My sweet friend Daisy had her first solo art show at The Hive in Silverlake and asked me to cater the event. I was thrilled to. And because I'm not going to describe these gorgeous paintings any better than this, here's the blurb:
This show is a series of paintings on wood panels that explore the fleeting themes of life, beauty and the natural world. The impact that humans have had on our surrounding natural environment drives the juxtaposition between endangered and recently extinct animals with female forms, each reflecting the culture and geography that surrounds each animal.
For this show, I wanted to do a set of global tapas themed to the nationality of each painting. For the Dodo and French Woman (in the above entrance painting), I made a batch of chocolate and lemon madeleines. As I was cleaning up at the end of the night, two girls walked up to the table and sighed, "Oh, they put the cookies away!" Having overheard them, I pulled them from my car and sent them home with the leftovers - one, in the most charming French accent, said, "These are madeleines, no? My grandmother used to make [lemon ones] just like these." Perhaps one of the greatest compliments I've ever received.
Next up is a tie-in between two different paintings: the Komodo Dragon and Indonesian Woman (top), and the Snow Leopard and Mongolian Woman (bottom). To streamline the table, I made Turkey Meatballs with two dipping sauces, a Sambal Kacang, or Peanut Sauce and Mongolian Barbecue Sauce.
I know Mongolian BBQ has nothing to do with Mongolian culture, but in my research, I did read that a lot of Mongolian food is influenced by their Chinese neighbors, so I didn't feel too inauthentic. And I can't say the turkey meatballs are very Asian (especially since they came from Rachael Ray), but I thought turkey would be easier for a crowd than red meat.
For the California Condor and Esslen Indian, I had visions of corn and pumpkin, and when the Corn Macque Choux I made was such a great success, I replicated it for the show, to be served on toasted baguette slices as a sort of bruschetta.
The Tasmanian Tiger and Aboriginal Woman gave me the most trouble. Nothing I was coming across tied in well with the other dishes. I ended up with a lot of nut/berry citations, so I ended up doing a sort of trail mix with macadamia nuts, and dried peaches and berries.
The Polar Bear and Inuit Woman and Passenger Pigeon and Victorian Woman also lent themselves to a combo dish - Stuffed Baguettes with a Smoked Salmon Tartare filling for our Inuit, and a Cucumber Mint filling for our Victorian. I guess I should have made more because they were the only item that was all gone when I went to clean up. :)
Last (but definitely not least - if I had a gun to my head and was forced to choose a favorite, this would be it), I made a Marinated Bok Choy Salad for the Baiji Dolphin and Chinese Woman. I loved the dressing for this, and when I was testing the recipe last week, I was amazed to find that the dressed bok choy still was still fresh and crisp, and hadn't wilted after 2 hours in the fridge. Since I was only dropping off the food before scurrying across town for a wedding, I didn't want to push my luck with dressing the salad 6 hours before show time, but it's good to know for other occasions.
And since I wasn't there for the show, I can't take any credit for the lovely set-up, but here's a shot Daisy took of the spread. Thanks, Daisy! Like you didn't have enough to do Saturday night!
If you're in LA, do stop at The Hive to check these out in person. The pictures do not do them justice! They'll be hanging until August 5th.
The Hive
1402 Micheltorena St.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
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