When I was a child my hatred for mustard was very well-known. My brother used to torment me by putting it on my bedroom door knob so the smell would be on my hands. It was not until I moved to London and discovered the seeded variety (I only knew of the yellow American kind) that I became obsessed in a good way. At one point I had seven different jars in my fridge (see photo at the bottom of post). I am always looking for new recipes that feature mustard and so I was quite pleased when I stumbled upon this little gem. I made the palmiers for breakfast and they disappeared very quickly. My mother is adverse to mustard (I wonder where I got it from...) and so I made an additional batch with just the ham and cheese which were just as good (but not better!). They would also make a great bite-size appetizer as they are not too filling.


This is my third post to feature a still life by Manet, which is appropriate because this is a post about my mustard obsession which is akin to my Manet obsession. As with his still life A Bunch of Asparagus, Manet pays very little attention to composition, and through the placement of the subject in the centre of the canvas he incorporates little else to direct the eye to other areas. This lack of composition was a very contemporary concept in the late 19th century. According to Silvia Malaguzzi in the book Food and Feasting in Art, "At the time of the Romans, the best ham was imported from Goal. French ham can thus boast ancient origins, and for Manet it was a kind of national gastronomic glory" (1). The ham is further glorified through its placement upon a silver platter which at that time could only be afforded by the mid to upper class in Paris.

The perfect cheese for an art/food lover...Vincent Aged Dutch Cheese!

Palmiers are little cookies made of layers of puff pastry that are then folded to resemble palm leaves. They are baked until the sugar between the layers of buttery pastry become caramelized (or in my case the cheese melts) (2). Although often attributed to the French, the origin of the cookie is unknown, however the tradition of making sweets from many layers of pastry originates in the ancient Middle East. If the palmiers are rolled to tightly the centres do not puff and if rolled too loosely and baked in an oven that is too hot the layers of pastry become brittle and shatter when picked up (3). It is a relatively simple treat made of very few ingredients but it's generally through trial and error that the best rolling and slicing technique is developed.

{Ham, Gruyère, and Moutarde Palmiers}
adapted from The Splendid Table

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 TB mustard (I prefer seeded)
1 c Gruyère cheese, grated
1/4 c Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
12 slices of ham or prosciutto

Roll out the sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface. Spread the mustard (or moutarde) over the pastry. Sprinkle over the Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano being sure to evenly coat the entire surface. Arrange the ham or prosciutto in a single layer (you may have to cut to fit).

Top the pastry with a layer of parchment paper and compress with a rolling pin. Cut the pastry in half and starting with the short sides, roll each end to the centre turning the pastry into a double scroll. Wet the pastry so the two rolls stick together. Wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 220C and line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice each roll into 12 individual palmiers and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, around 10 to 12 minutes.

the mustard collection in my London fridge

These tasty treats were made for my colleague Laura for her birthday. Happy Birthday Laura! I found a beautiful bottle of rose water and I decided that delicate macarons were the perfect destination for this fragrant ingredient. Rose water is a by-product from the creation of rose oil which is used in perfumes. Found predominantly in Asian and Middle Eastern cooking, it is commonly used to flavour sweets in the west. You can find instructions to make your own brew of rose water here.


Henri Fantin-Latour was a French painter known for both his flower paintings and group portraits. His style was very precise and he adhered to traditional techniques even though his contemporaries were the radical artists Edouard Manet and Renoir (1). His painting has a smooth enamel quality and his palette is quite somber and subtle. From the 1860s to 1904 he repeatedly painted still lifes of flowers while refining his style and experimenting with texture and colour. To emphasize his delicate compositions, Fantain-Latour often used a gray cloth or piece of cardboard as a background. His attention to light and control of tones allowed him to capture the essence of the beautiful blooms (2).


Traditionally, macarons are made with egg whites, almond powder, and sugar. The word macaron when anglicized becomes macaroon which is easily confused with a similar pastry of the same name that is a dense single cookie (not a sandwich like the macaron) and is made with coconut or almond paste. The confection we know today as a macaron was invented by the French pâtisserie Ladurée (3). The soft and chewy macaron comes in a rainbow of colours and just as many flavours. You can easily adapt this recipe by replacing the 1/2 c ground pistachios with ground almonds and adding any flavoring you desire. Lemon zest, mint, crystalized ginger, and coconut are a few on the top of my list to try.


