On Waldorf Astoria Stationery, a Handwritten Brownie Recipe

Part Two: Georgia O’Keeffe, Cook. Dessert and coffee, a soup and the auction of a box of recipes.

Chocolate Walnut Waldorf Brownies. Photo: Jolene

Part Two: More on Georgia O’Keeffe, Cook, because there’s just so much to talk about. JH

Sometimes when I’m doing research I’ll discover an exciting piece of information and get all giddy about it.

Then I’ll find out that a lot of other people were giddy about the very same information, but years earlier, and that somehow I’d managed to miss the boat on this particular bit of news altogether.

So as a lifelong fan of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work, I’m marking myself “tardy” for not knowing that in 2020 Sotheby’s brought to auction O’Keeffe’s recipe cards that had been assembled by the artist from 1950 to 1970. O’Keeffe had beautiful, handwriting, by the way.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s recipe cards. Image: Sotheby’s

The highest bidder? Yale. The contents of the green cardboard recipe box are available for viewing at the link below and it’s such a personal look into O’Keeffe’s tastes, take a peek:

O’Keeffe recipe box, Yale University Library, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library: Link

Also, Dan Pashman of Sporkful did a terrific podcast episode about the auction in 2020, Bringing Georgia O’Keeffe to Life With Her Recipes (or you can read the transcript) it’s really fun and well done, have a look. Link: Sporkful.

Waldorf Astoria Chocolate Walnut Brownies à la O’Keeffe

Photo: Jolene

When I was a kid I thought a Brownie à la mode at Howard Johnson’s was THE MOST.

Apparently, Georgia O’Keeffe shared my zeal for brownies and vanilla ice cream because in the gorgeous book, Dinner With Georgia O’Keeffe: Recipes, Art & Landscapes (which I found on eBay and promptly ordered and received this week) there is a Brownie recipe and a French vanilla ice cream recipe.

According to author Robyn Lea, the brownie recipe was scribbled by O’Keeffe on Waldorf Astoria stationery, either during a visit to her sister (who lived in the Waldorf Towers) in the late 1950’s, or during an awards dinner at the Waldorf in 1963.

It makes sense that O’Keeffe loved this recipe. It is loaded with walnuts and she was always conscious of nutrition as well as flavor, so dark chocolate and a heap of walnuts would fit that bill.

It reminded me in texture more of a walnut-chocolate cake, which I like very much, so I’m thinking of baking this in a round cake pan next time.

If you’d like to try it, scroll through this link for the Chocolate Walnut Brownie. Link: Brownie

A New Coffee Arrangement

Georgia O’Keeffe at Breakfast with her CHEMEX,1960. ©️ Tony Vaccaro

Of course, coffee would be perfect with a brownie or at breakfast, and Georgia O’Keeffe was very particular about her coffee. She became a devotee of the CHEMEX method of coffee making, and you can see her CHEMEX in the photo above.

I also have a new coffee arrangement. Paper filters you throw away and it makes the most excellent coffee—nothing but the glass container—one piece…

— Letter from Georgia O’Keeffe to Maria Chabot, January 18, 1944. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

She loved not only the coffee it produced, but the simplicity of the shape of the vessel.

O’Keeffe’s Pantry. Photo Courtesy of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

In this photo of part of the O’Keeffe pantry you can see at least two CHEMEX glass pots perched on one of the shelves.

Last year I wrote about CHEMEX (which, when I have the time, is my favorite way to make coffee) so if you’re interested in learning more about it, just click on the post below ☕️:

The Spirit of Fresh Flavor and Good Health

I made O’Keeffe’s Spinach Soup. Photo: Jolene

Georgia O’Keeffe thought that food should not only taste good but optimize health. She lived to be 98-years-old and her menus often relied on the produce grown in her New Mexico garden.

But she was not shy about using butter and cream in her recipes — she did, after all, grow up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. She also enjoyed a steak now and then, dessert at the end of a meal and a glass of beer or wine with dinner. Everything in balance.

From the book Dinner with Georgia O’Keeffe, left, Blue and Green Music, 1921, Georgia O’Keeffe, Art Institute of Chicago. Right, Spinach Soup with Cream and Nutmeg perched in back of spinach soup in my kitchen. Photo: Jolene

I cannot tell you how beautiful this book is, filled with O’Keeffe’s art and recipes and quotes from those who knew her.

I made the spinach soup and it was creamy, flavorful, spinach-y (which I love) and the color was so gorgeous — it truly embodied “the spirit of fresh flavor and good health.” Here’s the recipe, I highly recommend it and the Carrot Soup recipe from last week.

SPINACH SOUP WITH CREAM & NUTMEG (adapted) from Dinner With Georgia O’Keeffe

Ingredients

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 medium onion

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used chicken)

2 lb fresh spinach, trimmed & washed

1/2 cup light cream

1 pinch ground nutmeg

Salt and black pepper, herb garnish

Method

• Sauté chopped onion (over medium heat) in melted butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, cook for 1 minute.

• Continue stirring while adding broth in thirds and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat, simmer 6 minutes. Set aside, allow to cool.

• Blanch spinach in pot of salted boiling water for 35 seconds. Remove and allow to drain in colander.

• In a blender, in batches, purée spinach and broth mixture.

• Add nutmeg, cream and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in bowls and garnish. (I warmed the soup over low heat before serving.)

I’ve admired Georgia O’Keeffe for as long as I can remember. This quote is one that always gives me gumption every time I read it, so I thought I’d end by sharing it here with you.

I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.

— Georgia O’Keeffe

What a life.

Photo: Georgia O’Keeffe with red wine in a plastic cup, peeking through Swiss Cheese. 1960, Tony Vaccaro/Getty Images

Have a good week, everyone.

Jolene