Looks Good: Cinnamon Sugar-Crusted Popovers

Courtesy Vanilla Basil.

Ingredients
1 cup 2% milk
2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
2 jumbo or 3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp Saigon cinnamon

Go to Vanilla Basil for instructions.

A Mixed Bag: The SoCal Edition

Christopher Lowell, The Dreamers – Studies, 2008. Dimensions unknown.
Courtesy Stephen Cohen Gallery.

The Dreamers: Christopher Lowell began this year-long project by asking artist-friends from around the world to create artworks about their dreams and aspirations and mail them to a post office box in Southern California. At the end of the year, all of the artists gathered to view the work they had created, and to share stories of dreams fulfilled or lost. Photographed by Lowell, their portraits are on view at Stephen Cohen Gallery through April 24.

Youth Speak: Teenage journalist and L.A. resident Ernesto Pineda reflects on the difficulties of healthy eating.

MunchMad: Grub Street L.A. has the dish on this new Facebook group for foodies.

Smack Down: New York’s street food competition, The Vendys, is moving west.

"Compton Cookout" was the name given a (despicable) UC San Diego fraternity event that promised a taste of "life in the ghetto." University officials respond.

An Idea Called Tomorrow: Co-organized by the California African American Museum and the Skirball Cultural Center, the two-venue exhibition considers the active role we must all play to bring about a more just, equitable, and peaceful future. On view through May 2. (See feature in Whitewall online.)

Cultural Genocide: Sign the petition to save Watts Towers Art Center, a space of art education and cultural programming for youth and under-served communities.

41st & Central: The Untold Story of the L.A. Black Panthers: The original surviving members of the L.A. Black Panthers speak out in this new documentary film. Opens March 26 at Culver Plaza Theatres for a limited time engagement.

Govenator (radically?) suggests moving money from the big house to the school house.

The Raza's Edge, a public program at the LA County Museum of Art on April 3, will focus on the Chicano presence in the history of art. (See Walter Robinson's recent piece for Artnet, The Chicano Avant-Garde.)

Tecate Cake: The SoCal beer craze is seeping into area sweets.

It's Cool, I'm Good: Three new videos by artist Stanya Kahn are on view at Susanne Vielmetter Projects through April 24. They "smack of YouTube vernacular," says critic Micol Hebron in Artforum.

Edible Sunset: The hipster neighborhood of Silver Lake sounds tasty.

Life's Flavor: The little round ladies painted by Brazilian artist Nina Pandolfo are on view at Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art in Culver City through April 18.

Avocado Pound Cake: Courtesy of L.A. food blogger Joy the Baker.

So You Think You Can Cook?

Gristle: The DJ and former vegan, Moby, was in L.A. this week signing copies of his new book on the food industry.

Jonesin: SoCal artist Alika Cooper renders Grace Jones's infamous performance at Paradise Garage (a collaboration with Keith Haring) in gouache.

Hot Pink: Hotcakes Bakes, said to offer some of the tastiest baked goods in L.A., gets reviewed by a city newbie.

Need a Date? This list of wild and foraged foods includes date trees, which are found in desert areas of SoCal and Arizona.

It Makes Sense: Ann Landi of Artnews on Jeffrey Deitch's shift from dealer to director.

Obscenely Smart: Art21 columnist Catherine Wagley on the work of Mel Bochner, now on view in L.A.

How Many Billboards? This two-month public art project, organized by the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, wraps up April 15 with a panel discussion on the visual ecology of advertising and architecture.

Follow SoCal Art: @artwhirled, @KnightLAT, and @artbystander.

Follow SoCal Food: @joythebaker, @eatingLA, and @carolineoncrack.

Gastro-Vision: In the Land of Plenty

Mr. Creosote in "Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life" (film still), 1983.

Gastr0-Vision is the title of my monthly column on the Art21 blog. The series is dedicated to all things food in contemporary art and visual culture.

