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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In the early 1980′s, Andy Warhol created a number of Poinsettia paintings and screen prints to give as gifts to his friends. The ubiquitous Christmas flower became associated with the holiday in Mexico in the 16th century. As instructed by an Angel, a young girl who couldn’t afford a gift, gathered up some weeds to place at a church alter. From the weeds sprouted the star shaped poinsettias that are said to resemble the Star of Bethlehem. In the spirit of poinsettia gift giving, I made this cocktail for loved ones this Christmas and the recipe is my gift to say thank you for being loyal readers and followers of this blog. Merry Christmas.

{Poinsettia Cocktail}

Adapted from Nigella Christmas
Yield: 8-9 glasses

750 ml bottle dry fizzy white wine
1/2 cup orange liqueur
2 cups cranberry juice

Chill the ingredients. Carefully mix in a large pitcher and serve in a wine glass or champagne flute. Alternatively, serve in a punch bowl with a fruit-filled ice ring to keep the cocktail cold.

Cheers!

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1 Year Ago: Giorgio Morandi – Croissant French Toast

2 Years Ago: Vincent Van Gogh – Holiday Lefse

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John Frederick Peto, The Poor Man’s Store (detail left), 1885
oil on canvas and panel, 90 x 65cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The American trompe l’oeil artist John Frederick Peto depicted ordinary objects at their actual size in his paintings. Peto worked within the genre throughout his career and The Poor Man’s Store is an early example of his aesthetic style. The jumble of goods displayed through an open window in the painting portrays candies and fruit, gingerbread and nuts. According to historical accounts, this shop window would have been a common sight on the streets of Philadelphia. Due to the disorderly arrangement of the humble items, Peto rarely had wealthy patrons and his work was often misattributed to the more successful tromp l’oeil painter William Harnett by unscrupulous art dealers (1).

 {Old-fashioned Molasses Cookies}

Recipe by my grandmother
Yield: around 72 cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup water
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt

Mix sugar, butter, eggs and molasses. Dissolve baking soda in water; stir into molasses mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375F (190C) degrees. Roll dough ¼ inch thick on lightly floured cloth covered board. Cut with favorite cutter. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.

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1 Year Ago: Giorgio Morandi – Croissant French Toast

2 Years Ago: Paul Signac – Roasted Vanilla Orange Juice

Joseph Decker, Hard Candy
oil on canvas, 22.8 x 35.5 cm, Private collection

The German-born artist Joseph Decker moved to the United States in 1867. In 1879, he traveled back to Germany to study at the Akademie in Munich and after which, he returned to the States and painted many still life paintings. In his painting titled Hard Candy, the colourful sweets are piled in front of a wooden box with light reflecting off of their smooth surfaces. Candy did not become a major subject for artists until its production was industrialized after the civil war. Once artificial dyes and geometric uniformity became available, artists embraced the sweet confections as one of their most popular subjects (1).

{Peppermint Ice Cream}

Yield: 6 servings

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups light cream
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup crushed peppermint candies

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large, freezer safe container. Stir well, ensuring the salt and sugars have dissolved. Place in freezer and stir every 30 minutes to break up ice crystals to ensure the ice cream is smooth.

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1 Year Ago: Khoo Kongsi Stone Carving – Murtabak

2 Years Ago: Louis Comfort Tiffany – Pumpkin Chipotle Tartelette

Julie Green, Mississippi 23 July 1947, 2011
Cobalt mineral paint on kiln-fired ceramic plates, 22.8 x 22.8 x 2.5cm
Fried chicken and watermelon served to a 15-year old and a 16-year old boy.

I examined Green‘s series in an essay titled ‘Last Supper’ in the September issue of Ceramics Monthly. She graciously provided a recipe for the blog and of the dish she stated the following:

“Emotions surrounding capital punishment are often complex and conflicting. I will choose a simple menu, perhaps the saddest of all the final meals because it was served to a 15-year old and a 16-year old boy.”

Last Supper, Ceramics Monthly, September 2011, p.42-45

{Fried Chicken Legs}

Recipe provide by Julie Green, “This is close to grandmother’s electric skillet fried chicken recipe, adapted from Marilyn’s Deep South Fried Chicken on Allrecipes.com”

Yield: 2 servings

1 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 or more chicken legs

Heat the shortening in a large, cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. In a brown paper lunch bag, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Shake two chicken pieces in the bag to coat, and place them in the skillet. Repeat until all of the chicken is coated and in the skillet.

Fry the chicken over medium-high heat until all of the pieces have been browned on both sides. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the lid, and increase heat to medium-high. Continue frying until chicken pieces are a deep golden brown, and the juices run clear.

To serve with watermelon: Select a melon that makes a hollow sound when thumped, and has strong variation between dark and light stripes. Slice and serve cold.

