Date I made this recipe:
August 20, 2017
A Culinary Collection
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, compiled by Linda Gillies, Anita
Muller and Pamela Patterson (recipes from members of the Board of Trustees and
museum staff)
Published by The Metropolitan Museum
©1973; ISBN: 0-87099-081-0
Recipe: Fresh
Vegetable Soup – p. 25, submitted by Clare Vincent – Western European Arts
In my latest blog, published last week, I mentioned that I
was recently in New York state and also New York City . Today's recipe is from New York City 's world-renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I cannot recall the first time I went to The Met, but it was and is pretty
impressive. It's also so big that it almost exhausts visitors before they even
get past the entrance. To combat that, I
often decide in advance what I'm going to look at and then go from there.
Over the years, my favorite section of the museum has been
exhibits in the lower-level, particularly those in The Costume Institute. I
cannot sew and I cannot draw but others can and I've seen some great exhibits.
I also like photography and have seen a number of special
exhibits that just leave me speechless; I'm particularly fond of black and
white photos because of the crispness it brings and the detail it enhances.
Here is the most important thing you should know about The Met:
although the sign says "admission," it is your choice whether
to pay anything (you decide how much you want to contribute) or nothing at
all. Don't go that last route
though: this museum costs a ton of money
to run and if you can't part with at least a dollar bill, maybe this is not the
place for you!
In the early years, I dutifully paid the suggested admission
and even had a membership for a few years (mostly for the gift shop), but eons
ago, I switched it up to give what I thought was reasonable. This works very well for me if I only have
time for a quick in and out.
For the record, the suggested "admission" for
adults is $25.00 per person and heaven help you brought people with you because
ouch! I am not a cheap person per se and
yes, this is New York City, but I'd bet at least 90% of people attending The
Met are families of at least four, maybe more.
And that's just to get in folks, that does not county shopping
opportunities thereafter!
Now the thing to know about all museum gift shops anywhere
is that you do not have to pay to go there, and so if I am pressed for time,
like I was this trip, this is how I get a glimpse of current and past exhibits
as the gift shop stocks books and magazines from those exhibits. Win Win!
All that said, you should know that I probably spend about double what I
would on the "admission" but I can't help myself because well, the
stuff is there, and it's just waiting for me to buy it under the premise of
"I'm here, it's here and I may not be back for another year so...."
This year, I got there so late and was so absorbed in
several books of interest that I did not hear the "all call" that the
museum is closing until a guard came up and said "You're the last person
here." OMG—I was so
embarrassed! I think I made up for it
though by purchasing three books there; had I had more time, it would have been
four!
So to recap, pay what you want, check out the gift shop and
also, and this is important, (although not quite on point), if you are leaving The Met and it is raining, do not expect
to be able to hail a cab. Do not. Insiders know that cabs and rain do not go
together. Time after time, I see
tourists trying to hail cabs but those cabs – coming from where I do not know –
already have passengers. I need to
figure out "ground zero" to catch an empty cab! (Likely 20 blocks north from there, if not
more.)
And for the record, and again, apropos to nothing, almost
every single time I've been to The Met,
whether alone or with someone, it rains.
It rained this year. It rained
two years ago when I was with my friend, Susan, who lives in NYC. In fact, it
has rained on us every single time prompting me to tell her that she was the
jinx, and yet this time around, I got caught out. I had an umbrella though so that was good but
other times, I haven't.
In conclusion then:
pay what you want, if pressed for time, check out the gift shop because
it's FREE, and "fugheddaboudit" hailing a cab in the rain. (PS—You
can, if you want, purchase a rain poncho like many of the tourists do, but it
won't help you get a cab, and frankly it screams "TOURIST" to
everybody you see. Plus they are hot and
I don't mean fashion-wise! Umbrellas are the better choice, and for your
"convenience" you can almost always find an umbrella vendor near the
front steps.)
This concludes my public service announcement about visiting
The Met.
As to the cookbook, it is spiral bound which as I said in my
last post, does not usually find favor with me, but I bought this at an estate
sale and really didn't care because it was from The Met. Besides, I was
intrigued by the illustrations, both on the cover and inside and thought them
appropriate for a cookbook from an art museum.
The cover art is "The Pastry Cook," by Abraham
Bosse (French, 1602-1676), and is a rendering in black and white of several
cooks in a kitchen (illustrations continue on the back of the book). The inside illustrations were taken from an
early Italian cookbook, Il Cuco segreto
di Papa Pio V (The Private Chef of Pope Pius V] by Bartomlomeo Scappi, Venice , 1570. The inside illustrations were all of pots,
pans, and utensils along with their Italian names and I thought that was kind
of fun.
