Feasting on Art

The artist Julie Green has been working for more than a decade on her series titled The Last Supper comprised of painted china illustrating the final meal requests of death row inmates in the United States. The menus, gleaned from newspaper clippings and websites humanize a sect of society typically disregarded by the general public. Green paints the menus of The Last Supper series with mineral paint on appropriated dishes she collects from shops and stores. The plates range from delicate white porcelain to heavy cream crockery and the foods from each menu inform the choice of dish, “For dinner food, a heavy plain plate would be appropriate. If the meal is lasagna and shrimp, that might call for a fine porcelain plate.” Gazing from one plate to another, a culinary portrait of the United States begins to emerge. The most beloved menus from each region are singled out to be the last earthly delight of a condemned inmate. From tamales and enchiladas in Texas to boiled crawfish in Louisiana, the regional menus give a sense of the ethnic background of each prisoner.

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.

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Dating all the way back to the 16th century, potato salad was brought by the Spanish from the Americas to Europe. Their version was made by boiling potatoes in vinegar or wine – giving the starchy and often stodgy food a light and sour twang. The German variety, also made with vinegar was Americanised in the early 20th century via a generous dressing of mayonnaise (1). With my recipe, I wanted to recall the original tart flavour of the dish layered with sweet and salty ingredients, taking this salad beyond typical cook-out fare. This is my go-to recipe, scrawled on a stained and creased recipe card, copied and saved years ago from a long-forgotten source. The use of fresh dill is a necessity – not only for the taste, but also the smell when it is tossed with the hot roasted spuds.

Cornelius Hankins, Still Life with Potatoes, 1902
oil on canvas, 50.8 x 76.2 cm, Cheekwood Museum of Art

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The mix of ordered fruit and a rustic, haphazard crust encapsulates the French term, galette. Typically, the crust is made with plenty of butter so when it is baked, it becomes flaky and extra crusty. In France, a galette can be made either sweet or savoury with ham, eggs and cheese, otherwise known as a galette complète. The galette des Rois is eaten on January 6, the Christian feast of Epiphany. To celebrate, a small trinket is hidden in the cake and the finder is named the ‘king’ for the remainder of the day. My galette is made sweet by a fragrant mixture of honey and wine that is first used to make the apples heady and boozy and then reduced to give the cake a beautiful glacé finish.

John Francis, Still Life with Yellow Apples, 1858
oil on canvas, 64.1 x 76.8 cm, Detroit Institute of Arts

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In honour of the 4th of July, I put together a small selection of nostalgia inducing recipes. I am travelling back to the States in three short weeks and after two years away, I am feeling pretty sentimental! Sunday is the 4th of July and perhaps one (or all) of these recipes will inspire a few Independence Day menus. I will be celebrating with my closest ex-pat friend here in Sydney and if my oven was not still broken the chocolate chip cookies would be at the top of my ‘to make’ list. Happy 4th everyone!

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In addition to decorating mountains of gingerbread and sugar cookies, a beloved Christmas tradition in my family was eating lefse on Christmas Eve. My Norwegian Great Grandmother would cook the thin potato pancakes every year in her tiny apartment on a piping hot griddle. As soon as the pancake was golden and toasted, we would slather on some salty butter and sprinkle a bit of crunchy sugar. I am so particularly fond of this dish that I searched for it on every restaurant menu I passed while travelling in Oslo. Later I found out that the dish, as I know it, is enjoyed by Norwegian-Americans living in the Midwest United States.

This post originally appeared as a holiday guest post on The Kitchn. You can view the entry here. Feasting on Art was nominated for a Homies award. Vote for us here!