Mark tells two new stories about breaking bread with both artist friends and family in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Hi Everyone and welcome to my Podcast I call Paint Stories. While each week I’ve shared some of the paint stories from either my father, brother or by the artists who have graciously shared their paint stories, this Thanksgiving week I am going to share two different stories. One is about the artist couple that has made breaking bread together some of my most memorable and wonderful of times and one about my family.
Convivium, a term I learned from the most remarkable man, Dr. Bill Thomas, the pioneering change agent dedicated to how we treat, understand and celebrate aging. He understood the power of breaking bread together to bring people together. The first act of change is first sitting down at the same table.
So it was at the table of Susan Roth and Darryl Hughto that I had been invited many times, to share with them and other invited artists and guests the many stories of art and artists. These certainly will be Paint Stories I hope to share in the future, but there is also another story of being at Susan’s table. Anyone who hears this and has had the delight to be their guest for a meal will know exactly what I mean. Of course I wouldn’t miss Darryl’s stories for the world, and yes he does get to pick the wines and is a connoisseur of the coffee, but it is Susan’s artistry in the kitchen that is something that would be admired by the greatest of chefs.
Susan puts off any compliments as this is just something she does. I have seen times, when there was seemingly nothing in the kitchen, and unexpected guests arriving where Susan was able to create a miraculous feast. But I know this is just like her art. The work seems to have created itself as if it didn’t require a hand. Behind the scene of her art is an incredible amount of work, an incredible amount of thought, and an incredible amount of experience and willingness to push things beyond the boundaries others would not think to cross.
We certainly could have had our conversations around art without this being coupled with Susan’s feats of magic, yet I think the conversation was that much richer, that much more engaged, to try to keep some measure of equivalence with the joy of being treated to such a meal.
So I asked Susan this Thanksgiving if we could give our many friends some of the joy we’ve all experienced at her table by offering one of her recipes. And I asked for a recipe for Turkey Pot Pie, so that we might find ways that we could share our gifts with others who we miss, who might be lonely, or needy at this time we need to share our blessings.
In the only way she could, she gave not only the recipe with tips, but also the information on shipping of which she also has much experience, sending her food across the country to the rest of her family. So Susan, again my thanks for so many wonderful meals and wonderful memories. We look forward to many more!
So please visit the link provided next to the podcast to see her message and her recipe.
My second Thanksgiving story is about my family. We have been incredibly blessed to be within a family that truly loves getting together and being with one another and yes we all love to cook. About 10 years ago, my daughter Emma and her cousin Hayley decided we were going to do something different for Thanksgiving and suggested that we do a version of the Food Channel show “Chopped”. They picked the 5 ingredients and we paired ourselves into 8 different teams and each of the teams could create anything they wanted as long as we used the ingredients in the food. Being a competitive family, they created 3 different categories of winning – Best Taste, Best Presentation, and Best Overall. We decided because of the event, we would celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday and do our “Chopped” on Thursday. At about 5:00 pm on Thursday the contest began with each group being given about 1 half hour to make their food. Needless to say with the eating, drinking and kibitzing, it continued well into the midnight. Our first Chopped, although the food was not too good, we had so much fun, we decided to continue the tradition. We all put our choice of weird ingredients into a hat and pick out the 5 ingredients for the next year. Over the years things have gotten much more creative, much more competitive, and a good deal of smack talking during the year. But it has also been a wonderful way to share the joy of cooking, breaking bread, to laugh and just be together
The Virus has put an asterisk into this year’s Chopped contest. We will be putting Thanksgiving back on its traditional day this year, using Zoom as we all are cooking for ourselves and staying safe. Yet I know we are all looking forward to an even better Chopped next year – Pickles, Beer, Oreos, Mushrooms, and Noodles.
I know I’m feeling the strain of this holiday and not being able to be share this time together with all the people I dearly love who have shared together decades of Thanksgiving meals. I know the next time when we’re able to be together and enjoy a meal, laugh and hug and share stories, we will do that being that much more thankful. Stay safe, and blessings to all you love and hold dear.