Gossart - What was OLD is NEW again & Craving Ramen!

ART NOW SHOWING: "Man, Myth, and Sensual Pleasures: Jan Gossart's Renaissance" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.

Jan Gossart has never before been the subject of an exhibition in the United States. The Met's show includes 50 of the artist's 63 known paintings, 35 drawings, and six prints from collections in the U.S. and internationally. Realist, Burgundian / Netherlandish, artist Jan Gossart lived from 1478 until 1532 and was a part of the "Renaissance", a time when painting experienced a sea change from the mis-proportioned "wooden" figures of the "dark ages". Realistic representation of the world around us had been abandoned for more than 1300 years, since the end of the  classical Greek and Roman era.

Walking through this exhibition, one feels like they have met a new and good friend in art. Jan Gossart is not a household name except to Renaissance art historians. Works by well known contemporaries of Gossart, including Jan van Eyck and Durer, are also shown in this exhibition. Another aspect of Renaissance art was a return to depicting the nude figure in artistic works. Gossart took a tour of Italy and drew many of the classical nude statues, plus he executed several paintings and drawings of Adam and Eve which called for nudity. He was a master of painting cloth and folded fabric which almost overpowers the subjects of his clothed figures.

Gossart's technique is extraordinary and made for a particularly successful career. He received commissions from many of the royal patrons of his day. There really must have been something in the water during the Renaissance, because the artists of the day, born into a suppressed artistic tradition, reached such a high level of realism and technique. Gossart certainly did! If you can see this show before it ends, it is worth a visit.

For more images in the exhibition go to the following link. 

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/jan_gossart/images.asp

For an audio tour of this exhibition, click on the link below.
http://www.metmuseum.org/audio/exhibitions/mmaExhibPodcast.12132010.075.mp3?refpage=mma_xml_link_075

ART SHOPPING ONLINE:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, STORE

Catalog of the Gossart Exhibition, Price: $75.00
http://store.metmuseum.org/met-publications/man-myth-and-sensual-pleasures-jan-gossarts-renaissance/invt/80008706/

Holiday Cards, Mother and Child by Jan Gossart.

Met Store was $17.95, after holiday sale = $8.98
http://store.metmuseum.org/virgin-and-child-holiday-cards/invt/80006809/

FOOD - Warm and comforting, Ramen Noodles in broth.

In the same way the US lives on burgers and pizza, Japan and much of Asia live on noodles in a rich broth. Time Magazine reported about a $324 bowl of Ramen in Taiwan. Restaurateur Wang Cong-yuan created this expensive bowl of noodles by using meat from four countries, sliced into four-inch cubes, from which he makes his broth, seasoned with soy sauce, rock sugar and Chinese 5 spice. 

Americans have also gotten hooked on Ramen noodles and many cities now have great noodle shops. In this food group the noodles are not the star, the broth and its contents are the draw and the Ramen noodles simply add the fun of slurping along the side of the bowl.

IN NYC (Midtown West) Try out Totto Ramen Shop at 366 W. 52nd Street, between 8th and 9th Ave. • 212-582-0052 www.tottoramen.com

Opening last summer in NYC, this yummy Ramen shop opened to huge crowds (which continue). So go expecting to sit at the counter on a stool, parties of 3 or 4 will wait 45 minutes for a table. (See bottom of posting for Totto Ramen's complete menu.)

Do-it-yourself Ramen Noodles:
Make a soup stock from chicken, turkey, pork or beef and add flavorings of "miso" (fermented soybean), soy sauce or Chinese 5 spice, then cook a package of Ramen noodles, drain and add to the bowl. Finally, add your choice of toppings: Hard Boiled Egg, Scallions, Mushrooms, Bean Sprouts or Nori Seaweed before serving.

