Toulouse-Lautrec: The Art of Cuisine

So I thought I'd share some of my treasures with you. This cookbook by Toulouse-Lautrec and Maurice Joyant is one of my absolute favorite books. It is filled with art by the artist and is, most definitely, a serious cookbook. Toulouse-Lautrec was apparently well known for hosting lavish dinner parties and this book was a result of his gourmet prowess.



The book is supposedly filled with Toulouse-Lautrec's most requested recipes. A delightful thing about the book is that most pages also are illustrated by the great artist. Here, a recipe for Roast Turkey for a Shooting Lunch:



Dindon Roti Pour Dejeuner de Chasse
"For a 14 lb. turkey use 1 lb. each ground beef, veal, and sausage meat and 1/2 lb. chestnuts. If no boudin (blood sausage), chop turkey liver and 3 chicken livers, sauteed, plus 1/2 lb. extra sausage meat."

Each section (game meats, desserts, vegetables) is introducted with a full color painting:



And then there is my favorite section, Ultima Ratio Finis, which includes recipes for Grasshoppers Grilled in the Fashion of Saint John the Baptist, Saint on the Grill, and Ancient Recipe.



Saint sur la Gril
"With the help of the Vatican try to procure for yourself a real(!) saint.

Treat him as St. Lawrence was treated on August tenth, A.D. 258. When you have whipped him, lay him on the grill over a big bed of charcoal. Like his predecessor, if he is a real saint, he himself will ask to be turned over in order to be grilled to a turn on both sides"

This is one of my favorite books and believe it of not, Amazon has a few copies of it. The new copy is $75.00, but the collectible copies sell for much less. Here's a link of you are interested. I promise that if you are an art lover and/or a cook, you will get hours of enjoyment from this amazing book!