The Metropolitan Museum by Night and a New Salad

I have a new favorite place to be – The Metropolitan Museum at night. I just found out that it is open Fridays and Saturdays till 9pm, and if you ask me, that’s a wonderful time to go. There are no crowds and less tourists, so you feel like you own the place. Plus all their restaurants serve dinner, so you can really make a nice evening of it.

And that’s exactly what we did this past Friday night. Fridays are girls’ night in our family, since Mr TBTAM plays tennis, and we usually order in and see a chick flick. But my oldest daughter had a class assignment that required her to see some paintings at the Met, so we met her there as she was finishing her assignment in the European galleries…

“I made a new friend,” Emily told me, and pointed out the security guard in the corner, who smiled and nodded to me. Turns out that he had taken great pride in helping my daughter find the 15 or so paintings she needed to see. As she would be looking at a painting, he would come up to her “I found your next one!” He clearly loved the collection, knew which room each artist was in, which paintings were out on loan and which were off in storage.

As I was talking to him, another group of students he had been helping came up, and he introduced them to my daughter so they could all compare notes and help each other out. What a nice man! I wanted to talk to him so more, see if he would let me take his picture and do a blog post about him, but my girls decided that I was taking this blogging thing too far, and dragged me away…

I sulked a bit and then we went to see my Vermeers.

I had first seen the Vermeers a few years back, shortly after reading Girl with a Pearl Earring and seeing the movie. I knew that much of the story I had read was not entirely factual, but it had compelled me to learn about this man’s life and his paintings. And so, I decided to go to the museum one day, alone, specifically to see for myself these wonders Vermeer had painted.

As I was standing there, staring intently at the Young Woman with the Water Picher, imagining Vermeer painting her, I head a voice. “He was my relative”, said the man next to me, in a hushed and amazed tone.

Now, Vermeer had eleven children and so I imagine he has quite a lineage. It turns out that this man was a decendent of Vermeer through one of Vermeer’s sons (same last name, too) and lived in Minnesota. He was here in New York on business and had come to the Met on that day specifically to finally see his famous ancestor’s paintings.

It was one of those rare and eerie moments, when you and another person discover that you have been drawn to the very same place at the very same time, and for very similar reasons. I felt as if Vermeer himself had beckoned us, and might be standing there beside me. His descendant’s presence made the feeling even more real…

Since then, I have loved his paintings even more, and every time I visit the Met, I have to see my Vermeers.

After wandering around the European collections for awhile, the girls and I found our way to the sculpture garden, which is beautiful at night. The shadows accentuate the carvings, and the statues cast shadows on the floor and are reflected in the glass ceiling.

Next to the sculpture garden is the Petrie Court Cafe, and there we decided to have our dinner.

The restaurant is one of the pricier dining choices at the Met, but nice for a special occasion. They do a very lovely afternoon tea for which you usually need reservations, and I highly recommend doing it at least once. Sitting by the big glass doors overlooking Central Park in late afternoon and sipping tea is a real treat, especially if combined with a walk in the park and viewing some art. A wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon and best in high spring or mid October, I would say.

I had a glass of white wine, which felt somehow very special and decadent – maybe it was the setting – and the girls had tea. We shared cauliflower soup with truffle oil, a jicama and grilled shrimp appetizer, a very flavorful and moist chicken breast with risotto cake and veggies, and a pear and frisee salad with gorgonzola, roasted chickpeas and a white balsamic reduction.

Everything was delicious, but the salad was really something special. I had never had frisee alone in a salad, or even heard of roasting chickpeas. We decided then and there we were going to roast some of our own chickpeas and that I would try to replicate the salad at home the next night.

After dinner, the girls were too tired to head back upstairs to see the Americans in Paris exhibit, but we agreed to come back another Friday evening to do just that. We splurged on a cab ride home, during which Natalie regaled us with the plot of the book Chasing Vermeer. And we still got home early enough to see School of Rock at 9 pm. Okay, technically, it’s not a chick flick, but since Mr TBTAM doesn’t like it, it qualifies. Plus, we love Jack Black.

Frisee and Pear Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Gorgonzola

This is still a bit of a work in progress, so comments are welcome. Use ripe pears and a very mild gorgonzola. (Mr TBTAM, who thought he hated blue cheese, loved this one.) The dressing I made tasted fine, but was more balsamic than what I was shooting for. Next time, I think I will add a little garlic powder or roast some garlic cloves along with the chickpeas. Some recipes for roasted chickpeas that I found roast at 450 degrees, others at 350 degrees. I compromised on 400 degrees.

1 can chickpeas
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup white wine
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch fresh frisee, rinsed and dried
2 ripe Anjou pears, peeled, cored and cut into sections
6 oz mild gorgonzola

Drain chickpeas well, then toss carefully with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a cookie sheet or roasting pan, and roast in 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool.

Meanwhile, combine white wine, balsamic vinegar and honey in small saucepan and boil till reduced to about 1/4 cup. Cool. Add olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

Arrange frisee on platter. Cut gorganzola into individual serving size wedges. Arrange pears and cheese atop frisee. Scatter chickpeas over platter. Drizzle dressing and serve.

Category: Food / Considerations