Ramen: (original recipe)

1 qt. of homemade chicken, turkey or ham bone stock

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup sake

3 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/3 cup white miso

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

1/2 hard boilded egg
1 scallion chopped
1 tablespoon chopped peanuts

sea salt and black pepper (in grinders)

1/2 cup cubed precooked chicken

1 package of dried Ramen noodles

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, sake, mirin, and rice vinegar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the white miso, ginger and the tablespoon of the oil and whisk until well combined. Set this miso solution aside. Bring chicken broth to a boil over high heat. Add miso broth and chunks of chicken. Cook the ramen noodles until tender yet firm, add to the broth. Serve with egg half, chopped peanuts, scallions, a grind of pepper and a grind of salt. (Vietnamese "Pho", using only beef broth and rice noodles, is similar but different enough to be covered at a later date.)

Totto Ramen Shop menu:

Ramen 

Totto Chicken Paitan Ramen 9.25 

鳥人丸鶏白湯ラーメン 

These straight homemade noodles are cooked al dente 

style in a whole chicken and premium soy sauce 

based soup topped with scallion, onion, char siu pork, 

and a nori. 

Totto Spicy Ramen 10.25 

鳥人辛ラーメン  

Original Rayu, Spicy Sesame Oil, adds a spicy kick and refreshing 

aftertaste to our original Paitan ramen. Topped with scallion, 

onion, char siu pork, and a nori. 

Totto Extreme Spicy Ramen 10.25 

鳥人激辛ラーメン  

Extra spicy sesame oil of Totto Spicy Ramen. 

Totto Miso Ramen 10.25 

鳥人味噌ラーメン 

The finest Koji Miso and ground pork in a scoop atop 

slightly wavy noodles in original Paitan soup. Topped with 

a seasoned hardboiled egg, scallion, bean sprouts, onion 

and char siu pork. 

Vegetarian Ramen  11 

旬菜ベジタリアンラーメン 

Konbu seaweed and shiitake mushroom based soup paired with 

organic noodles and topped with seasoned avocado, 

seasonal vegetables, peppery Yuzu paste, sesame oil, salted 

kelp and lime. 

Spicy Vegetarian Ramen 12 

旬菜辛ベジタリアンラーメン 

Our vegetarian Rayu, Spicy Sesame Oil, offers a spicy 

substitute to our Vegetarian Ramen - konbu and shiitake based 

soup with organic noodles topped with seasonal vegetables. 

Toppings 

Char Siu Pork (2 pcs) チャーシュー +2 

Seasoned Boiled Egg 味付け玉子 +1 

Scallion ネギ +0.75 

Kikurage Mushroom キクラゲ +1 

Bean Sprouts もやし +1 

Nori Seaweed (2 sheets) 海苔 +1 

Cheese Corn チーズコーン +1 

Seasoned Avocado アボカドの漬け +1 

--

Rayu (Spicy Sesame Oil) 自家製辣油 +1 

Extreme Rayu 自家製激辛辣油 +1 

Vegetarian Rayu ベジタリアン辣油 +1 

Spicy Bamboo Shoot 辛支那ちく +1 

Kaedama (Extra Noodle) 替え玉 +2.5

Sides

Edamame 枝豆  4 

Green soybeans sprinkled with salt. 

Broiled Char Siu Pork 炙りチャーシュー 4.5 

House specialty pork broiled and placed 

over a bed of vegetables. 

Char Siu Mayo Don 炙りチャーシューマヨ丼 4.5 

House special broiled pork with yuzu mayonnaise 

on a bed of rice. 

Shinachiku Mayo 支那ちくゆずマヨ和え 4 

bamboo shoots & yuzu citrus mayo 

Rice 白飯 2 

Drinks 

Soda ソーダ 2 

Sapporo Beer (small bottle) サッポロ小瓶  5 

Hakushika Extra Dry Sake  白鹿 超辛 5 

Karatamba Sake  辛丹波  7 

Jinro Chamisul Soju 眞露チャミスル   10 

Totto Ramen accepts cash only, If you have any food allergies, please let their staff know so they can help you make a selection. 

Until later,
Jack

© ARTS&FOOD,(ARTSnFOOD.blogspot.com) All rights reserved, © Copyright Jack A. Atkinson 2011 Under All International, Digital, Intellectual Property and Copyright Laws. Images © Copyright individual Creators, Lenders or Fabricators.