Professor Butter Beard and Séverac’s “Portrait of Claude Monet”
“I have always been a hearty eater, and it has never done me any harm.” – Claude Monet
My birthday is tomorrow. And, as I was relishing yet another biography of Claude Monet, I came across a delicious paragraph where he discussed his youth and what he might wish to say to his younger foppish self. I understand and appreciate that reflective thought. I read further and delightedly realized that Monsieur Monet and I shared quite a few childhood experiences and influences as we travelled along our respective artistic journeys. A perfect sunset moment of reflection on a birthday eve.
According to the author Florence Gentner, Monet may not have left us any specific accounts or memories of the food of his childhood, but “we can readily picture the wealthy environment which was both conventional and cultured.” On the one hand, his childhood was marked by his father’s conservatism, and on the other hand by his mother’s passion for music, theater, poetry and drawing. Monet was very close to his mother, but she died in January 1857 when he was sixteen years old (mine died when I was fourteen), and he was sent to Sainte-Adresse to live with his childless, widowed but wealthy aunt, Marie-Jeanne Lacadre.
Aunt Marie-Jeanne grew into an influential figure in young Monet’s life. An artist herself, she sensed his intuitive talent and gave her nephew the run of her studio. Marie-Jeanne was famous for hosting sumptuous dinner parties with fabulous desserts at her seaside resort home named “Le Coteau.” Her grand “garden with a view,” full of flowers steeped in sunlight, would later become the subject of Monet’s painting, “the Garden at Sainte-Adresse.” One of the dinner guests, Frédéric Bazille wrote to his mother, “I had lunch with Monet’s family. They are a delightful people, and have a delightful residence at Sainte-Adresse near Le Havre where life is just as sophisticated as it is at Méric.”
From an early age, Monet admits he cut a rebellious figure. He wrote, “secondary school was always like prison to me, and I could never resign myself to being there, even for four hours a day, when the sun was so enticing, the sea so beautiful, and it was so good to be outdoors, running along the cliffs or splashing about in the water.”
Monet left the idyllic seaside resort for Paris in 1859, at the age of 19. His father, ever dubious about young Claude's ambition to become a painter, kept his son on a tight allowance and leash. Even so, Monet ran up bills he could not pay, particularly to his tailor and, to his own amusement, earned a dubious reputation as a foppish dandy. “I only sleep with duchesses or maids. Preferably duchesses' maids,” he told a fellow student at art school.
The upcoming father of Impressionism would soon adopt his signature bushy beard and artist's beret. Gilbert Alexandre de Séverac's 1865 oil portrait is the last known record of the cocky, beardless Monet, with floppy dark hair and a snazzy striped jacket. One artist captures another, showcasing the positively glowing self-confidence as he internally whispers “just wait and see.”
The older Claude Monet wrote that if he had been able to share a moment on the beach with his younger self, he might have advised: “Study, learn to truly look, paint and draw. It is so beautiful, the sea and sky, animals, people and trees just as nature made them, with their characters, their essence of being, in the light, within the atmosphere, just as things are.”
My mind drifted to Aunt Marie-Jeanne’s soirees and what may have been served as the afternoon sun set into an artistic explosion of pinks, oranges, golds and blues. The platters of French cheeses, pears and cherries would have been pushed aside to make room for the grand finale – a dark chocolate souffle, still wiggly and steamy from the oven. The hostess stands to dramatically tap the top with a silver spoon and then pours in a decadent lake of vanilla crème anglaise before serving her awestruck guests.
I present you with the triumphant result of my Monet daydreams. And, upon reflection, if I was afforded the opportunity to speak to my younger foppish self, I might offer these delicious tidbits: 1) Remember your grandmother’s garden and visit it often in your mind. 2) Let the anger go, and trust, honor and acknowledge your internal gingery Buddha. 3) Allow your soul to love. And, 4) Bake dark chocolate souffles as often as possible.
Professor Butter Beard’s Dark Chocolate Souffles
4-6 Mini Souffles
About a Tbsp or two of unsalted butter to grease the ramekins
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 tsp espresso powder
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar (1/3 cup for chocolate and 2/3 cup for meringue)
5 Tbsp dark cocoa (plus more for dusting the ramekins)
2 ½ Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1) Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
2) Lightly butter 4-6 ramekins and dust the insides of each with dark cocoa.
3) In a medium saucepan, whisk together the whole milk and the espresso powder. Heat gently until almost to a simmer.
4) In a medium glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar into a paste. Add the 5 Tbsp dark cocoa, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, sea salt and cinnamon and whisk to combine.
5) Temper the warm milk into the chocolate mix. Return to the pan and cook over a low heat, gently whisking all the time, until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat, pour back into the glass bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap to cool slightly while you make the meringue.
6) In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk the egg whites into a foam. Add a pinch of sea salt and the cream of tartar. Turn the mixer to high and whisk into soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 2/3 cup granulated sugar until you have a stiff glossy meringue.
7) Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Then gently fold the remaining meringue into the mixture until no white streaks remain. Divide the mixture evenly in the prepared ramekins and wipe the top of the ramekins clean.
8) Bake in the center of the oven for 15-17 minutes until fully risen. When you remove them from the oven, dust the tops lightly with a bit of dark cocoa or confectionary’s sugar. Serve immediately.