{Pistachio Rose Water Macarons with Rose Water Meringue Buttercream}
adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/4 c icing sugar
1/4 c finely ground almonds
1/2 c finely ground pistachios
2 large egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
1 tsp rose water
rose water meringue buttercream, for filling (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Whisk the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whisking until soft peaks form. Reduce the speed to low and add 1/4 c of the icing sugar. Increase the speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. Add the remaining icing sugar, ground pistachios, almonds, and rose water. Fold until the mixture is smooth and shiny.

Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag and pipe 3/4 inch rounds on parchment-lined baking sheets. Tap the bottom of each sheet to release trapped air and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven to 325F and bake 1 sheet at a time for 10 minutes, rotating it half way through. Keep an eye on the macarons and as soon as they start to colour, remove from oven and set aside. After each batch, increase the oven temperature to 375 for 5 minutes and then lower it back to 325 before baking the next batch.

Let cool on the sheet for 2 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack. Sandwich 2 of the same size macarons with 1 tsp of rose water meringue buttercream. Serve immediately or store stacked between layers of parchment paper.

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.


Paul Gauguin (full name Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin) was a Post-Impressionist painter whose art heralded the return to the pastoral (idealized landscapes) and Primitivism. He was a major influence in the development of Modern art with his bold colours and design oriented paintings. His travels in Central America impacted his work as he incorporated the symbolic depth, exaggerated body proportions, and stark contrasts of the 'native' art he encountered. He abandoned traditional European painting and focused on pure colours separated by thick black outlines (1). Gauguin owned a still life by Cezanne and he seemed to emulate characteristics of Cezanne's art in the painting above. The round circular forms of the apples and the black bowl do not correlate with regard to the perspective in the picture plane and the wildness of Cezanne's brush mark is also found in Gauguin's handling of paint on the tablecloth.


An omelet is a beaten egg that is cooked in a frying pan in butter (or oil) with some sort of filling whether it be cheese, meat, or vegetables. The top side of the omelet is not cooked prior to folding it into a trifold design. They are thought to have originated in Ancient Persia before travelling to Europe to become a frittata, tortilla, and omelette in Italy, Spain, and France respectively. In 2002 the largest omelet in the world was made in Ontario, Canada which weighed 2.95 tons (2).


Dulce de leche, sometimes known as milk jam, is prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a thick sauce that tastes similar to caramel. It is found all over Latin America and there is a similar version from France called confiture de lait. Up until 1984 when the company went out of business, there was a solid candy made of dulce de leche in Argentina called Vaquita "little cow". It has been gaining recoginition recently because of its use in commercial foodstuffs including Häagen-Dazs, Starbucks, and in dulce de leche flavored Girl Scout Cookies (which I have yet to try, they were only introduced this year) (3).


{Caramelized Apple Omelet}

adapted from Gourmet
serves 2

2 TB butter
2 tsp sugar
1 apple, peeled, cored, and cut into slices
3 eggs
2 TB sour cream
2 TB dulce de leche
2 TB goats cheese

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and cook stirring until dissolved. Add apple and cook turning the slices once until golden and tender.

Whisk together the eggs with a pinch of sea salt. Add the eggs to the apples in the skillet and cook over a medium-low heat, lifting the edges of the omelet so the raw egg can flow below. Cook about two minutes until the omelet is set on top but still most. Dollop the sour cream, goats cheese and dulce de leche across the center of the omelet.

Fold the bottom third of the omelet over the filling and holding the skillet over a plate carefully slide the omelet out and fold the last third over the filling. Cut in half and divide between 2 plates.


{Dulce de Leche}

1 can (400g/14oz) sweetened condensed milk

Pour one can of sweetened condensed milk into a shallow pie dish and sprinkle a bit of salt on the top.

Set the dish in a water bath in a roasting pan with the water rising about half way up the sides of the pie dish.

Cover the pie plate with aluminum foil and bake about an hour in an oven at 425F (220C). Remove from the oven and whisk until smooth once cool. Store in the refrigerator and warm slightly before use.

For this post we are back to France and on to another artist. I love art but if I had to declare my love for one artist in particular it would be Edouard Manet. In my undergraduate course I did my entire postseminar work on his still life painting Fish (which should give you some indication of my love for still life painting) where he took the phrase nature morte (French for still life which translates to dead nature) literally. Within my paper I incorporated other works by Manet including Asparagus and A Bunch of Asparagus.


