches}

Yield: 2 servings

1 peach, pitted and sliced into wedges
2 shots white rum
2 tablespoons sugar
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
10 fresh mint leaves
soda water

Place the peach wedges in the freezer for at least 30 minutes prior to making cocktail.

Pour in 1 shot of white rum into each glass followed by 1 tablespoon of sugar. Juice 1/2 of a lime into each glass, add 1/4 of a teaspoon of peppermint extract and 5 mint leaves and muddle.

Divide the peach wedges between each glass and top with soda water. Serve immediately.

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1 Year Ago: Feasting on Art Recipe Contest II Results

2 Years Ago: Feasting on Art Recipe Contest Results

3 Years Ago: Paul Cézanne – Cherry & Nectarine Clafoutis

Pieter Bruegel, The Harvesters, 1565
oil on wood, 118 x 160.7cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the 16th century Flemish Renaissance painter, was a master landscape artist. Within these landscapes, small narratives are depicted which are focused on the life of the working class society. The scenes are split between work and play with subjects varying from wedding dances to haymaking as pictured above in The Harvesters. This panel is one of six created to depict the seasons and represents the late summer/early autumn when peasants would reap the hay. Rather than focus on the action of the peasants, Bruegel choose to take a broad view of the landscape to portray the way in which the land is transformed through farming. Although the landscape is the heart of Bruegel’s painting, the subjects of The Corn Harvest by William Carlos Williams are the peasants in the foreground of the canvas. For further reading about Williams’ The Corn Harvest and an inspired recipe for a farmers egg sandwich with basil aioli, visit Eat This Poem.

{Grilled Corncobs with Parmesan, Lime & Paprika}

Yield: 2 servings
Inspired by a dish served at Ms.G’s in Potts Point

2 corncobs
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 of a lime
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
handful of fresh coriander leaves

Husk the corncobs and remove all of the silk. Rub them with a bit of butter and place on a grill or in a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the corncob, rotating every couple of minutes until the cob is evenly cooked. The corn will be soft and tender when done.

Remove from heat and immediately cover with a quarter cup of grated Parmesan cheese so the residual heat in the corn melts the cheese. Squeeze over the lime, dust with the hot paprika and scatter the coriander leaves. Serve immediately.
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1 Year Ago: Nicolas-Henry Jeaurat de Betry – Souffle Edged with Asparagus

2 Years Ago: Food in Art at Eva Breuer Art Dealer

Zhang Daqian (張大千), Radish and Cabbage, 1978
ink and colour on paper, 34 x 67cm, Private collection

Zhang Daqian was one of the preeminent Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Prior to the 1960′s, Daqian worked predominantly as a guohua (traditionalist) painter. He was so skilled in the traditional arts that he became an incredibly gifted forager with some of his forgeries making their way into public collections including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In 1953, Daqian met Picasso at a summit Antibes and eight years later, he begin experimenting with impressionism and expressionism in his work. Radish and Cabbage was painted later in his career, five years before his death in 1983.

{Kimchi Fried Rice (김치볶음밥) with Egg and Seaweed}

Adapted from: Orangette
Yield: Serves 4

2 rashers smokey bacon, chopped
1 cup kimchi
3 cups rice
2 tablespoons salted butter
4 eggs, fried
sprinkling of Korean salted laver (seaweed)

In a large skillet, fry the chopped bacon over medium-high heat until the fat has been rendered and it has become crispy – around 10 minutes. Add the kimchi and continue to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes. Add the rice and cook for a final 10 minutes. With 2 minutes or so left to cook the rice, stir in the butter. Remove the rice from the heat.

Divide the rice into bowls, top with a fried egg and a sprinkling of the seasoned seaweed (Korean salted laver). Add a dash of chili sauce if desired. Serve immediately.

Extra fried rice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for an additional 3-4 days.

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1 Year Ago: Théo van Rysselberghe – Plum Applesauce

2 Years Ago: Damien Hirst – Cineole Cupcakes

‘Art + Food – Beyond the Still Life’ – October 2012

This exhibition will consider the representation of food within the visual arts and beyond the standard still life tableaux. The consumption of food is a universally shared experience, enabling people viewing the exhibition to connect with the issues surrounding consumerism, food production and cultural identity.
Proposals for this show must be received by Friday 27 July, 2012.