Like the museum itself, the Table of Contents is carefully
curated into these categories:
- Appetizers & Soups
- Meats, Poultry, Fish & Their Sauces
- Vegetables, Salads, & Salad Dressings
- Noodles, Rice, Pasta, & Their Sauces
- Quiches, Soufflés, & Eggs
- Desserts
- Cookies, Cakes, & Breads
- Menus & Miscellaneous
And remember, all of these recipes were submitted by the
museum's staff and board members and their work area is listed next to each
recipe, for example "Catalogue," "Drawings," "Prints
and Photographs," and so on.
As to the recipes, there were plenty that caught my eye and
would have been acceptable. In fact, for
the longest time, my money was on making "Bloody Mary Meat Loaf" on
page 59 because well, why not! I've
never made a meatloaf with a Bloody Mary mix. But then I started rethinking my selection and
I have to tell you that sometimes these self-debates sound suspiciously like
the call of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs: "It's 'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf' in the
lead. 'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf' down the back
stretch. 'Fresh Vegetable Soup' is
coming up from behind. 'Fresh Vegetable
Soup' is gaining on 'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf'.
'Bloody Mary Meat Loaf' and 'Fresh Vegetable Soup' are neck and neck
and...'Fresh Vegetable Soup' wins by a nose!"
I have a vivid imagination!
I also flagged "Hot Crab Meat for Twenty" on page
14 for future use, likely at a party, and pondered the merits of "Two-Tiered
Tuna Casserole," p. 82. before deciding that it was a bit heavy for the
day, plus it didn't have peas and people, it has to have peas. Period.
In the end, I wanted something light and fresh and so went
with the soup. Mind you, the day I made
it, the humidity was off the charts, but my house remained cool and so it all
worked and it was tasty.
As to my quick trip to The
Met's Gift Shop, to answer your burning question, no, I didn't purchase a
cookbooks because they really don't stock a lot of them and nothing I saw
tripped my trigger such that I had to have it that day. The books I purchased were all about NYC
architecture and design which is also an area of interest and I ran out of time
to see much of anything else. By the
way, one year after getting caught in the rain on my way into the museum and
gift shop – what did I tell you – I pretty much hugged all the lighted jewelry
cases as a way to warm up from the cold downpour. I'd have loved to have been the security
person who watched that tape: "What
is she doing? What. Is. She. doing? Is she trying to break into the cases? Hey Joe, c'mere and look at this...."
Fresh Vegetable Soup –
Serves 8 – submitted by Clare Vincent – Western European Arts
2 leeks, cut in ½-inch chunks
1 medium or large onion, cut in ½-inch chunks
2 tablespoons butter
6 chicken bouillon
cubes (Ann's Note: or substitute chicken broth)
2 parsnips, cut in ½-inch chunks
2 medium white turnips, cut in ½-inch chunks
3 stalks celery (without leaves), cut in ½-inch chunks
2 medium carrots, cut in thumb-size pieces
¼ teaspoon dried thyme (or more)
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary (or more)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 medium potatoes, cut in thumb-size pieces
2 cups stewed tomatoes (one 16-ounce can) (Ann's Note:
or substitute fresh, chopped tomatoes)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
In a large pot wilt leeks and onion in butter. Add 3 quarts of water and bouillon cubes and
bring to a boil. (Ann's Note:
if you want to substitute chicken broth like I did, then just pour out 3
cups of broth and add that instead.)
Add parsnips and bring to a boil. Add turnips and bring to a boil. Add celery
and bring to a boil. Add carrots and
bring to a boil. Add thyme, rosemary,
salt, and pepper, and correct seasonings (more herbs and bouillon may be
added). Ann's Note: once the broth
started to boil, it continued to boil so there was no "bring to a
boil" portion of our program. Since
the recipe contributor didn't saw to lower the heat, I kept it as was and just
kept adding the vegetables as directed.
Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, bring to a
boil, and simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked through. All the other vegetables will be ready by
this time. Add parsley and dill, and simmer until the potatoes are done and the
herbs have just begun to wilt.
When reheating to serve, make sure not to allow soup to
simmer more than a minute or two, or all the care in bringing each vegetable to
just the right degree of doneness will be wasted.
Ann's Note: Okay, I need to parse this. Since the only
way to make sure the veggies weren't overdone was to immediately lower the heat
to simmer and then bring it back to a boil, it would have been nice if that was
in the directions! As mentioned above,
once the broth started boiling, it never stopped. Now had I made a full recipe, maybe the bulk
of the vegetables would have caused the appropriate "delay" in the
restart of the boil but such was not the case.
I did not need soup for 8, I needed soup for 2 and so played with
it. In the end, did the extra boil time
matter much? Nah.
