Posts Tagged 'food'

Re-creating a Roman Feast

On Tuesday, December 11, archaeologist and food writer Farrell Monaco will be here for a talk and feast exploring ancient Roman cuisine. Monaco is the author of a celebrated food blog, Tavola Mediterranea, in which she explores recipes from across the Mediterranean and even re-creates recipes from the archaeological record.

In what has become a tradition for the Adult Programs team whenever we have a program about food, we tried our hand at making a few of the recipes featured in Tavola Mediterranea. You can find our other cooking attempts here, here, here, and here.

Katie Cooke, Manager of Adult Programs
When scrolling through the blog, the Libum caught my eye. I think because of a distant memory about the sweet bread that the Romans ate, from my days learning Latin. I also thought that the idea of an ancient cheesecake drizzled with honey couldn’t be that bad, even with my amateur baking skills.

The ingredients list could not have been easier to assemble. The base for the bread was only three things: eggs, flour, and ricotta. I had Great British Bake Off in the background, so I was reminded to let it proof and not knead it into a stiff mass.

While the dough was resting, I arranged the bay leaves on the bottom of the pans so that the bread would sit on them and soak up all the delicious, savory flavor.

I split the dough between two pans as the recipe says, and it’s a good thing Farrell specified that, because the baking time is already an hour—I would’ve been up very late if all that dough was baked in one loaf! The fun part was decorating the tops with pine nuts.

The finished product was very nicely browned loaves of dense cake/bread. I drizzled them with honey and then used some for dipping. I would recommend keeping a lot of honey on the side when eating this. I thought that the bay leaves were going to give it a little more flavor, but overall the taste of the bread is very neutral.

What I learned: If I were part of an ancient civilization, I would have worshiped honey because it makes even the simplest of breads sugary and delectable.

Jessie Carrillo, Manager of Adult Programs
From the moment I saw Vatia’s Fig-Stuffed Pastry Piglets, I knew I had to make them. While not directly drawn from an ancient source, this dish is not too far off from something that the Romans would have eaten, and the combination of ingredients sounded tasty.

I started by making a dough from whole wheat flour, olive oil, and water. While the dough rested in the fridge, I sliced two portions of pork tenderloin, pounded them with a meat mallet until they were very thin, and seasoned them.

Next I combined dried figs with salt, pepper, and honey in a food processor, spread the mixture on the pork pieces, and then rolled them up like a couple of Ho Hos®. I rolled out my dough until it was about the thickness of a pie crust and cut pieces large enough to wrap around the pork, as well as some smaller pieces that I fashioned into my piglets’ ears, noses, and tails.

After wrapping each piece of pork in pastry and decorating the piglets, I followed the author’s advice and threw them into the oven without naming them. After about 30 minutes at 400 degrees, the piglets came out sadly missing their tails, but otherwise adorable and surprisingly yummy!

What I learned: Meat wrapped in pastry dough has always been delicious, and cooking is even more fun when you combine it with sculpture.

Stacey Lizotte, DMA League Director of Adult Programs
I decided to make Apicius’ Tiropatina (Tiropatinam), which is an egg custard, because it only had three ingredients (six if you count the garnishes), and because I was curious about what flavor and texture you would get in a custard from just eggs, milk, and honey (instead of sugar).

You would think three ingredients would make this a simple recipe, but it was VERY time consuming—literally a two-day process (so if patience is not a virtue of yours, I wouldn’t recommend this recipe).

Once the three ingredients were combined, there was a lot of custard mixture—A LOT. There was no way the mixture I had would only make 18 small custards like the recipe said. If you want to make that amount, I would recommend at least halving this recipe. The one step I added is that I strained my custard mixture before putting it in the tins. I do this for any custard or curd that I make, and I feel that it’s important in order to get a smooth texture.

I didn’t have a pudding tin and my muffin pans were too large to put in a water bath, so I decided to use my mini cheesecake pan. I didn’t take into account how watery this mixture is compared to a cake batter so, as you can see, during the baking process a few of my custards seeped out of the pan.

I often find egg custards too “eggy” for my taste, but these custards actually had a light flavor that I found appealing. I attribute that to the honey. I also enjoyed the black pepper on top—clearly those Romans knew what they were doing.

What I learned: A water bath is essential for baking custards. Since I had so much extra batter, I decided to make a batch of custards in a muffin tin but without a water bath and the result was  horrible.

If you would like to learn more about Roman cooking and enjoy a Roman Feast, you can purchase your tickets for the event here.

We’re Go van Gogh-ing to Whole Foods

And so should you!

We’re excited to announce that the DMA’s Go van Gogh outreach program is going to be the recipient of one of Whole Foods 1% Community Giving Days!  In an effort to reach out and partner with the surrounding community, Whole Foods Market provides Community Giving Days, during which they donate a percentage of sales to a local non-profit organization.

Tomorrow Wednesday, February 18th, 1% of the sales at Whole Foods Market Park Lane will go to the Go van Gogh program!

Go van Gogh is the DMA’s free elementary outreach program.  We bring the excitement of Museum experience into North Texas classrooms, providing an introduction to the DMA for many of the students we visit, as well as opportunities for students to create artworks inspired by our collection.