Manet was an artist bent on changing the established practice of art and artists starting with challenging the specific hierarchy of genres. He often painted his still life paintings on large canvases, a size that was generally reserved for the grand genre, history panting. Traditionally still life painting was a way for an artist to display his mastery of the skill of painting. He (or she) would be challenged to depict all of the textures of the fruit and foodstuffs ranging from crusty bread to slippery fish and the effect of light through a decanter of wine. These paintings were very challenging and Manet went against convention by painting his works with thick unrealistic paint and removing all points of entry into the scene for the viewer. Often plopped in the middle of the canvas with little or no background or perspective these new works by Manet differed from their predecessors greatly.


A Bunch of Asparagus has the beginnings of the line of a table in the top right corner but this horizon line does not continue across the painting which disorients the perspective. There is no pictorial space in which to place the object and it seems that he painted the asparagus just for the sake of painting. Charles Ephrussi bought the painting, and at the time of purchase paid Manet an extra 200 francs. To thank him, Manet painted Asparagus and sent it to him with a note saying "There was one missing from the bunch I gave you" displaying the wit and irony often found in all of Manet's work.


Hollandaise sauce is one of the five sauces of the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. The sauce is an emulsion of butter and lemon juice with egg yolks and is the key ingredient in Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise sauce can be tricky to prepare and if made correctly is smooth and creamy. In 1651, Francois Pierre La Varenne described a similar sauce in his cookbook Le Cuisiner Francois: "avec du bon beurre frais, un peu de vinaigre, sel et muscade, et un jaune d'oeuf pour lier la sauce" ("make a sauce with good fresh butter, a little vinegar, salt, and nutmeg, and an egg yolk to bind the sauce") (1). With such a long history it is no wonder that this simple sauce can be found in the grandest of restaurants in the Western world.


{Manet's Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce}
serves 4

24 asparagus spears

{Hollandaise Sauce}
2 egg yolks
2 tsp lemon juice
90 g (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, cubed

Wash the asparagus and remove the woody ends. Cook in a pan of salted water for about four minutes or until the spears turn bright green and tender. Drain and rinse under cool water.

To make the sauce, put the egg yolks and lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk continuously adding the butter cube by cube until the sauce is thick. Be careful not to overheat or else the eggs will scramble. Season.

Arrange a few spears on each plate and drizzle with the hollandaise sauce while still warm.

The first post is always the hardest. I wanted to find a painting/recipe that really represented me and the things I love to set the whole tone for the rest of the blog. I knew I wanted something French because I have been on a French kick lately and something with stone fruit. We are heading into autumn here and ripe stone fruits are everywhere. As soon as I spotted Cezanne's Still Life with Plate of Cherries I knew it would produce the perfect inaugural post.


Cezanne is one of my favorite still life artists. I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of impressionism (although I adore Manet) but there is something about Cezanne's work that I am instantly drawn to. Perhaps it is because everything is not quite right but you have to really look to see the incongruities. The back edge of the table doesn't line up and the perspective on the side by side plates is different. It is complicating the viewer's entrance into the space and is placing all of the importance on the fruit subjects. The white plates seem to frame the fruit and draw the viewer's eye immediately to the centre of the canvas. Cezanne often painted objects from the earth and homemade works (pots, bottles, and floral fabrics) from his home in Provenance (1). Like the way Cezanne highlights the fresh fruit in his painting, I plan to make the cherries and nectarines the star of my clafoutis.


Clafouis is always made with cherries and when substitutions are made for other berries it is commonly called flognarde. Even though I have added nectarines to my clafoutis I kept the cherries to keep it true to form. It is a custard-like dish made by baking fresh fruit in a batter in a baking dish. The batter is similar to pankcake batter and to keep the dish completely traditional the cherries not be de-pitted because it loses flavour. "Originally from Limousin, the dish's name comes from Occitan clafotis, from the verb clafir, meaning "to fill up" (implied: "the batter with cherries") (2).

{Cezanne's Cherry and Nectarine Clafoutis}
serves 6

3/4 cup double (thick/heavy) cream
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 c milk
3 eggs
1/4 c caster sugar
2/3 c plain flour
1 TB kirsch
1 lb cherries
2-3 nectarines, halved and pitted, cut into wedges
icing sugar

Preheat the oen to 180C (350F/Gas 4). Use butter to grease a 23 cm (9 inch) round baking dish and put the nectarine wedges and cherries in a single layer on the bottom. Put the cream in a small saucepan and add the vanilla essence. Gently heat for a few minutes and remove from the heat, add the milk and cool.

Whisk the eggs with the sugar and flour, then stir into the cream and kirsch. Pour into the greased round baking dish over the fruit and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden on the top. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Substitutions: you could substitute the vanilla extract with one vanilla pod or almond extract to give your clafoutis a different flavour.