Feasting on Art

I have been anxiously waiting for the arrival of stone fruit season. Living on the coast, the cool bite to the air with the approach of autumn is more pronounced due to the sea breeze. After an unprecedented, balmy heat wave two weeks ago, the temperature dropped from 44 to 22° C in one week. Along with the rush of cold air, I procured a sudden appetite for plums and devised a plan to stretch out my fruit supply to remedy the high produce prices as a result of the recent flooding. Luckily I caught the beginning of stone fruit season when I was in Michigan late last summer and I got my fill of sweet desserts. This version of applesauce made with the addition of plums tastes just as lovely as it looks. Mix with a bowl of muesli and Greek yogurt and top with a handful of toasted walnuts.

24 days until the Feasting on Art Recipe Contest deadline and the first entry is already in. Be sure to get your submissions started!

Théo van Rysselberghe, Still Life with Plums, 1926
oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, Private collection

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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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As a Midwest girl I was very excited when Chicago blogger Dana from Real Food Rehab sent me an email regarding a collaboration. She very kindly interviewed me for her site and we quickly began to assemble ideas. The Art Institute of Chicago has always been very near and dear to my heart (it houses the painting that began my still life education) and I was delighted when Dana suggested we pick a painting to highlight an upcoming exhibition at the museum. Dana is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and combines a unique viewpoint to the vast food blogsphere. A few of my favorite posts are her pickled asparagus and the review of The Flavor Bible, one of my oft-used cooking resources. Thanks for collaborating with me Dana!

Visit Dana’s blog Real Food Rehab for a rustic apple tart recipe.

Henri Matisse, Apples, 1916, Oil on canvas, 116.9 x 88.9 cm, Art Institute of Chicago
© 2010 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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I am very excited to introduce a new monthly feature to Feasting on Art – blogger recipe collaboration. It is a great way to highlight some of the writers and photographers that I follow and who influence my work. Each collaboration will focus on one painting and two recipes – one sweet and the other savory. This week you will have to visit Jamie’s post, Baked ‘Fried’ Apple Pie, for the sweet half of this autumnal German menu. With it being the first week of Oktoberfest I would recommend enjoying the meal with a big stein of lager. Although German cuisine is often thought of as heavy and stodgy, the sauerkraut (German for ‘sour cabbage’) balances the schnitzel, lightened through the inclusion of fresh apple in the breading. Side-note: due to a dust storm (see photo) all of the photographs were shot by candlelight.

Paul Klee, Still Life with Four Apples, 1909
oil and gouache on board, 34.3 x 28.2 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York City

This week has turned into apple week here at Feasting on Art. This still life was requested by my mother before she knew that my last post would feature an apple recipe based on my childhood memories. Strangely I made it a full 24 years without ever making an omelet and in a way I am quite happy that I held out for this one. It is so wonderfully delicious that I am glad it was my first. Made with homemade dulce de leche, it is the perfect addition to any brunch and with Mother’s Day just around the corner I felt it was an apt time for this lavish breakfast post.

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