Andy Warhol, Poinsettias, circa 1983
synthetic polymer and silkscreen inks on canvas, 35.5 x 28cm, Private collection
Posts tagged with “cranberry”
As far as cookie recipes go, this little beauty has become my new holiday staple. I first tried this recipe by Gourmet a couple of years ago but made too many substitutions. The cookies were extremely disappointing and I filed the card away in my recipe box until a bag of what was described as ‘the best pistachios you will ever eat’ arrived from my mother. The cookies are extremely festive, dotted with ruby red berries and dusty green nuts and extremely moorish, one is never enough. I used salted pistachios and so omitted the salt from the recipe. The salted nuts are perfectly offset with the sweet and chewy cranberries while the butter-rich dough melts in your mouth.
Albert Anker, Still Life: Two Glass of Red Wine, a bottle of Wine; a Corkscrew and a Plate of Biscuits on a Tray, oil on canvas, 43 x 40cm, Private collection
The autumn now holds a distinct chill in the air so I want to pack the blog with the last bit of fresh veg before the winter produce hits the shelves. The next post will feature beautiful asparagus that I hope to find at the market this weekend but for now I want to share a delicious salad recipe that combines lots of textures and flavours. I adore the sweet/sour/spicy dressing combined with the soft, milky cheese and the crunch of the walnuts. To see what I was cooking, eating, and learning about a year ago, check the link at the bottom of each post to view the entry from 12 months earlier.
Florentine artist, The Flour Bolter of Baldassarre Sauarez, Known as Il Mantenuto, 1650
Florence, Accademia della Crusca
Thanksgiving, or Turkey Day as it is affectionately dubbed, is not complete with the glistening roast bird set as the centerpiece of the meal. In 2007 I had the pleasant experience of discovering that the tiny oven in my London flat would not accommodate the giant bird I bought to roast. After a bit of wrestling I managed to sort out a solution but I have since decided that roasting the bird in pieces is much easier and takes a portion of the time. This recipe works just as well with chicken and can either be cooked entirely in the oven or finished off on a grill to enhance the smokey & charred BBQ flavor of the sauce and the rub.
Soren Emil Carlsen, Thanksgiving Still Life, 1891
oil on canvas, 117 x 106 cm, San Diego Museum of Art
Have you ever just had one of those days? Well for me, today is one of those days and this still life was one problem after another. While shopping for ingredients I was convinced that the painting depicted cranberries (which in my defense they do look like) but I arrived home to realize that they were cherries. So back I went and after visiting two grocery stores I discovered that number one, cherries are not in season (still getting used to living in the southern hemisphere), and number two, that it is impossible to even find frozen ones. Add this dilemma to the fact that I mistakenly ate the last bun I was saving for my recreation, my lack of gilded wineglasses, and that my pastry would not come together, I was convinced this vlaai would be my downfall. But let me tell you, it wasn’t. I mean, it did get a bit more toasted than I would have liked (drat unpredictable electric ovens) but the combination of strawberries and cherries made the pie wonderfully sour and the crust was like a dense but sweet cake. This is a recipe I will make again and again and I hope you forgive the use of cranberries instead of cherries. I was just having one of those days.
Osias Beert, Still-Life with Cherries and Strawberries in China Bowls, 1608
oil on copper, 50 x 66 cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin
