Feasting on Art

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 her beautifully composed photographs, Marian Drew includes the lifeless bodies of Australian fauna collected from the side of the road. The photographs represent a meeting of Europe and Australia through the insertion of wallabies, kangaroos, and possums into the still life tradition. The images assume a painterly tone achieved by long exposures and careful application of light via torch. This process allows Drew to highlight important elements in the composition as well as experiment with shadow as a form.

Marian Drew, Crow with Salt, 2006
112 x 134 cm, digital image on German etching paper – archival pigments, from the series Art Fair

Marian Drew was directly influenced by the traditional still life paintings she studied while living in Germany. Ranked the lowest in the hierarchy of genres created in the 17th century, still lifes were considered to be merely a record of inanimate objects. The Dutch depicted opulent banquets with a seemingly endless bounty spilling over the edges of tables while the French presented an ordered and contained tableaux of goods. The fare was delivered to the viewer to be visually consumed and became a dialogue between a prosperous society and their material possessions. The still life genre featuring small game and poultry acted as a signifier of wealth. In Germany in the 15th-century, hunting rights were only granted to the aristocracy. The still lifes demonstrated not only their control over nature by commanded their authoritative stature in society. This theme is continued by Drew who examines the dominating relationship between the urban landscape and it’s natural fauna. Life is juxtaposed against death and contemporary cultural identity is explored through the traditions of the still life.

Marian Drew, Kingfisher with Chinese Cloth and Strawberries, 2009
112 x 134 cm, archival pigment on cotton paper, from the series Birds

While driving down a dusty road in the short documentary Australiana, Drew states that in Australia, citizens are not encouraged to pick up roadkill because it acts as food for other native animals. With this in mind, her compositions take on a whole new meaning. What we consider to be inedible waste becomes a meal for another. Although I cannot appreciate four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie, the blushing strawberries and the sunny lemon would make a tempting dessert to set before a king.

(The photograph of the Berry & Lemon pie was created using the same methods developed by Marian Drew.)

{Berry & Lemon Cheese Pie with a Lemon Butter Crust}

1 punnet fresh strawberries
1/3 c honey
1 lemon
3 TB sugar
1 pkg cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 punnet fresh berries (blueberries or blackberries)

Prepare the Lemon Butter Crust (recipe below) and have ready and chilled. In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and tsp lemon zest. Cream with an electric mixer until light and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved. Spread onto the bottom of the baked pie crust.

Divide the strawberries and cut half into quarters and place in a new bowl. With a hand blender puree the strawberries and mix in the juice from half of the lemon and the honey (alternatively you could mash the strawberries with the back of a fork). Pour the mixture into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile slice the remaining strawberries. Once the strawberry mixture is boiling begin to stir continuously to keep from burning. Cook for two minutes and take off the heat. Add the remaining strawberries and blueberries, mix, and pour over the lemon cheese layer in the pie.

Chill the pie in the refrigerator until the berries have set an a slice will hold it’s shape (about 3 hours). Serve cold.

{Lemon Butter Crust}

1 1/4 c plain flour
1/2 c unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TB water

Place the flour, butter, lemon zest, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Begin rubbing the butter into the flour working it until the mixture resembles wet sand and clumps together. Add 1 TB of water and mix turning out onto a floured surface and kneading slightly. Form into a round disk and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Work the dough into a 1 cm round on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Fit into a buttered pie pan. If the pastry breaks up you can fit it back together by pressing it into the pie tin. Ensure there is an even layer of pastry within the tin. To create the decorative edge roll the remaining pastry into small balls and press around the edge of the tin. Once assembled in the pie tin, place the pastry in the freezer.

Heat the oven to 180C. Remove the tin from the freezer and place a sheet of parchment paper over it and pour in dried beans or rice to weight the pastry. This will keep the base from rising. Slide into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the baking weights and prick the base of the crust with a fork to release steam. Return the crust into the oven for an additional 10 minutes until golden. Add non-cooked filling.

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.

When I moved to Australia 8 months ago I did not foresee my palate-lag. I arrived 4 days before Thanksgiving and promptly made a big traditional dinner. Never mind the fact that it was 80°F, humid, and the food sat in our stomachs like a heavy brick. Throughout the Australian summer I made chili and soup, the warm and hearty dishes I typically craved in December and January. Now that we are in the middle our our southern winter I can’t stop myself from daydreaming and craving barbecues and fresh fruits. This little dish is my attempt to get over my palate-lag with the BBQ taste made inside on the stove top, perfect for a winter supper.