This month's post focuses on gluttony in art. Here's an excerpt:

Mr. Creosote, the morbidly obese character of the 1983 comedy Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, is a picture of gluttony never to be forgotten. Upon taking his seat in a fancy French restaurant, he begins to vomit, showing no concern for the people around him and the dreadfulness of his action. Throughout the skit he continues to project ridiculously large streams of matter onto the floor, into buckets, on the maître d’, cleaning woman, and himself. Between upchucks, he heedlessly orders and consumes copious amounts of food. In a darkly humorous ending, the character explodes, showering the restaurant and its patrons with human viscera. The camera pans back to Mr. Creosote, who is now a hollow carcass with a still-beating heart. The maître d’ presents him with the check.

The same year that audiences were introduced to Mr. Creosote, the art world was entering a period of phenomenal excess. The wealth enjoyed by upper and middle class Americans in the early 1980s brought about rapid growth in the art market. The resulting bubble would, like Mr. Creosote, eventually burst. At the present moment, we are acutely aware of this bulimic pattern: after the buying binge of recent years, the market (along with the larger economy) again purged, and given the latest art fair reports, is back on the rise. Might Mr. Creosote be the perfect metaphor for the contemporary art world that is always hungry for more?

Continue reading here.

Looks Good: German Chocolate Cupcakes

Photo: David Lebovitz.com

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup boiling water or coffee
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (see note @ link below), room temperature

Frosting:
3/4 cup evaporated milk (whole milk)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, at room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes, lightly toasted
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional toasted coconut for garnish (optional)

Go to David Lebovitz.com for instructions.

Eye Candy: Phillip-Lorca diCorcia

Phillip-Lorca diCorcia, Marilyn, date unknown. C-Print, 30 x 40 in. via David Zwirner.com

One hundred never-before-seen Polaroid photographs by Philip-Lorca diCorcia are on view at this year's Armory Show in the David Zwirner booth. The images were culled from diCorcia's archive/collection, spanning the past 25 years.

The artist will sign copies of his books Thousand and Philip-Lorca diCorcia at the booth tomorrow from 3 to 4pm. The Armory Show continues through March 7.

Community Cooking (3.2.10)

Moroccan Carrot and Orange Salad (at home).

Sustainable Flatbush -- an organization that advocates, educates, and mobilizes for sustainable living in Brooklyn -- hosted a fantastic event last week called "Greening Flatbush: Garden Where You Are." This two-hour series of presentations and hands-on workshops by local growers, foodies, and food professionals included a cooking demo by yours truly. All of my ingredients for Moroccan Carrot and Orange Salad were generously donated by the Flatbush Food Co-op.

Greening Flatbush 2010. Photo: Maria Bergenhem.

Greening Flatbush 2010, "Emily Goodman's 'Gardening for Children.'" Photo: Flatbush Gardener.

Greening Flatbush 2010, "Just Food Community Chef" (me). Photo: Rodney Bedsole.

Moroccan Carrot and Orange Salad was a hit with attendees. Its bright citrus colors on a cold winter day certainly contributed to the enthusiasm. This refreshing mix can be served as a stand alone, a starter with light breads, or as a side to grilled/roasted dishes. Notice that the recipe below (adapted from ecurry.com) calls for Orange Blossom Water, a common ingredient in Moroccan dishes and desserts. Locals can find this at Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn and Kalustyan's in Manhattan. Though, orange flavor (sold in most grocery stores near vanilla extract) or extra orange juice are fine substitutes.

Ingredients
5 large carrots, grated
3 Navel oranges or Clementines, peeled and segments halved
1 Blood orange
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup almonds or pine nuts, lightly toasted
Fresh mint leaves
Pine nuts, toasted
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp orange juice
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp honey or agave nectar
1 Tbsp Orange Blossom Water or 1 Tbsp orange flavor
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
Pinch of sea salt

Soak raisins in hot water for 30 minutes, then drain. Peel the carrots and grate/shred them. Mix the carrots, oranges, nuts, raisins and mint leaves in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine Orange Blossom Water, lemon juice, orange juice, agave nectar, olive oil, salt, paprika and cumin and whisk well. Pour the dressing evenly over the other ingredients, and toss. Cover and refrigerate for half hour or more to allow the salad to macerate.