Feasting on Art

After a distraction by a rather large mound of butter, I am happy to be posting the fourth installment of the Frida Kahlo series. Although I am a bit mad to even consider baking in this humid heat, I just couldn’t help myself – each little slice is a meal unto itself! The flavors meld perfectly: nutty semolina with the sour/spicy hit of the pickled jalapeños, tang of the sharp cheddar and sweetness of the toasted corn. Before my common sense kicked in I was pulling out my cast iron pot to make a batch of chili, the perfect accompaniment. I stopped short of turning my flat into a full fledged sauna and froze the remaining cornbread to be pulled out at the first hint of chill in the air.

I would also like to extend a thank you to Nikki of Art and Lemons and Dana of Real Food Rehab. Visit their respective sites to find out a bit more about the Sydney food scene, Feasting on Art, and my own personal art/food background.

Frida Kahlo, Fruits of the Earth, 1938-39,
Oil on masonite, 40.6 x 60 cm, Coleccion Banco Nacional de Mexico

 
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Every December disappears in a blink. Between holiday dinners and various projects, my time management skills are seriously tested. That is why I love the idea of brunch – combining meals to save time! I put together this little menu featuring fruity breakfast recipes inspired by Post-Impressionist painters.

If you live in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney and you see a Wentworth Courier while out and about then check out my interview on page 30. If you are not a Sydneysider you can read it here. I also had an article published in the December 2009 issue of Ceramics Monthly. As a tangent off of my dissertation, the article explores the work of contemporary artists who incorporate methods of repair and use into the finished product. From Bethan Laura Wood’s teacups that stain as you drink them to the delicate drips of gold lacquer on the Reiko Kaneko‘s pieces the idea of use as damage is disregarded and instead embraced. You can read the article online here.

To prepare for the fast approaching beach weather here in Australia I have taken up running – even though the very idea is comical to those who know me well. I do not profess to be athletic in the slightest or even very coordinated for that matter (the first few recipes on this blog were made and photographed teetering on one foot with crutches under my arms) but I do give it my best and I feel like I can splurge here and there (milk, butter, cream). This recipe was my little reward for completing my first 10K workout – it is quick, easy, tasty and filling.

Sir William Nicholson, Mushrooms, 1940
Oil on canvas board, 34.9 x 45.1 cm, The Tate Collection

Sir William Nicholson was a British artist who worked in both oil paint and graphic woodcuts. He was known for his minimal landscapes, influenced by the compositional and tonal qualities found in the canvases by Whistler. Throughout his career Sir Nicholson revisited the subject of mushrooms and often painted his still lifes in a small scale and in a quick, sketch-like manner. During the later part of his life, Sir Nicholson only painted what amused him – his delight in the delicate gills under the cap of the mushroom is evident through the skillful articulation of the texture.

Bread pudding is traditionally a sweet dessert made by soaking bread in a custard-like mixture and then baking it. The pudding is often accompanied by a sauce – rum, whiskey, and caramel sauce are among the most common. The dish is believed to have originated from frugal cooks looking for a way to use stale bread and in the 13th century it was known as the ‘Poor Man’s Pudding’. The British custom of serving it at Christmas dates back to the Victorian times although the dessert is commonly associated with childhood and school lunches.

{Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding}
adapted from Gourmet
serves 4

2 cups fresh bread cubes
700g mixed mushrooms
1/4 c chopped onion
1 TB butter
1/4 c chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 c whole milk
1/2 c single cream
2 eggs
1/4 c Parmesan, grated

Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake bread cubes in a shallow pan for 10 minutes until golden. Cut mushrooms into 1/4 inch pieces.

Saute the onion in butter in a small saucepan until soft, three minutes. Add the mushrooms with salt and pepper and cook until moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add parsley and garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Whisk together the egg, milk, cream, cheese, and additional salt and pepper. Stir in mushrooms and bread and let stand 10 minutes until the egg mixture is absorbed.

Butter 4 ramekins. Spoon in mixture and bake on a metal tray for 30 to 35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Serve warm.

