Are you tired of eating the same iteration of meat, potatoes, and casserole every holiday season? Has the thought of preparing a fancy holiday meal got you in a tizzy? Why not go for something less complicated, and more straightforward? We believe that Jackson Pollock has the solution for you!
According to Robyn Lea’s book “Dinner with Jackson Pollock,” Pollock was also an artiste of sorts in the kitchen. So we have a three-course meal from the Pollock/Krasner household that you can make to achieve a laid-back, down-to-earth, rugged-artist-themed holiday dinner that all your friends wished they thought of. While they try to marry burnt vegetables with frozen slabs of meat, you will be enjoying these simple classics alongside stunning works of art.
Appetizer: Borscht
Pollock and his wife, Lee Krasner, liked to make this soup as part of the regimen to cure Pollock of his alcoholism. They followed their friends’ advice that Pollock should be eating certain fruits and vegetables, so Krasner began preparing fresh smoothies, soups, and salads for her husband.
Recipe:
1lb raw beets
1 cup beef broth
½ cup sour cream, plus more for serving
½ lemon, juice and zest
½ tsp salt
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup dill and/or chives, finely chopped, for garnish
- Wash and scrub beets thoroughly, then place in a saucepan and cover with lightly salted cold water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook until tender, about 40 minutes depending on the size of the beets. Allow to cool, then strain and reserve liquid.
- Peel then chop beets into quarters, then place them in a blender with 1 cup reserved beet liquid, beef broth, sour cream, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper; blend until smooth. Garnish with a swirl of sour cream and sprinkle with finely chopped dill and/or chives.
- Serve warm or cold.
I didn’t try to make this soup because I hate beets, but it looks extremely festive and fitting for the holidays. Plus, I’m sure it is the perfect dish to start off your cocktail-fueled evening. This soup is best enjoyed while appreciating Krasner’s piece, Gaea, painted 10 years after her husband’s death from a drunk-driving accident.
Gaea by Lee Krasner at the Museum of Modern Art
Main Entrée: Jackson’s Famous Spaghetti Sauce
Sure, spaghetti is nothing special, but it was special to Pollock, who tried this childhood staple for the first time when he was already eighteen years old. He learned this spaghetti sauce recipe from Rita Benton (wife of artist Thomas Hart Benton) after she initially exposed him to the dish.
I made this recipe and enjoyed it immensely. Here’s my attempt at an artsy photo of the finished product alongside the book’s photo of the dish in progress.
For the most part, it’s a pretty standard recipe, but where it really stands out is the seemingly unnecessary amount of work you have to put into finely cutting the meat by hand (see: ingredient #3).
Recipe:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 lb pork tenderloin or pork chops, finely cut by hand
½ lb mushrooms, sliced
6 oz can tomato paste
1 can water
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb spaghetti
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated, for serving
- In a heavy-bottom skillet, heat the oil and brown the onion. Add meat, mushrooms, tomato paste, water, and seasonings; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until pork is tender.
- Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in salted boiling water 8-10 minutes; drain.
- Toss spaghetti with sauce, and serve with cheese.
I must admit, I was very tempted to just buy ground pork, but then a nagging voice kept telling me that I had to keep it authentic if I wanted to write a blog post about it. And then I looked over my shoulder and it was my boyfriend. He was telling me I had to make it authentic, and (unfortunately) he was right, because the recipe is delicious just the way it is.
Since this is such a classic recipe, it’s best enjoyed while perusing one of Pollock’s more “classic” pieces. This is the artist’s 1938 painting, The Flame.
The Flame by Jackson Pollock at the Museum of Modern Art
Dessert: Jackson’s Prize-Winning Apple Pie
For dessert, we’re going traditional with a pie everyone loves. Now I know I promised an easy three-course dinner, but see, this is Pollock’s prize-winning apple pie, so I felt like it shouldn’t be overlooked. Pollock enjoyed baking even more than cooking, and in fact, won first prize at his local Fisherman’s Fair for this recipe.
Recipe:
For the filling:
4 lb. Granny Smith apples, or any combination of tart apples
¼ cup water
1 cup sugar, or less if desired
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. all-purpose flour, sifted
For the pie crust:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 level tsp. baking powder
1 level tsp. salt
1½ cups cold butter
2 egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg for egg wash
½ cup cold milk, plus more as needed
- To prepare the filling: Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Stew apples in a pot with a little water to cover the fruit, plus the sugar and spices, until just cooked. Chill apples in a little of the juice. When cold, sift flour over the apples and stir gently to combine. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450°F. To make the pie crust: Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and cut in until mixture is crumbly. Add egg yolks and mix with enough milk to make a dough. Roll out dough lightly. Place the pastry in a greased 10‑inch round pie dish, allowing pastry to overhang the edge of the pan by about 1 inch; trim away excess dough, roll it into a ball, and set aside to make the top crust. Be sure there are no cracks in the bottom crust; seal them by pressing edges together with fingers. Pour apple mixture into pie shell and distribute evenly.
- For a simple top crust, roll out the remaining dough, slide the pastry sheet onto the rolling pin, and unroll it on top of the apple pie filling. Allow top crust to overhang the edge of the pan by about 1 inch; trim away excess dough, then pinch the top and bottom crusts together all around the rim to seal the pie. Prick the top crust with a fork in about a dozen places, or slice a few small openings with a knife, to allow steam to escape. Brush top pastry with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with a pinch or two of sugar.
- For a more elaborate lattice-style top, roll out the remaining dough, cut into ½‑inch strips, and weave strips across the top of the filling. Brush lattice strips with egg wash and lightly sprinkle with a pinch or two of sugar.
- Place the pie in the center of oven and bake 10 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 325°F and bake 25 to 30 minutes more.
If you do this right, then this is best enjoyed with Pollock’s masterpiece, Autumn Rhythm, because of course, autumn is the season for apples.
Autumn Rhythm by Jackson Pollock at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
But if you’re a virgin pie baker like me, then much like Pollock’s drip paintings, this award-winning pie is deceiving. You’re going to think “this shouldn’t be that hard to make” but believe me, yours won’t turn out quite right and you won’t know what you did wrong.
Observe: the difference between their gorgeous pie and mine.
But at the end of the day, how can you really go wrong with apples, butter, and sugar? It still tasted amazing!
We hope you try your hand at the art of cooking and make these tasty treats for your holiday get-together! We are sure Pollock and Krasner would be so, so excited…
By Kyla
Contributor