Finding Frink – The Artists’ and Writers’ Cook Book

Whilst listing items from the Frink archive, one of our team, Clare, came across The Artists’ and Writers’ CookBook, published in 1961, beautifully illustrated with 19th-century engravings and original drawings by Marcel Duchamp, Robert Osborn, and Alexandre Istrati. In this blog, she explains why she was so fascinated with the book…

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It’s a collection of 220 recipes by 55 painters, 61 novelists, 15 sculptors, and 19 poets, including great creative minds such as John Keats, Lawrence Durrell, Robert Graves, Harper Lee, Irving Stone, and Elisabeth Frink to name a few. Written with varying degrees of seriousness, some wholeheartedly share their recipes, while others use the cookbook as an outlet for their wit and creative asides!

This book immediately sparked my interest; mainly because I love cooking and like to find inspiration for new recipes (Elisabeth Frink has contributed a recipe), and also whilst dipping into its pages, the unexpectedly witty stories and anecdotes had me laughing out loud. From American author (not to be confused with the poet) John Keats’ musings on eating twice a day;

‘People like dogs, should not be fed more than twice a day. Any diet that includes three squares invariably produces round folk of fat and flatulence…’

…to American artist Milton Resnick’s short and succinct recipe for Chinese meatballs: Make meat balls of the very best ground beef. Place with as many brussels sprouts as desired in a pressure cooker with a little water. Cook.

…not sure where the Chinese element comes in, I think I’ll give this one a miss.

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Breakfast, to break ones fast…’should be regarded as a time of joy, of new beginnings’ according to Keats. But it’s dinner that is the main event, ‘I strongly suggest that one should breakfast like a peasant, and dine like a viscount.’ So, it is with this in mind that I have chosen to focus on a dinner recipe.

My intention, as has been in previous recipe blogs, was to cook something from the book. So, what to cook? Well, the obvious choice is the Frink Roast Lemon Chicken. Nothing new here, and having eaten lemon chicken before, I don’t feel inspired. I have however included it should you wish to follow Frink’s recipe:

Elisabeth Frink – Roast Lemon Chicken

Chop up one lemon, rub the outside of the chicken with the rind and put the rest of the lemon inside the chicken with a lump of garlic.

Season with salt and pepper and cook with a mixture half of olive oil and half of butter poured on top and inside of the chicken.

Half an hour before taking the chicken out of the oven, pour freshly squeezed lemon juice and chopped parsley over the top. Serves 4.

2 lemons

Chicken

Garlic

Salt, pepper

Olive oil, butter

There is in fact a whole section of the book dedicated to chicken (Chicken not fried and other fowl): from Coq Au Vin, to what to do with a chicken that was never meant to be eaten.

I have instead opted for artist Maurice Rey’s Chicken with peaches. A slightly unusual choice mixing sweet peaches with chicken, but we’ll see how it goes…

Maurice Rey – Chicken with peaches

Cut the chicken into pieces as evenly as possible. Toss the pieces in a saucepan with hot butter. Add small onions, salt and pepper.

Cook on a high flame for 35 minutes, stirring from time to time so that the chicken becomes golden brown but does not burn.

Pour in a sugar syrup and halved fresh peaches which have been lightly cooked in the syrup. Serve the chicken with chopped parsley, the hot peach juice, and surround with hot, drained peaches.

Serves 4.

 

Chicken

Butter

Small Onions

Salt, pepper

A can of peaches with syrup or fresh peaches cooked lightly in sugar syrup

Parsley

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Whilst it was cooking, I had to have a look at American author Sidney Peterson’s Field Turtle recipe (!)

This small creature may be encountered while driving along the highway. It may easily, in passing, be mistaken for a terrapin.

Take home and prepare as though it were. This takes hours.

Before removing from the shell, examine carefully. It is a rare and horrible sight. Disengage and slice. Sauté in butter with capers.

Cook rice.

Discard turtle and serve rice.

This will teach you never to pick up a small turtle on the highway.

(Indeed)

Sidney goes on to say, ‘In cooking, nothing is more important than learning from your mistakes’.

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So, to cooking the Chicken with Peaches recipe. I have taken advice from David Cornel DeJong to create the correct mood,

‘(Whilst cooking) Put yourself in a quiet mood, isolate yourself in the kitchen, above all shoo out the critical cat; turn off the radio, but for diversion cook a small armadillo on the side…it’s entertainment value isn’t always predictable…’

He continues with general advice on quantities, ‘Pay no attention to measures found on cans. Laugh at such comments ‘will serve six’. Lock away all sugar, sweetenings and flour. Take a moment to size up your guests by height, heft, age… and make an adequate mathematical guess.’

I have strayed ever so slightly from the recipe – I didn’t have peaches in syrup, so I used peaches in juice (which do appear to be in a sweet syrup nevertherless!). I also didn’t have small onions, so have used ¾ of a large onion sliced up. I served it with a garlic cheddar mash and sugar snap peas.

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The verdict

My partner was less keen than usual to tuck into dinner, ‘that peach thing, can we have that next week…’ was a frequent comment, before eyeing up the plate suspiciously. But I have to say it wasn’t at all bad! I cooked the chicken in butter and onions until it got some colour, it advises 35 minutes in the recipe – this adds flavour, and the peach juice when added, deglazed the pan making a sauce. I even liked the sweet and sour flavour the peaches contributed. Considering it uses only 4 main ingredients it’s a clever little dish.

My partner was pleasantly surprised – ‘I thought it was going to be inedible!’ – and had to concede that it was actually quite tasty (he finished the plate). Usually he prefers to have his dinner and dessert separately!

If you are looking for some light-hearted relief and inspiration in the kitchen, while sharing the food of some of the greatest creative minds of the 20^th century, you can’t go wrong with this book! What other old or unusual recipes have you tried from your own collection? Let us know in the comments below!

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