Originally I started this blog to establish a forum to study and write about art as well as experiment in the kitchen (experimenting with photography was an added bonus!). I do however, have certain goals, one of which is to curate an exhibition revolving around the idea of a meal. I won’t go into detail but you can imagine my delight when I discovered Caitlin Williams Freeman’s Mondrian Cake from the cafe at the San Francisco Museum of Art. It is my dream! In cake form!! I decided I had to make one but I wanted my version to be easily recreated in any home kitchen. The cake was delicious but there are a few things I will change the next time I try this recipe. First, I will use angel food cake rather than pound cake – I think it would better absorb the natural food coloring and not appear so yellow. Secondly, I will try mixing the berry juices into the batter to see if I can achieve an even stain. Although the slice of cake pictured below turned out pretty even, my results throughout the rest of the cake were spotty at best. Finally, I would wrap the outside in fondant to hold all of the segments together. Using the natural food colorings will not achieve the bright results found in Freeman’s cake but it does provide a pretty tasty way to insert a bit a flavor into each slice.

The painting recreation was inspired by Bridget from The Way the Cookie Crumbles.

Piet Mondrian, Composition No. 8, 1939-42
Oil on canvas, 74 x 68 cm, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

The canvas Composition No. 8 was painted during Mondrian’s time in London and New York where he fled from Paris because of the invading fascist forces. Mondrian worked within rigid self-imposed artistic restraints. Typically he only painted using primary colors and straight sided forms. He founded the De Stijl movement (Dutch for ‘The Style’) which had a profound influence on modern and abstract art. His later paintings feature more lines than the earlier works and have been likened to cartographic maps. During this period, the blocks of color were not habitually contained by the black lines and were instead allowed to ‘float’ freely upon the white space. Mondrian developed the idea of a ‘dynamic equilibrium’ evident through the relationships and patterns of the blocks and lines (1). The composition is not balanced, with more visual activity on the right side of the canvas. This however, is compensated by the inclusion of the large red square in the top left which is then stabilized by the strip yellow at the bottom center of the painting. There is no reason to the rhyme but Mondrian includes enough impetus to carry the eye over the entire surface of the canvas.

Traditionally, pound cake was made with a pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar (hence the name). Often the ratio is paired down to make smaller cakes with additional ingredients added depending on the regional origin of the recipe. The British variation contains dried fruits and yields a very dense cake. My recipe, because of the inclusion of lemon zest, would be closer to the French version called quatre-quarts which features fresh lemon juice. The most favored recipe is the sour cream pound cake found in the United States (2). The sour cream addition makes for a wonderfully moist cake with a very delicate crumb.

{Mondrian Pound Cake}
Pound cake recipe adapted from Good Taste – April 1998

250 grams butter, room temperature
1 c superfine sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
4 eggs (I omitted 2 of the yolks to keep the cake from becoming too yellow)
1 2/3 c flour
3 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 170C. In a large bowl begin to beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and continue to beat until creamy. Add the four eggs, one at a time and continue to beat the mixture between each addition.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and gently fold until well combined. Spoon the mixture into a bread tin and after smoothing the top of batter, bake for 50 minutes or until a testing skewer comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool.

Assembly:

Prepare frosting and natural food colorings (see below). Slice the cake into strips of varying sizes (see picture) paying attention to the order in which the cake was dismantled (it will be helpful to remember for a quick and painless assembly). Select three strips of cake to be stained and poke throughout with a toothpick to allow the berry juices to penetrate the middle of the cake. On a large plate drizzle all of the sides of each strip of selected cake with the berry juice. Be careful not to over-soak the cake and make it soggy. Allow to dry slightly before assembly.

Place a piece of parchment paper on the cake platter. On the first strip of cake to form the base cover all sides with the chocolate icing. Lay the next strip down and repeat the process effectively gluing the cake back together with the icing. Once the cake is reassembled coat the outside with the remaining chocolate frosting. Before serving place in the freezer to set the frosting and to keep the segments together. Will keep for 2-3 days refrigerated.

{Chocolate Frosting}
adapted from Hello, Cupcake!

1 stick butter, cubed
2/3 c chocolate, chopped
450 grams icing sugar
1/3 c milk

Melt the butter and the chocolate stirring often. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer.

Add the icing sugar alternatively with the milk. Continue beating until smooth.

{Natural Food Coloring}

Red: Finely grate two strawberries.

Blue: Boil 1/2 of a pint of blueberries until the juice is released.

Yellow: Add 1/3 tsp turmeric to the juice from half of a lemon.

The next few posts have been carefully planned to coincide with my parents visiting from the States. I last saw them in June ’08 and I can hardly believe I will have them sitting here with me in my flat tomorrow morning. Needless to say, I am very happy and I decided to make this bread a ‘welcome to Australia’ treat for their arrival. I made it for my friend Cassie when she came to visit me in London and we decided that the lemon glaze is what makes this loaf so special.

Vincent van Gogh, Still Life: Red Poppies and Daisies, 1890
oil on canvas, 65 x 50 cm, Private Collection

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