You’ve looked at vegetables. You’ve touched them, smelled them, tasted them - but have you ever really listened to them? The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra has been beating, whacking, wheedling and blowing on all sorts of vegetables since 1998, sharing with the rest of the world the specific sounds of our favorite foods.
Here’s a gurkophon, which is pretty much a zucchini and bell pepper trumpet.
Their music is influenced by experimental contemporary, electronic and pop music and the orchestra is very serious about their work. Using drills and knives and other tools members of the orchestra carve and whittle their instruments out of fresh vegetables for every show (after the concert the orchestra’s cook prepares a vegetable soup out of the instruments that is served to the audience).
Karottenfloeten, or carrot flutes.
Careful selection of each vegetable is imperative - the shape, size and structural integrity of each piece can affect the sound of the final instrument. Because the instruments are perishable, they are subject to changes due to time and temperature. Some of the instruments will even change throughout the course of a performance, drying out and becoming brittle under hot stage lights.
Check out a video of them making their instruments and playing here:
MENU: Filet Mignon with Bernaise, Potatoes Anna and Roasted Asparagus TIME: 45 minutes. COST: Depends on the steak — about $12 a person. CLEAN UP: Heavy, but not to bad if you cook wisely and rinse as you go.
One of the keys to making a feast fast with little mess is to make your pans do double or triple duty. I cooked my potatoes in a heavy skillet on one side, then flipped them out on a sheet pan and finished them in the oven. The steak goes in the same hot pan, is seared like crazy and popped into the oven in the pan. When the steak’s almost done, I take it out and let it rest, adding my blanched asparagus to the sizzling, fatty steak juices, giving the spears a lovely sheen and intoxicating flavor.
I used a big pot with a little water to blanch my asparagus and then used that same pot as a double boiler bottom to make my hollandaise sauce (a big stainless steel bowl serves as the top). With my shallot-tarragon-vinegar reduction (to turn the hollandaise into bernaise) it still adds up to four pots and pans, but if you clean as you go — easy when the metal is hot — you can face a realtively ordered kitchen after dinner.
The potatoes Anna are easy if you have a mandoline. Slice them thin and put them directly into a hot oiled pan — one at a time — to create a spiral effect. Once they’re crisp, flip them, cook for another minute and hold in a warm oven until ready to use. – Nicholas Boer
MENU: Braised Oxtail Pasta. Tossed Salad. TIME: Hours and hours of oven time, but only 30-45 minutes hands-on cooking. COST: $15 for two. CLEAN UP: Two pots and a salad bowl.
This is not a meal to throw together after a long day at work, UNLESS you’ve thought ahead and braised the meat a day or two or three before. YES, these really are oxtails cut up into neat little pieces, available at giant markets like 99 Ranch or Le Asia — both of which opened in the Tri-Valley recently. Braising is easy, just like doing shanks or stew. I seasoned and seared the tails, caramelized some garlic, onion and carrot and reduced down some red wine and beef stock. Then I braised the tails with the veggies and liquid a few hours in a medium-hot oven and tucked the casserole dish in the refrigerator once it cooled. When I got home the next day, all I had to do was gently warm the oxtails and strip them of thier luscious meat. I strained the broth and warmed it and the meat together before tossing it with some chewy pasta.
It’s so naturally rich you don’t need another thing — no cheese for sure – except a nice crunchy salad with a tart dressing on the side.
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Beet Carpaccio with Ricotta Salata Seared New York Steak with Beet Greens TIME: About 75 minutes in total. About 25 minutes hands on time. COST: $15 for two, depending on cost of steak. CLEAN UP: Significant. A pot or two, a pan, a mandoline, a cookie sheet.
This carpaccio is a double Wow! dish. It looks incredible and tastes even better. Even if you are beet-averse, I guarantee you’ll be impressed. As soon as I got home, I lightly scrubbed three medium-large golden beets and plopped them into a pot of salted water. Once it reached a boil, I turned it down to a simmer, covered the pot and forgot about everything for 35 minutes — Cocktail Hour! I drained the beets but left them in the pot burying them in ice and cool water. Then I forgot about them again.
About 10 minutes later, when they were thoroughly chilled, I skinned the beets (the peel slips right off), and sliced them coin-thin with a mandoline (yes, you need a mandoline — a cheap Japanese one works fine). On nice, big flat plates, I arranged the slices in a pleasing pattern and put the plates in the refrigerator until I was ready to serve. When the time came came, I sprinkled the beets with toasted slivered almonds, minced green onions, walnut oil (olive oil is fine), sherry vinegar (any nice acid is fine), salt, pepper and — the key — shaved ricotta salata, a semi-hard lightly salty cheese. This would be a brilliant first course if you’re doing a formal presentation. I served it on the side with a plate of sliced, seared steak over beet greens (when you buy the beets, look for ones with nice tops). Greens are easy — saute a little onion and/or garlic in olive oil, add the cleaned and dried greens and braise, covered, for 20 minutes or so. I like them well cooked so they turn sweet. A nice finish for the steak and greens is a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar.
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