Art and Appetite is a celebration of food and drink as depicted by American artists. From Andy Warhol to Norman Rockwell, this new Art Institute exhibition takes a scholarly but tasty look at artistic representations of what we eat and what it reveals about us. We have a preview.
As an extension of the exhibit, the Art Institute of Chicago’s online cookbook includes vintage American recipes featured in the exhibition, as well as some delicious new recipes from Chicago's top culinary talent. Read some of the recipes below, and check out the Artbeat blog to watch a web extra video of Judy Barter, curator of the show, dishing on one of her favorite pop art pieces.
Mushroom Cheese Biscuits
Anne Marshall. Cooking with Condensed Soups, 1950
2 ½ cups sifted flour
4 teaspoons baking power
1⁄3 cup shortening
1 can (1 ¼ cups) condensed cream of mushroom soup
¼ cup shredded mild American cheese
Sift flour and baking powder together; cut in shortening. Add soup; mix well. Divide dough in half; roll each half on a lightly floured board until about ½ inch thick. Sprinkle one half with cheese; place other half on top of cheese. Cut in squares or with a biscuit cutter. Bake in a hot oven (450°F) 15 minutes, or until brown. Makes 18 biscuits.
Maccaroni Pudding
Mary Randolph. The Virginia Housewife; or, Methodical Cook, 1824
Simmer half a pound of maccaroni in plenty of water, with a table-spoonful of salt, till tender, but not broke—strain it, beat five yelks, two whites of eggs, half a pint of cream—mince white meat and boiled ham very fine, add three spoonsful of grated cheese, pepper and salt; mix these with the macaroni, butter the mould, put it in, and steam it in a pan of boiling water for an hour—serve with rich gravy.
Tomato Soup Cake
Anne Marshall. Cooking with Condensed Soups, 1950
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon powdered cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon or mace
½ teaspoon seedless raisins
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 can (1 ¼ cups) condensed tomato soup
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and spices. Wash and cut raisins. (Roll in a small amount of the flour mixture.) Cream shortening; add sugar gradually; then eggs, mixing thoroughly. Add flour mixture alternately with soup; stir until smooth. Fold in the raisins. Pour into two greased and floured 8-inch layer pans; bake in a moderate oven (375°F) about 35 minutes, or until done. 8 servings. Frost as desired.
Douglas Katz’s Creamed Chicken à la King
Submitted by Douglas Katz, owner and executive chef of fire food and drink
Serves 4–6
4–6 waffles, prepared or homemade
1 pound chicken thighs, oven-roasted and picked (method follows)
vegetable gravy (recipe follows)
For chicken:
Toss chicken thighs lightly in vegetable oil, and season well with salt and pepper. Roast in a 375˚F oven for 35 minutes or until juices run clear. Pick and reserve meat.
For vegetable gravy:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup yellow onion, small diced
¼ cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ cup carrots, small diced, blanched
¼ cup peas, blanched
2 tablespoons minced shallot
½ cup sherry
3 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil, onion, and mushrooms, and sauté until tender. Add remaining vegetables and sauté for 2 minutes, seasoning as desired with salt and pepper. Remove vegetables from pan and reserve.
Return pan to heat, and deglaze with sherry. Lower heat to a simmer, and reduce sherry by three-fourths. Once sherry has reduced, slowly whisk in cream and reduce by a third, whisking frequently to prevent scorching. When cream has reduced, whisk in butter. Add cooked vegetable mixture and picked chicken to reduced cream. Taste for seasoning.
Pour gravy generously over prepared waffles when ready to serve.
Marc Vitali and Hope Holmberg contributed to this report.