Severin Rosen, Still Life with Strawberries, (c. 1848-1870)
40.6 x 50.8 cm, oil on fabric, Private collection

Severin Rosen was a German immigrant who is known as one of the major mid-nineteenth century American still life painters. Rosen’s work featured very similar subject matter, typically fruits, sometimes flowers, arranged on a tabletop with a dark background. Some paintings were so similar that they were almost duplicates with only a few elements of the composition altered. The strawberries on a footed platter is a common motif found on several canvases. His controlled brushstrokes created a smooth finish which along with the balance of light and dark, hearkened back to 17th century Dutch still life paintings (1).

Barbecue sauce has two different theories as to its origin. Some people say that it dates back to the 15th century when Christopher Columbus brought a sauce back from the New World and other say it originated during the American colonialist era (2). Louis Mall Co produced the very first commercial version in St. Louis that was made unusual through the addition of anchovies (3). Regional variations include the East Carolina Sauce, Lexington Dip, South Carolina Mustard Sauce with a slew of variations in between. In my recipe I nodded to Australia with my inclusion of worcestershire sauce.

{Strawberry BBQ Pulled Pork}

adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

1 medium boneless pork shoulder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 TB vegetable oil
4 cups strawberries, quartered
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
8 buns

Trim the pork and remove fat (if left on the sauce will be very greasy). Season the pork with salt and pepper and place in a large cast iron pot that has been heated with oil. Brown the pork on all of the sides.

Add half of the strawberries, the ketchup, vinegar, garlic, rosemary, worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover with lid and let cook for 2 hours until the pork is tender.

Remove the pork and skim the fat from the sauce and add remaining chopped strawberries. Cover pork with tin foil while you bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to two cups. Shred the pork with two forks and add half of the sauce.

Serve pork on the bun topped with some of the reserved strawberry BBQ sauce.

With the 4th of July just around the corner I wanted to be sure to post a couple of recipes in time for the festivities. When I think of stars and stripes I immediately think of my grandmother’s strawberry shortcake made with strawberries picked fresh from my grandpa’s garden in the backyard. It was one of my favorite treats when I was growing up and due to my status as an ex-pat it has been years since I have had a helping. I added a blueberry syrup for a bit more patriotic flair to the dish. It is sweet enough without but the leftover blueberry syrup makes the best topping for pancakes that I have ever tasted! Trust me on this one!!
 

Bryant Chapin lived in worked in Massachusetts from the late 19th century to the early 20th. He was predominately a still life painter but traveled to Europe several times to paint landscapes. His still life subject of choice was fruit and he would paint them using strong colour and atmospheric light (1). As with Still Life of Overturned Basket of Strawberries Chapin would often paint his fruit with softened edges and place his subject on a table that would enhance the reflection of the fruit. With the still life above, Chapin explored light and shadow with a low and very strong light source originating from the bottom left of the canvas.

 

 
In the 1850′s, strawberry shortcake parties were a popular way to celebrate the arrival of summer (2). This sweet dessert is traditionally made with baking soda to produce a crumbly biscuit often referred to as a scone in the UK. Recently, for a lower calorie version of the dessert, angel food cake is used to replace the shortcake (my version includes a variant of this cake). In Japan a sponge cake is used to replace shortcake and is commonly served at Christmas and at birthdays (3). The oldest printed reference is from Michigan from the 1840′s (4) and because I am a native Michigander it is only appropriate that I choose this dessert to celebrate the 4th!
 

{Strawberry Shortcake with Blueberry Syrup}

adapted from Gourmet

{cake}

4 large egg yolks and 2 large egg whites
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
2 TB milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°F (180C) and butter a metal bread pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment or wax paper, then butter paper. Dust with flour, knocking out excess. Whisk together yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl until combined well. Whisk in flour and salt (batter will be thick). Beat whites with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks. Stir about one third of whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites in 2 more batches, gently but thoroughly.

Transfer batter to bread pan, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until pale golden and a tester comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on a rack (cake will shrink from sides of pan). When cool, run a sharp knife around side of cake if necessary and invert onto rack, then remove paper.
 

{vanilla cream}

1/4 cup chilled heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream

Beat together cream, sugar, and sour cream until mixture just holds stiff peaks.
 

{strawberries in vanilla-orange syrup}

1/3 cup vanilla sugar
1/3 cup water
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh orange zest (from 2 oranges)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 pint strawberries (3/4 lb), trimmed and quartered

Add sugar, water, zest, and juice. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and boil 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and chill 30 minutes. Pour syrup through a fine sieve into another bowl and discard solids. Gently stir in strawberries and let stand 15 minutes.

 


 

{blueberry syrup}

1 c blueberries
2/4 c sugar
1/3 c water

Cook the berries with the sugar and water until thick. Spoon around strawberry shortcake.