Midday Entree: Black Forest Home Fries

The Music:

Violin Concerto in D major by Ludwig van Beethoven
Rachel Barton Pine, violin; Royal Philharmonic, Jose Serebrier, conductor
Cedille 106

The Recipe:

Schwarzwälder Bratkartoffel (Black Forest Home Fries) from globalgourmet.com, where they describe this dish as containing "all the elements of a delicious and satisfying Black Forest meal. The few ingredients called for here are still typically found in every kitchen in the region, and the dish comes together in no time."

Get the whole story (and recipe) by clicking here.

Guten appetit, and thanks for listening.

Midday Entree: Croque Monsieur ou Madame

The Music:

La Boîte à Joujoux (Children's Ballet) by Claude Debussy
ORTF National Orchestra, Jean Martinon, conductor
EMI 575526

The Recipe:

"Croque Monsieur" is literally "Crunch Mister," though you'll see this recipe bears a strong resemblance to what we might call over here "Ham and Cheese Sandwich." But where's the fun in that?

A "Croque Madame" is basically the same with a fried egg added on top.

Get cooking with the kids by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Devil's Food Cupcakes

The Music:

Pagan Symphony by Sir Granville Bantock
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley, conductor
Hyperion 66630

The Recipe:

What sets these charming morsels of chocolaty goodness apart is the chocolate buttercream frosting that tops them off.

Easy to make and likely to make you a hit with the gang.

Get the party started by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Meatball Hero Sandwich

The Music:

Heroes Symphony by Philip Glass
American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies, conductor
Philips B0000840

The Recipe:

I mean really, what else? This recipe from foodnetwork.com makes four generous meatball heroes, and can be found by clicking here. Now all we need is a football game (or a hockey playoff).

Bon appetit and thanks for listening.

Midday Entree: English Almond Shortbreads

The Music:

String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83, by Sir Edward Elgar
Chilingirian String Quartet
EMI 565 099

The Recipe:

As described on the Joy Of Baking website, "This is a really nice tasting shortbread. It has a sandy texture and subtle almond flavor which comes from using three different types of flour; all purpose, rice, and almond flour (meal). These wedge-shaped shortbreads are also known as 'petticoat tails', named after the bell-hoop petticoats worn by court ladies in the 12th century."

This would be the perfect accompaniment to your own English high tea, and you can get started on it by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Chicken Stroganoff

The Music:

Trio Elegiaque No. 2 in D minor, Op. 9, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
The Moscow Rachmaninoff Trio
Hyperion 67178

The Recipe:

Here's a lighter variation on a Russian classic, but still with all the elegance and panache of the original.

Get the lowdown by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Bohemian Pork Chops

The famed English horn solo from Dvorak's New World Symphony

The Music:

Symphony No 9 in e, Op 95 "From the New World" by Antonin Dvorak
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Telarc 82007

The Recipe:

Picture this: succulent chops resting on a bed of sauerkraut, their flavorful juices mingling with the applesauce, ginger and diced onion of your bechamel sauce.

Sound good?

You can turn this picture into reality by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Irish Poached Salmon

The Music:

Symphony No. 4 by Sir Malcolm Arnold
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Andrew Penny, conductor
Naxos 8.553739

The Recipe:

Today's offering comes from the IrishAbroad website which points out, "If the salmon is the noblest Irish fish, when it's poached whole and served with colorful and flavorful sauces, it's also the most impressive."

Want to knock somebody's socks off? Just click here.

Midday Entree: Austrian Apple Fritters

The Music:

Piano Concerto N0. 22 in E flat, K.482, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Jonathan Biss, piano; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
EMI 217 270

The Recipe:

A little flour, a few apples, a dash of sugar and a few other key ingredients and your taste buds will start doing cartwheels.

Get the process going by clicking here.

Midday Entree: English Country Oatmeal Bread

The Music:

The Wind in the Willows by John Rutter
King's Singers, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox, conductor
Collegium 513

The Recipe:

I found this one on "The Foodist: The World Through The Eyes of A Cook," a blog written by a working foodie named Steve.

Originally an old Williams-Sonoma offering, "these golden brown, oat sprinkled round loaves are based on an old English country recipe."

Start cookin' by clicking here.

Midday Entree: NYC Siciliano Pizza

The Music:

Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra by George Gershwin
Jon Nakamatsu, piano; Rochester Philharmonic, Jeff Tyzik, conductor
Harmonia Mundi 807 441

The Recipe:

According to the website allrecipes.com, "Sfincione Siciliano is a cheese-less square pie pizza once commonplace in NYC pizzerias and bakeries."

Now you can bring it into your own kitchen by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Cuisine alla Rossini

Tha Music:

La Boutique Fantasque (Ballet after Rossini) by Ottorino Resphigi
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda
Chandos 10081

The Recipe:

They say Rossini cried only three times in his life: Once after the catastophic opening night of his first opera, La Cambiale di Matrimonio. The second time was after he'd heard Paganini play.

The third happened on an outing where he watched with horror as a picnic basket containing a truffle-stuffed turkey fell out of the boat.

