| "Jamie's Pumpkin"
by Henriette Wyeth-Hurd |
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"I've always loved the products of the earth...these squash and pumpkins and potatoes...all of these foods evolve so wonderfully in this marvelous suggested nutrition for animals and men and babies and are so absolutley marvelous looking."
~Henriette Wyeth-Hurd |
| "Valley in October"
by Peter Hurd |
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| FALL AT SENTINEL RANCH |
Photos by Tiffanie Owen |
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First Anniversary |
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Congratulations to Craig and Maria Massey, married at the
Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery October 18, 2008.
Happy Anniversary! |
| Recipe of the Month:
Mexican Cinnamon
Chocolate Cake |
It is common in Mexican cooking to add cinnamon to chocolate. This delicious recipe combines the fall flavors of chocolate, cinnamon and orange. It will be tempting to open the oven while this cake bakes, but don't or your cake will fall. Use your timer to let you know when you can open the oven and make sure the cake is done.
Grated zest of one orange
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 lb. bittersweet chocolate
Add the orange zest to the buttermilk, then let stand at room temperature until called for later in the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 11 x 17 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment.
Cream together the butter and the sugars at medium speed on the mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, then add this to the batter, alternating with the orange-infused buttermilk.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beat one-fourth of the egg whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Spread the batter in the prepared pan, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until the top is lightly browned and springs back when touched, approximately 25-30 minutes. remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
Remove from the pan to another rack and gently peel away from the parchment. Cool completely.
To make ganache (for frosting), heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until barely simmering. While the cream heats, break the chocolate into pieces, place them in the food processor and process until finely grated. With the processor running, pour the hot cream into the grated chocolate and process until smooth and spreadable.
To assemble, cut the cooled cake in half and place one half on a serving plate, cinnamon side up. Cover with a thick layer of ganache. Place the remaining half on top of the ganache, also cinnamon side up, and cover the top and sides with the remaining ganache. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, then slice into servings. |
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"The Gathering II" by Michael Hurd
"The Gathering II" was inspired by a story that Peter Hurd told his son Michael...and Michael says his father always got goosebumps with the recollection. Those familiar with Peter's lithographs will recognize the name don Patricio Trujillo, a shepherd who had once been a cowboy on the Chisum Ranch. In the 1930's, before there were fences, don Patricio tended his flock of sheep and goats up and down the Hondo Valley. Although a figity subject who didn't like to pose, he modeled for several of Peter Hurd's well known works.
Don Patricio lived to old age and eventually died in Picacho, approximately 9 miles east of the Hurd Ranch. According to Peter, something strange happened the day don Patricio was buried in the cemetery at the old San Patricio Church. Don Patricio's flock appeared in the cemetery and paraded past his grave, as if sensing the loss of the man who had cared for them. This summer, New Mexico Magazine writer, Lesley King, interviewed Michael in the old San Patricio Church's cemetery as he worked on this sketch. Click here to see Lesley's video. |
| "October Sunflower" by Henriette Wyeth-Hurd
For Henriette Hurd, there was no shortage of subject matter for her popular still life paintings. She simply painted the beauty that surrounded her. In summers with good rainfall, the ranch explodes with the brilliant gold of sunflowers such as these fine examples that reached heights of 9-10 feet, seemingly trying to reach out and touch their namesake, the sun.
In the distance is Sentinel Hill, on which the Hondo Valley's original Mexican settlers stood watch for attacks by Texas outlaws, banditos out of Mexico and Apache Indians in the 1860s and 1870s. Today, Sentinel Hill still provides the best view of the activites on Sentinel Ranch. |
| Halloween with the Hurds |
As with most traditions in the Wyeth/Hurd family, an affinity for playing dress up can surely be traced back to the patriarch of this artist clan, N.C. Wyeth. It was an occupational necessity for N.C. Wyeth since he needed models to pose as pirates, cowboys, vikings or whatever particular characters his current illustration project required. When models were not readily available, he either dressed up himself or took advantage of his most available resource, his young family. As a boy, Andrew Wyeth, in particular, was commonly seen charging over the hills of Chadds Ford in his Civil War uniform or leading his band of Merry Men in a reenactment of Robin Hood.
Peter Hurd, and later his son, Michael, fit naturally into this family of characters and their sense of the dramatic. For the Hurds and the Wyeths, Halloween is an excuse to indulge in the magic and mystery of life. |
In the Wyeth family, there are many talents, but the three that seem to show up most often are a gift for art (naturally), music and engineering. These gifts show up early in life as was the case with N.C. Wyeth's middle child, Nathaniel. As a boy growing up in Chadds Ford, Nat would devise scientific experiments and develop inventions to solve various problems that he found in the world around him. One such problem was the household rule that forbade Nat's pet goat from entering the house and being a true member of the family. Never fear...Nat had a solution. He fashioned a special goat harness with a strategically placed cigar box that could be attached to the back end of the goat and could capture any offensive results when the goat did his "business."
Well, Nat managed to get his goat strapped into this contraption and progressed to the next stage in the experiment. The goat entered the house and everything seemed to be going pretty well...at first. As the windy goes, the trouble began when the goat finally had the need to do what comes naturally. When the goat's "product" was expelled into the cigar box, it apparently sounded like machine gun fire to the goat. Startled, the goat ran through the house sending furniture and rugs flying! No one was safe as the goat raced wildly knocking over anything or anyone who came between him and the door.
"Uncle Nat" as the Hurd children knew him, never gave up his experimenting and inventing. He was named the first senior engineering fellow at the Du Pont Company, the highest technical position at the time. He is the holder of 25 patents, including the prototype of the plastic bottle used today for carbonated drinks. Although recycling was not as much of a concern back then as it is today, the new plastic that Nat invented for his plastic soda bottle design turned out to be highly recyclable. Polyethylene-terephthalate or "PET" plastic was first recycled in 1977, and is now perhaps the most commonly recycled of household products. Recycled PET is used mainly as "fiberfill" or as synthetic fabric: for example, about half of the polyester carpet made in the US today comes from recycled PET bottles. Uncle Nat is one of the lesser known Wyeth's, but he is a true hero to the recycling movement. Click Here to Read More About Nathaniel Wyeth. |
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Contact Us:
Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery & Guest Homes
Highway 70, Mile Marker 281 (Approx. 20 Miles East of Ruidoso, 50 Miles West of Roswell)
San Patricio, New Mexico 88348
1-575-653-4331
1-800-658-6912
Michael Hurd, Owner
Tiffanie Owen, Director
Judy Petersen, Gallery Assistant
Albert Chavez, Ranch Foreman
Gerardo Medina and Julian Marques, Hard-Workin' Ranch Dudes
Maria Guillen, Head Housekeeper
Content and images on this site ar the property of Michael Hurd, Tiffanie Owen and the Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery/Sentinel Ranch, and Lesley King. Reproduction of the content on this site is prohibited without the express written consent of the owner. All rights reserved. | |
