Amazon Finds - Artist Series ~ Monet's Table and Renoir's Table

Monet's Table, published in 1989. Subtitled the Cooking Journals of Claude Monet, the book focuses on the time Monet lived at Giverny (over 40 years) as well as how the Normandy landscape influenced many of his paintings and meals.

Many of the dishes are from Monet's travels, a few from friends and the remainder from restaurants he frequented in Paris. The book is filled with lovely reproductions of the artist's work and amazingly beautiful photographs of the house at Giverny - both the grounds and interiors.

The many chapters leading up to the recipes offer an background on Monet's life as an artist, his interactions with his fellow impressionists and a quick history of the cuisine of the region. Life at Giverny gives a few details of the kitchen garden and the produce grown within, the wild game available on the property used in meals, and includes a few old photos of picnics and celebration lunches.

Last are the recipes - all very French in nature ~ leek & potato soup, cream of turnip soup, egg custard, various sauces ( tartar, tomato, mayonnaise, Bearnaise and horseradish), Welsh rarebit, crepes and stuffed eggplant. Some of the entrees consist of stuffed capon, baked or fried chicken, chicken braised in red wine, beef pie, lamb stew, beef tongue, baked calves' liver, plus venison, woodcock, duck and partridge, while mussels, oysters, sole, lobster and mackerel represent the seafood options.

A few of the desserts include scones, Genoa cake, Madeleines, almond cookies, crepes, French toast, plum jam and brandied cherries.

Renoir's Table, published in 1994. Subtitled the Art of Living and Dining with One of the World's Greatest Impressionist Painters, the book is filled with many lovely photos, reproductions of Renoir's paintings and gives a detailed background history of Renoir.

We begin with a description of Paris in 1845, when the four year old moved with his family to the city of lights, then fast forward to 1863 when Renoir travels to the Fontainebleau region of France. There are lavish details of life on the riverbanks of the Seine and lively descriptions of Parisian restaurants, along with culinary tour of the artist's favorite haunts.

Several other subjects in the book are anecdotes of the 1879 Paris Art Show and the accompanying dinner parties, snippets about the Montmartre studio and Les Collettes, a farmhouse with gardens where Renoir moved to in 1908.

The recipes close out the book, beginnings with soups (fish paste or onion), followed by a bacon omelet, scrambled eggs with truffles and potted boar's head.  A few of the entrees consist of mussels, sea bass, bouillabaisse, rabbit with garlic & olives, mutton or veal stew, quail, stuffed pigeons, and Chicken Renoir (chicken, onions, tomatoes, garlic & mushrooms).

A few sides include potato cakes, baked tomatoes and snow peas with bacon, while a fig tart, an amazing chocolate cake, orange preserves and rice pudding round out the desserts.