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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In the most basic sense, Egg and cauliflower still life by George Lambert is a study in texture. The bulging florets of cauliflower are offset by the smooth shell of the egg. In a memorable dish, the combination of texture is just as important as the fusion of flavour. Taking a cue from Lambert’s textural investigation, the recipe for pan-fried buttered cauliflower with a poached egg seeks to maintain the differences in texture in the resulting dish. By roughly chopping the cauliflower into a range of sizes, the contrast in shape allows the smaller fragments to become dark and crispy while the larger florets maintain their form and become soft to the tooth. The almonds add a bit more crunch and the poached egg provides a luxuriously smooth sauce. Cobbled together in less that twenty minutes, the dish works equally well as the centerpiece of a weekend brunch or a quick weeknight meal.

George Lambert, Egg and cauliflower still life, 1926
oil on canvas, 34.3 x 44.1 cm, Art Gallery of South Australia

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The day Ozoz’s package from the Netherlands arrived was a very exciting one, not only because of the delicious caramel cookies but  also the beautiful cookbook filled with the things I love. Ozoz writes the food blog Kitchen Butterfly and is one of the most dedicated bloggers I read, posting every other day. She kindly sent me a copy of the cookbook Dutch Culinary Art which she first wrote about on her blog back in December after meeting two of the three writers. The book is filled with traditional recipes introduced by sweet little anecdotes about their origin and history. Dispersed throughout are opulent still lifes and pleasant kitchen scenes. Ozoz’s blog is more than just a record of recipes and culinary delights, she provides useful travel guides as well as everything you would need to know about food before visiting the Netherlands. I only wish I knew about her blog when I lived in the UK and frequented the ‘Orange Country‘ – her affectionate name for the Dutch countryside. Thank you again Ozoz for the beautiful book and for working with me on this collaboration!

Visit Ozoz’s blog Kitchen Butterfly for a recipe for Pumpkin Ice Cream & Lemonettes.

Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Chinese Tureen, 1662
oil on canvas, 64 x 53cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin

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