Yusuf Karsh's Aunt's Shortbread
Source: Yusuf Karsh's Aunt (Mrs. Nakash), by way of Philippe Gauthier of photo.net
Yield: ?
Rating: ?
Ingredients
- ¼ pound of margarine
- ¼ pound of butter
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 c. flour
Directions
- Mix margarine, butter, sugar, and egg.
- Beat well.
- Add flour and mix.
- Drop on a greased cookie sheet by the teaspoon.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Notes
"Well, we all know that Weston liked pea soup a lot, but what did Yusuf Karsh eat in his learning days? I feel I uncovered part of the secret by digging his aunt's shortbread recipe from my mom's recipe box. I'll publish this recipe for the first time ever after I've told how I stumbled on that gem.
"I read a retrospective on Yusuf Karsh's photography this fall and all these pictures reminded me a portrait of my grandfather at my parents' home. Same kind of elaborate lighting, similar approach to pose, a very stylish picture overall. The signature was hard to read, but was definitely not Karsh's.
"But Georges Nakash's maybe? This locally famous photographer (he lived in Sherbrooke, Canada, but was famous throughout the province of Quebec) was Karsh's uncle; it's a well documented fact that when Karsh fled the aftermath of the Armenian genocide, he first lived in Sherbrooke and learned photography from Georges Nakash.
"I finally asked my mom about the portrait. "Who did it?", I asked. "Oh, it was Nakash, a famous photographer, she replied. He was a good friend of the family. I even have a copy of his wife's shortbread recipe." I also learned that the portrait was made in the early 50's and that my grandfather met Nakash in the meetings of the Montreal Rotary club, but then, I had only one idea: share the shortbread recipe with my fellow photonetters.
"So there it is, the shortbread recipe that probably fed Yusuf Karsh when he lived in Sherbrooke in the 1920's and that I actually had as well when I was younger. I don't know if it is as closely related to his genius as pea soup's to Weston's, but you can find out for yourself."
-- Philippe Gauthier, 08 January 2003