Erwin Wurm, Selbstporträt als Essiggurkerl, (Self-Portrait as a pickle), 2008
acrylic, acrylic paint, painted wooden platforms, 36 piece installation, © VBK, Wien, 2010

Erwin Wurm’s 2008 series ‘Selbstporträt als Gurken’ features a collection of 26 realistically sculpted and painted pickles placed on white plinths. According to the media release from Jack Hanley Gallery where the works were exhibited in 2010, “On the most basic level, the individuality of the pickles…mock the concept of a singular identity and Realism’s attempt at accurate representation.” Part of Wurm’s oeuvre consists of anthropomorphized objects swelling and bulging with rolls of fat, an example being his ‘fat car‘. The shriveled and crooked pickles highlight Wurm’s sense of humour present in almost all of his sculptures.

{Mustard Seed & Garlic Pickles}

Yield: 1 jar

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1 clove garlic, smashed and sliced
1 pinch of sea salt
1 cucumber, sliced
1 cup white vinegar

Add all of the ingredients into a large jar. Pour in the vinegar until all of the cucumber slices are covered – you may need more than 1 cup. Screw on the lid and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Consume within 2 weeks.

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1 Year Ago: William Joseph McCloskey – Oven Candied Tangerines

2 Years Ago: Frida Kahlo – Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

Luis Meléndez, Still Life with Cucumbers and Tomatoes Together with a Knife and other Kitchen Utensils upon a Wooden Table, 35.5 x 48cm, oil on canvas, Private collection

The still life above, an excellent example of a bodegón painting, is composed of the ingredients found in a simple salad – cucumber, tomato, olive oil, vinegar and salt. Meléndez contrasts the rough surfaces of the hewn table and nubby cucumbers with the smooth contours of the tomatoes and bowls. The diagonal knife creates a sense of depth in the composition and the brilliant coloured produce set against the dark background displays Meléndez‘s skill in rendering diffused light. There are several versions of this composition by Meléndez and according to the Sotheby’s catalogue entry for this painting, “The olive oil strainer, the jug of vinegar and the large alcorcón bowl were evidently favoured possessions of the painter for they recur in numerous other works.”

{Cucumber Finger Sandwiches}

Yield: 36 finger sandwiches

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
250 grams butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped herbs, a mixture of dill, parsley, chives, mint and coriander
loaf of soft white bread
sea salt

In a small bowl, add the vinegar, salt and cucumber slices. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, thoroughly mix the softened butter with the mixed herbs. Drain the cucumbers from the vinegar and begin to assemble the sandwiches. Spread a layer of butter, sprinkle over the sea salt and cover in one layer of cucumbers. Cut the crusts off the sandwich and slice into 3 to 4 long rectangles, depending on the size of the slice of bread.

Repeat until all of the ingredients have been used and serve. Can be made up to a day in advance.

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1 Year Ago: Colour Yellow – Gustavo Montoya – Banana Flan

2 Years Ago: Antoine Vollon – Parmesan Mustard Shortbread

Charles Ethan Porter, Still Life with Corn, 1885
watercolour on paper, 25.5 x 43cm, Private collection

Working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, still life artist Charles Ethan Porter was one of the first African-Americans to exhibition at the National Academy of Design in NYC. He was endorsed by Mark Twain to travel to Paris and to study at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs and Académie Julian. Porter primarily composed paintings of fruit and flowers, both of which are pictured in Still Life with Corn which was created the year he returned to NYC from Paris. The background of the work features very distinct brushstrokes reminiscent of the Pointillist work of Seurat, perhaps an influence from his time abroad.

{Spicy Sautéed Corn}

Adapted from Orangette
Yield: 6 servings

2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt
3 cups corn kernels (frozen or fresh)
juice of 1 lime

In a large frying pan, add the shallots, jalapeno, butter and salt and cook over medium-high heat. Once the shallots have gone soft, around 3-4 minutes, add the corn. Continue cooking over medium-high heat for an additional 7-10 minutes until the corn kernels are dark and sticky and begin to pop. Squeeze over the lime juice, stirring to scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan and scoop into a serving dish. Best served warm.
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1 Year Ago: Utagawa Kuniyoshi – Wakame Seaweed Salad

2 Years Ago: Frida Kahlo – Sellfish Ceviche

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