Splendor in the Grass
Food & Drink August 26th, 2010
Apparently, the Impressionists were crazy for picnics. Bonnard chose a nice spot on the river for his repast; Cezanne painted at least two. Manet planted a nude on his picnic blanket, while Monet, an inveterate host and lover lavish lunches, focused on the food (a bird, bread, an elaborate terrine and lots of fruit) instead. Renoir, too, loved a luncheon—his son, the great filmmaker Jean Renoir, made no secret of the fact that his first feature, “Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe” (“Picnic in the Grass”), was influenced by the work of his father.
It’s not too late to create a lavish summer picnic of your own. Star Provisions has lots of picnic supplies from wooden knives and forks and Emma Bridgewater’s lightweight picnic plates to a wide range of cured meats and cheeses perfect for packing. And then of course, there’s the wine. It’s a rare Impressionist who didn’t include at least one bottle on his canvas, and if Wine for All’s Crosby Roamann “Introsé” had existed they’d have surely chosen it. Eli Hardoff, Wine for All’s proprietor describes it as summer in a bottle—and that, after all, is what picnics are all about trying to capture. Made by bleeding off Crosby Roamann’s flagship Cabernet, the wine is all bright berries, cherries, and spice with a crisp and dry finish. Hardoff says he likes it with everything from lamb skewers to fried chicken, preferably “while sitting outside on a late summer evening listerning to Pink Floyd.”
We’ll leave it to you to load your picnic iPod, but we do suggest a luscious berry tart (which would actually be great with the wine) from Deborah Madison’s new cookbook, Seasonal Fruit Desserts. It’s a dessert Monet would have loved—to paint and to eat. For a picnic at the beach, pack the divine Mini Lobster Rolls from chef Marc Murphy at NYC’s Ditch Plains. He made them for a summer event at the James Beard House and they flew off the trays.
Marc Murphy’s Mini Lobster Rolls
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients:
1 head garlic, outer papery layers removed
5 ribs celery, divided
2 cups white wine
1 lemon, halved
1 onion, halved
One lobster, about 1 ½ pounds
1 ¼ cup mayonnaise
2 scallions, chopped
10 tarragon leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
6 top-split soft dinner rolls
Butter as needed
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the top off the head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Place the head on a large piece of foil and fold the foil around the garlic to create a sealed package. Roast in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool. Discard the foil and remove all of the garlic peel. Set aside the roasted cloves.
Roughly chop 3 of the celery ribs. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the chopped celery, white wine, lemon, and onion. Add the lobster to the pot and boil until bright red, about 7 to 10 minutes. Prepare an ice bath while the lobster cooks.
Use tongs to remove the lobster from the water and place in the ice bath to stop the cooking. When the lobster is cool enough to handle, break apart the tail and claws and remove the meat. (Reserve the rest of the lobster for another use.) Slice the tail in half lengthwise and slice each half in half lengthwise. Chop the four tail slices. Cut each claw in half and chop the halves. Place the lobster meat in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Chop the two remaining celery ribs and add to the lobster meat. Mix in the mayonnaise, scallions, tarragon, mustard, salt, pepper, Old Bay, and 1 tablespoon of the roasted garlic.
Spread with butter on the insides of the dinner rolls. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Fill the toasted rolls with the lobster mixture.
Deborah Madison’s Cream Tart with Black Raspberries
Makes one 9-inch tart serving 8
Ingredients:
1 recipe Silky tart dough
¾ cup crème fraiche
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons maple sugar or organic sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 cups Blackcap raspberries or other berries
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make the dough and line the tart pan with it. Make sure the rim is fairly substantial, although it needn’t be high.
2. Whisk the crème fraiche, egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, and salt together. Pour the mixture into the shell. Dot the berries over the top and bake until puffy and pale gold, about 35 minutes. Remove even if it’s wobbly, as the custard will continue baking. Serve while still a little warm and fragrant.
Silky Tart Dough
Makes one 9-inch to 10-inch round or square tart
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup organic sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 orange or tangerine (optional)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1. Butter a 9-inch round or square tart pan. Beat the butter with the sugar and salt with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again until smooth. Add the flavorings, then the flour, mixing just to combine. Using a wide rubber spatula, scrape up the batter from the bottom, incorporating any stray bits of flour.
2. Scrape the batter into the tart pan. Using an offset spatula, spread it out, pushing the edges up the sides to make a rough rim. It needn’t be very high—just enough to hold the custard. If the batter is extremely soft, refrigerate for 10 minutes, then finish shaping the sides.
Pictured above, from left: Cream Tart with Black Raspberries from Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison; a Pierre Bonnard picnic Under the Pines; Crosby Roamann Introsé wine from Wine for All