Our McDermott Intern Liz Bola, Teaching Specialist Danielle Schulz, myself, and our new Volunteer Coordinator Jennie Russell will spend the day from 10:00AM-7:00PM tomorrow at the Park Lane Whole Foods Market store, talking to customers about what we do and why we do it, making art projects, and showing off our van.

So, if tomorrow, you need an excuse to:

  • grab a morning coffee on your way to work;
  • pick up a lunchtime snack;
  • pop by after 5:00 for a quick dinner-to-go;
  • or cross some items off your grocery list;

I hope you’ll come out to Whole Foods Park Lane.  While you’re there, stop by and say hello to the Go van Gogh ladies (pictured above) and wonderful volunteers, so we can thank you for helping our program grow.

Spread the word to your Whole Food-ie friends, and we hope to see you tomorrow!

Amy Copeland
Manager of Go van Gogh and Community Teaching Programs

Thanksgiving Still-Lifes

Inspired by the DMA’s newest exhibition, Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse, I thought it would only be appropriate for my first Canvas blog post to incorporate still-lifes from our collection. So with Thanksgiving just behind us, I wanted to share some my favorite food-related still-lifes in our collection.

This 17th century still-life makes even the most wonderful Thanksgiving leftovers seem bland. Anyone care for some lobster?

Abraham Hendricksz Van Beyeren, Still Life with Landscape, 1650s, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation

Abraham Hendricksz Van Beyeren, Still Life with Landscape, 1650s, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation

After all of the yummy turkey, stuffing, casseroles and potatoes , how about some fruit (and maybe champagne) to lighten your leftover hangover?

Severin Roesen, Fruit Still Life with Champagne, 1848, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Pauline Allen Gill Foundation

Severin Roesen, Fruit Still Life with Champagne, 1848, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Pauline Allen Gill Foundation

The Friday after Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday all on its own. I like to stay in, enjoy my friends’ and families’ company, relax and read the paper, and eat some yummy leftovers (maybe even a turnip or two!). It is the best part of the holiday weekend!

William Michael Harnett, Munich Still Life, 1882, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase

William Michael Harnett, Munich Still Life, 1882, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase

I hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday! And if you didn’t finish your Christmas shopping last weekend or you’re looking for a cyber Monday fix, don’t forget to check the Museum Store’s website to find many unique presents and local crafts!

Happy Holidays!

Madeleine Fitzgerald
Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming

Winter Break: Taste of the Holidays

One of my very favorite holiday traditions is all the delicious treats. Between stuffing, turkey, candy canes, and cookies, what’s not to love about the holidays? To inspire this season’s holiday feasting, you’ll find the tastiest food of our collection below.

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Happy holidays!

Hannah Burney
McDermott Intern for Teaching Programs and Partnerships

Images used:

Still Life with Landscape, Abraham Hendricksz van Beyeren, 1650s, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation

Brioche with Pears, Edouard Manet, 1876, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, lent by the Wendy and Emery Reves Foundation

Still Life: Bouquet and Compotier (Nature morte: bouquet et compotier), Henri Matisse, 1924, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Dr. Bryan Williams

Stirrup-spout vessel depicting a clustered pepino fruit, Moche culture, c. A.D. 1-300, ceramic, Dallas Museum of Art, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John

Still Life with Spanish Peppers, Camille Pissarro, 1899, oil on canvas, Lent by the Pauline Allen Gill Foundation

Flowers and Grapes, Henri Fantin-Latour, 1875, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation Incorporated

Still Life with Apples, Pear, and Pomegranates, Gustave Courbet, 1871 or 1872, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection

Still Life with Vase of Hawthorn, Bowl of Cherries, Japanese Bowl, and Cup and Saucer, Henry Fantin-Latour, 1872, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund and gift of Mrs. Bruno Graf by exchange

Munich Still Life, William Michael Harnett, 1882, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase

Nature or Abundance, Leon Frederic, 1897, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund

Let’s Celebrate the Arts

On Saturday we were excited to launch Art in October in the Dallas Arts District with a free admission day of activities and even an exhibition sneak peek.

 

Art in October

 

There are so many wonderful cultural events happening every day in Dallas, and especially in the Arts District, that we need a month to celebrate them all!  Here at the DMA we hosted a delegation from Dallas’s “Sister City,” Dijon, France–five Michelin-starred chefs and one sommelier–outside our Flora Street Entrance.

 

Chefs from Dijon shared some amazing dishes with visitors.

 

 

Some delicious French food prepared by our visiting chefs from Dijon.

 

For four hours they prepared and offered samples of food and wine  from Burgundy, the land of The Mourners.

 

Visitors enjoying a free sneak peak at "The Mourners"

 

Inside, we had performances throughout the day, including spoken word pieces by Booker T. Washington students, flash mob dances, and an appearance by the Plano Senior High Chamber Singers in full medieval dress (see them again on the October 15 Late Night).

 

The Plano Senior High Chamber Singers

 

 

Masterpieces in the works at the Space Bar in C3

 

Your Museum staff happily joined in on the fun, even grabbing a few bites of escargot panini along with our more than 4,500 weekend visitors. We can’t wait for the rest of the Art in October celebration!


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