Clearly, the man loved his food, and so we present not one but several epicurean delights dedicated to him, including Cannelloni, Filet of Sole, Pheasant Suprême, Stuffed Turkey and Macaroni Soup, all alla Rossini.

You can start carb loading by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Cannoli Napoleon

The Music:

Mass for Six Voices, "In illo Tempore," by Claudio Monteverdi
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, director
Helios 55145

The Recipe:

From the picture you can see these are not your ordinary cannoli. But they sure are good.

The recipe comes from Lidia's Italy, one of the many how-to shows on Create TV, which can be seen in the Detroit area on Channel 56.3.

Get the details by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Topping

The Music:

Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American," by William Grant Still
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi, conductor
Chandos 9154

The Recipe:

This recipe takes an already good sweet potato pie to a higher level by adding a pecan topping.

Why wait for a holiday? Declare one of your own and get started by clicking here.

In Performance: Bizet's Carmen

Date: May 9, 2009
Location: Detroit Opera House


CURTAIN CALL AT THE DETROIT OPERA HOUSE (L - R); Homero Velho as Escamillo, Kate Aldrich as Carmen, John Bellemer as Don Jose, Janinah Burnett as Micaela

It was an extraordinary night.

Kate Aldrich, starring in the Michigan Opera Theatre's production of Georges Bizet's Carmen, was stunning from beginning to end. Mark Stryker's review in Sunday's Detroit Free Press glowed:

"During the sultry cigarette girl’s signature “Habanera” in the first act, when she sings of the volatility of love, Aldrich stalked the stage, filling out a revealing black slip with confidence and curves and channeling easy flirtation, menacing danger, smoldering defiance and liberated intelligence in equal measure. . . .

"Aldrich sang with a satiny clarity, flickering variations of color and expressive pacing that seductively toyed with the shape of her phrases. She was a bird who could not be caged, and her marriage of vocalism and character put the audience in a trance. “Carmen” is a three-hour-plus opera, but Aldrich had us at hello."

Anna Netrebko eat your heart out.

I was also quite taken with Janinah Burnett's Micaela, Don Jose's jilted fiance. Though she only gets to show her stuff in a couple of key moments, her heart-breaking aria in the third act was a show stopper.

Performances run through next weekend at the Detroit Opera House. Information at www.motopera.org or by calling (313) 237-SING.

You can also hear a live broadcast of Wednesday's performance at 7:00pm (ET) on WRCJ 90.9FM in Detroit, streaming worldwide via wrcjfm.org.

This is a good one; don't miss it.

Midday Entree: Easy Beef Stroganoff

The Music:

Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Truls Mork, cello; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Virgin 545 119

The Recipe:

This is the kind of thing you can throw together on short notice. As described on the RecipeZaar website, "this is wonderful when you have family that is always late. You can put almost anything you have in your kitchen in it and it will still come out okay."

Of course they haven't seen what I have in my kitchen, but never mind that.

Get the lowdown by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Cincinnati Chili

The Music:

Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, "Pathetique," by Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Jarvi, conductor
Telarc 80681

The Recipe:

There's just something a bit different about the way they make chili in Cincinnati, especially if you're not from Ohio. Even after it's done you can choose to have it served as two-way, three-way, four-way or even (you guessed it) five-way chili.

Like I said. It's different.

But thanks to Linda Stradley and her What's Cooking America website, all can be made clear by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Baked Herb Yorkshire Pudding

The Music:

Violin Concerto by George Dyson
Lydia Mordkovitch, violin; City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox, conductor
Chandos 9369

The Recipe:

As soon as we saw that Mr. Dyson was from West Yorkshire, we knew what today's recipe had to be. However this is a healthier variation of the traditional Yorkshire pudding that, as described by RecipeZaar, "is a delightful pudding, normally eaten at supper time, and it is suitable for vegetarians.

"It has its origins in Northallerton (North of England) and would have been made from wild herbs, gathered from the hedgerows and fields, and eaten with 'mushy' peas."

Get cracking by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Brooklyn Blackout Cake

The Music:

Symphony No. 3 by Aaron Copland
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi, conductor
Chandos 9474

The Recipe:

Ebinger's was a legendary bakery in Brooklyn that, according to recipelink.com, was "renowned for the purity of its ingredients, the sparkling cleanliness of its stores, and the deep chocolatiness of this cake. Even though the last Ebinger's finally closed in 1972, some devotees kept Blackout Cakes in their freezers for years afterward."

But you can make a fresh one of your own by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Russian Apple Squares

The Music:

Piano Concerto No. 3 in d, Op. 30, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano; London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn, conductor
Decca 473 251

The Recipe:

I can smell the seductive aroma of baking cinnamon and apples already.

Turn fantasy into reality by clicking here.

Midday Entree: Amsterdam Mashed Potatoes

The Music:

Symphony No. 5 in B flat, Op. 100, by Sergei Prokofiev
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor
Decca 470 528

The Recipe:

Here's a zesty twist to your mashed potatoes. As described on the home cooking page of about.com, "it may seem an unlikely combination, but mashed potatoes marry beautifully with sauerkraut and onions in this creamy side dish."

Come on, give it a try by clicking here.

Smakelijk eten, and thanks for listening.