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1 Year Ago: Colour Red – Claude Monet – Steak Tartare

2 Years Ago: Julian Opie – Green Beans with Red Onion & Mustard Vinaigrette

De Scott Evans, A Plate of Onions, 1889
oil on canvas, 25.4 x 30.4 cm

The small canvas, A Plate of Onions, predates the other work by Evans adapted on this blog. Whereas A new variety try one epitomizes the trompe l’oeil style for which the artist was renowned, the onion painting illustrates his mastery of texture from the wispy roots to the crinkly skin and smooth pearly flesh of the vegetable. The painting is composed of an array of brown tones and the rotund shape of the onion is mirrored in the oval platter upon which they are grouped.

{Caramelized Onion Flatbread}

Yield: 4 servings

1 sheet frozen shortcrust pastry
2 large onions
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons seeded mustard
small bunch of fresh marjoram

Remove the sheet of shortcrust pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw. Meanwhile, slice the onions into crescents. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the onions. Stir well and add the salt and cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the onions from burning. After 10 minutes, add the Worcestershire sauce and dried thyme. Stir well and continue to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until the onions are completely soft. Mix in the sour cream and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Spread the seeded mustard over the pastry and place on a buttered baking tray. Cover the pastry with the onion mixture and slide into the oven for about 15 minutes until the pastry is fully cooked and the top is golden. Remove from the oven, cut into squares and scatter the fresh marjoram leaves over the top of the flatbread.

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1 Year Ago: Paul Gauguin – Tomato Tarte Tatin

2 Years Ago: Édouard Manet – Ham, Gruyère, and Moutarde Palmiers

[1] Feinstein, Jon, email interview, 29 September 2010.
[2] Ibid.

Jon Feinstein, 16 Grams, 2008,
digital c-print, 50.8 x 50.8 cm, edition of 10 + 2 APs.

Through this series, Feinstein highlights his interest in our “attraction to things that we know are ‘bad’ for us.”[3] In his book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser argues that at this point in history, we are conditioned from childhood, through branding and advertising, to seek out fast food. Entire marketing strategies were developed to establish life-long consumer loyalty from childhood. It is through these associations that as educated adults, aware of the health concerns associated with the consumption of fast food, we continue to eat it. Schlosser continues by reasoning that aroma and memory are linked and that a scent has the ability to “evoke a long-forgotten-memory”, with childhood foods leaving “an indelible mark”[4] causing adults to consume them without exactly knowing why. This could explain Feinstein’s observation in relation to the Fast Food series, “I noticed that even after making the images, free of branding, gloss etc, I still felt myself drawn to eat fast food occasionally. Similarly, as disgusting as many of the images are, when they are exhibited people often describe the photos as making them hungry.”[5]

[3] Ibid.
[4] Schlosser, Eric, Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal, New York City, Houghton Mifflin, 2001. 123.
[5] Feinstein, Jon, email interview, 29 September 2010.

This text is excerpted from the November 2010 article, ‘Fast Food through the Lens of Still Life Photographers‘ published in Curator.

{Pork & Chipotle Sliders}

adapted from the June 2009 issue of Gourmet

Yield: 6 sliders

500g ground pork
1 chipotle chili, minced
1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
6 small brioche buns
1 large tomato, sliced
1 small avocado, sliced
handful of fresh cilantro
limes, to serve

Mix the pork, chipotle, adobo sauce and garlic in a small bowl. Form in to small patties (the same diameter as the buns) and about 1/2 inch thick. Place a griddle or large frying pan over high heat and once hot, gently fry the patties until cooked through – around 30-45 seconds on each side.

Assemble the sliders with the patty, tomato, avocado, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime before serving.

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1 Year Ago: Pablo Picasso – Chipotle, Chorizo & Dark Beer Fondue

2 Years Ago: Henri Fantin-Latour – Pistachio Rose Water Macarons

“In the morning, in the soft sultry chamber, sit in the window peeling tangerines, three or four. Peel them gently; do not bruise them…separate each plump little pregnant crescent…Take yesterday’s paper (when we were in Strasbourg L’Ami du Peuple was the best, because when it got hot the ink stayed on it) and spread it on the radiator…After you have put the pieces of tangerine on the paper on the hot radiator, it is best to forget about them…On the radiator the sections of tangerines have grown even plumper, hot and full. You carry them to the window, pull it open, and leave them for a few minutes on the packed snow on the sill. They are ready…I cannot tell you why they are so magical. Perhaps it is that little shell, thin as one layer of enamel on a Chinese bowl, that crackles so tinily, so ultimately under your teeth. Or the rush of cold pulp just after it. Or the perfume. I cannot tell.”

