If you have a palate and imagination, a reading of the recipes will send you to the range, saying to yourself, "Now that sounds rather wonderful. " And after you have carefully prepared one of the dishes and handsomely arranged it for serving, remember: It's not just something to eat. It's art. - James Beard (from the Forward) 

{HISTORY}

Celebrating the relationship between food and art, this vintage 1980s cookbook pairs paintings and sculptures held in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art with thematic menus and recipes to create a cultural dining experience of visual and epicurean delight. 

Featuring a gallery of twenty unique paintings and sculptures across multiple disciplines and styles, work by Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Claude Monet, Maurice Prendergast, Edgar Degas, Georgia O'Keefe, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne are just a few of the artists included here that have inspired a litany of multi-cultural meals meant for sharing among friends and family

Frans Hals' 17th-century painting, Man with a Herring inspires a trout dinner. William Merrit Chase's Tenth Street Studio inspires a decadent 25-person salon-style dinner party. Maurice B. Prendergast's Picnic, painted in 1916, inspires a modern-day hamper basket complete with appetizers, main course, salad, and dessert. Henri Matisse's 1950 painting The Thousand and One Nights inspires preparations for an Arabian feast that is as colorful on the table as it is on the wall. Those are just a few examples of the around-the-world collection of culinary adventures that await. 

Published in 1984, Carnegie Treasures Cookbook was compiled by the Women's Committee whose mission since 1957 has been to promote the museum's cultural and educational resources in innovative and collaborative ways. By inviting discussions surrounding art home to the dinner table, this cookbook acts not only as a recipe collection but also a teaching tool, a conversation piece, and an art book too.

The winner of a distinguished R.T. French Tastemaker Award and recognized as a cookbook of excellence, this collection combines a really interesting array of contemporary international foods and classic art. Cuisine from Italy, France, Mexico, Asia, and the Middle East mingle with stories about each artwork and the artists who created them.

Interesting recipes include  Cream of Eggplant Soup, Beef Braciola, Swordfish Steak with Dill, Boston Brown Bread, Kohlrabi with Chinese Black Mushrooms, Brie in Puff Pastry, Mussels Marinere, Rosotto Gorgonzola, Mocha Rum Pots de Creme, Chilled Plum Soup, Gren Chili Sorbet, Four Happiness Dumplings and Champagne Zabaglione with Berries

What is especially lovely about this cookbook is that all the suggested menus are accompanied by wine and beverage pairings, and all the recipes are elegantly artistic in composition and presentation further proving that yes, indeed food is art and art is food.

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1984 Edition, Third Printing
• 292 pages
•  In addition to 20 selected menus, this cookbook also features 130 pages of favorite recipes by the Women's Committee staff that augment or enhance the suggested menus
  
• In addition to recipes and story snippets, this cookbook also features quotes written by or about each artist

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this cookbook is clean and bright throughout. There is very light foxing on the foredge but none on the interior pages. The dust jacket is clean and bright and free of rips and stains. The spine is tight and all pages are intact. 

{SIZE}

Measures 9.25" inches (width) x 9.25" inches (length) x 1.25" inches (thickness) and weighs 2.11 lbs