M.F.K. Fisher, Borderland

William Joseph McCloskey, Still Life with Wrapped Tangerines, 1889
oil on canvas, 25.4 x 35.56 cm, Private collection

The American artist, William Joseph McCloskey, was also know by the title ‘Master of the Wrapped Citrus’ as it was a subject he revisited often. The fruits were often set upon a highly polished table with particular attention paid to the texture of the paper and the citrus peels. McCloskey worked closely with is wife, fellow artist Alberta McCloskey, even completing joint paintings together. Alberta studied under William Merritt Chase and his aesthetic appears to have also had an effect upon the work by William Joseph McCloskey. Looking at the earlier canvases by Chase – specifically the paintings produced after studying at the Munich Academy – they feature dark atmospheric qualities with a number of expertly rendered textures among the kitchen goods. McCloskey embraced the trompe l’oeil school becoming a ‘Master of Illusion’ in addition to his ‘Wrapped Citrus’ title.

{Oven Candied Tangerines}

Yield: 4 servings

4 tangerines
1 cup vanilla yogurt, to serve

Preheat the oven to 150C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.

Carefully peel the 4 tangerines and divide into segments. Remove any visible white pith. Arrange the segments on the baking paper and slide into the bottom rack of the oven.

Roast for 20-30 minutes until the tangerines are full of juice and the skins are brittle like tissue-paper. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-1o minutes until serving. Serve alongside a generous dollop of cold yogurt.
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1 Year Ago: Frida Kahlo – Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

Combining the ingredients in Tom Wesselmann’s ‘Still Life #2′ was a natural
marriage, the dark molasses flavours of the whiskey compliment the subtle
sweetness of the pear with the toasty hints in the liquor mirrored in the toasted
hazelnuts of the crust. Cinnamon and ginger continue the warming flavour
palette and provides a sharp-spiciness to the tart – the perfect foil to the cooling
whiskey cream, speckled with vanilla seeds.

I would like to welcome all of the new readers arriving from Design*Sponge. I hope you take a bit of time and explore the site. You can find the entire listing of recipes here and if you are curious about the type of art you can find among the pages of this blog, then head on over to the art index and click on the images that catch your eye.

Tom Wesselmann, Still Life #2, 1962
oil and collage on board, 121.9 x 122.2 cm, Norton Simon Museum

The American Pop artist, Tom Wesselmann, was concerned with consumerism during the postwar era and created a distinct collage style of found art collage. He began working with images from magazines and posters but as his work increased in scale, he looked skyward to acquire used billboard signs. Wesselmann disliked his inclusion in the Pop Art movement because he was less concerned with critiquing  aspects of consumerism and instead focused on the aesthetic use of the everyday. A number of elements in Still Life #2 have been cut and pasted including the bouquet of flowers in the center of the frame.

Click here to view the pear tart with whiskey cream recipe on Design*Sponge.
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1 Year Ago: Johann Christian Berndt – Pear, Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Pizza

Raphaelle Peale, Still Life with Steak, c.1917
oil on panel, 33.97 x 49.53 cm, Munson Williams Proctor Museum of Art

Visual characteristics of the slab of raw beef in Raphaelle Peale’s Still Life with Steak are repeated within other elements of the composition. The curve of the cabbage is mimicked by the curve of the fat and the veins of the leaf are also found in the white threads of sinew of the beef. By using the same visual language to represent the steak and cabbage, Peale is able to connect two seemingly disparate objects. According to Alexander Nemerov in his book The body of Raphaelle Peale: still life and selfhood, 1812-1824, Peale included the cabbage in the position where a skull would be found in a vanitas painting – a play on the phrase ‘head of cabbage.’

{Steak Salad in a Lettuce Leaf with Fresh Herbs}

Yield: 4 servings

1 red chili
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 pound lean porterhouse steak
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 small head butter lettuce
handful fresh mint
handful fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 lime, juiced

The night before serving salad, thinly slice the red chili and place in a small bowl with the cider vinegar. Let sit overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

Prepare the steak by removing fat and place in a bowl. Pour over the rice vinegar and cover with the Chinese five spice and brown sugar. Rub the spice & sugar into the meat on all of the sides and let sit for 20 minutes. Place a dry frying pan over high heat and begin to cook the steak, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and let rest on a cutting board.

Clean the lettuce and herbs. Place one large lettuce leaf on each plate; add herbs and the pickled red chillies, dividing the portions evenly among the lettuce leaves. Thinly slice the steak and add to each salad.

Mince the ginger and mix with lime juice. Drizzle 1 teaspoon over each salad. Roll the lettuce leaf around the salad and eat with hands.

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1 Year Ago: Louis Comfort Tiffany – Pumpkin Chipotle Tartelette