Mister C's Beef Tenderloin Roast with Cognac Rosemary Dijon Cream Sauce

New Years' Eve used to be a performance night for me, so the fare was usually hastily-eaten and best-forgotten- usually a burger or sandwich courtesy of our host venue. Now that we've come to our senses and generally stay home on that most insane of party nights, I take the time to prepare a formal dinner for the family here at GreenWood.


As I was shopping for our holiday feasting a local market advertised a butchers' special for beef, so I picked up an excellent beef tenderloin at a great price. Here at GreenWood we are serious about our beef: we don't eat it often, so when we do I make sure it's memorable. I also found a bottle of cognac that someone had gifted me some time back, and as I'm not really a fan of the liquor I decided I would use it in some way for our New Years' Eve dinner. The recipe as follows is inspired by a couple of recipes I came across from home chefs and a meal I enjoyed some years ago in Chicago. Beef tenderloin is very easy to prepare, it has a rich and almost buttery taste that holds up extremely well on its own- but when coupled with a spice rub and a decadent sauce it becomes sublime. Suggested sides are potatoes of any sort, julienned carrots in an herbed reduction, broccoli with sesame or nuts, root vegetables such as parsnips and beets- basically any hearty vegetable which can hold its own with the beef and cream sauce. A spicy red wine such as a Tempranillo, a mature Shiraz or a fat-bottomed Cabernet will complement the meal. The recipe as posted will easily serve 6-8 hearty portions, or 8-10 when a full-course dinner is desired.


The Roast
5lb Beef Tenderloin Roast, trimmed of tendon and excess fat
2 Tbsp Dry Mustard
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
Whole Sage Leaves to Garnish the top of the roast
Cracked Peppercorns to cover the top of the roast


Cognac Rosemary Dijon Cream Sauce
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream or Creme Fraiche
1/3 Cup Cognac
3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Rosemary
Ground Pepper to taste


Remove the roast from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, about 1.5hrs. Heat your oven to 400F.  Rub the roast with the dry mustard and brown sugar and set aside for a few minutes. Heat a heavy skillet on medium-high heat, then brown the roast on all sides. Set the skillet aside, as you'll use the browned bits and juices to make the cream sauce while the roast is resting after coming from the oven. Add the sage leaves to cover the top of the roast, then add the cracked peppercorns. Place the roast on a low rack in a shallow roasting pan and cook until rare or medium-rare at most, 125F-130F internally, for a 5lb roast begin checking the temperature at 20 minutes. Remove the roast from the pan and tent loosely to rest for 15 minutes. While the roast is resting, add about half the cognac to the pan to deglaze it. Heat the skillet on medium-high heat  until it gets fragrant and begins to barely smoke, then remove it from the heat and add the rest of the cognac to the skillet to deglaze. Add the cognac and juices from the pan to the skillet and return it the stovetop on medium heat, whisk in the cream and rosemary, then add the dijon mustard. Reduce by 1/3, whisking until the sauce has thickened a bit, remove from the stove and pour into a serving dish. Slice the roast according to the number of servings desired and spoon a generous amount of the sauce over the meat. Serve immediately with your chosen sides and enjoy!

Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)

I had this dish many years ago while traveling, it was served as part a a "big dinner" by our hosts. The only fish soup I had tasted before was bouillabaisse (I hated it), and when our host Rolando announced that our second course was to be a fish stew my heart sank. I had to be polite, as my business - and perhaps my safety - depended upon this man's good graces but I was not looking forward to fish in a bowl. I was proven wrong, much to my surprise. Our server brought a wide bowl to the table that had a bed of white rice, filled with coconut milk and brilliant peppers, with big chunks of white fish, scallions and a bright orange oil drizzled over it all. It smelled like something sweet and spicy, not fishy at all. After the first bite I was a fan, and although I had it a few more times on my trip I never looked for it when I came back home.

A few months ago I had some big fillets of ocean fish and was looking for a new recipe as an alternative to the obligatory deep-frying or baking with breading. Then I remembered: rewind twenty-five years or so, back to a tropical locale and the amazing fish stew I discovered: My Brazilian hosts called it Moqueca. Since I prepared it that first time it has become one of those indulgences that I make every few months. It's tangy, creamy and spicy all at the same time with big chunks of fish marinated in lime to complement the peppers and coconut milk. I always make enough so it can be enjoyed as leftovers the next day, after the flavors have mingled overnight.

Mister C's Moqueca
Serves 4-6

2-3 Lbs White Fish Steaks (Cod, Halibut, Plaice, Sea Bass, etc)
1 Tsp Annatto Seeds
3 Tbsp Canola Oil
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Cloves Garlic, minced (4 Tbsp)
3 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Tsp Coarse Kosher or Sea Salt
1 Large Sweet Onion, diced
3 Tbsp Scallions, chopped
4 Medium Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Medium Sweet Bell Peppers, chopped (pick your favorite colors)
1/2 Medium Green Bell Pepper, chopped
14oz Coconut Milk (equivalent 1 can)
Black Pepper and Hot Sauce to Taste

Serve over rice in wide shallow bowls. Suggested serving portion is 1 cup of rice per bowl.

Heat the canola oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the annatto seeds and cook for 10 minutes until the oil turns bright orange. Strain and discard the seeds, then pour the oil into a small dish and set aside for plating. Start your rice and other sides you wish to serve with the stew.

Cut the fish into large pieces and put into a large bowl or dish. Add the lime juice, garlic and salt to he bowl and toss to coat the fish thoroughly. Set the bowl aside (countertop or refrigerator) to marinate while the rest of the dish is prepared.

In a large, deep skillet or saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion and peppers. Sautee 3-5 minutes, until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook another 3 minutes, then add the hot sauce and black pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and add the fish in a single layer. Pour the coconut milk over the fish, shaking the pan gently to make sure the liquids mingle and the fish doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Give it a gentle shake occasionally to keep things from sticking.

Plate the rice, then place a generous amount of the stew over the rice - I usually add a few spoonfuls of the coconut milk from the pan for extra goodness. Drizzle some of the annatto oil over the dish and garnish with a generous pinch of chopped scallions.

I consider this a complete meal, but it may also be served as a main entree with bread and salad. Although this is a fish dish, a hearty red wine complements the heaviness of the coconut milk and provides an interesting mix of tannins to the meal.

Thanksgiving Menu 2010, Round Two: Stuffing vs. Dressing

Stuffing vs. Pan Dressing

There’s always been a debate between aficionados of stuffing and dressing. Stuffing is more or less self-explanatory, while dressing seems to have a more varied definition based upon regional influences. One would tend to think that there’s not much in the way of comparison, as the only thing stuffing and dressing have in common is bread, but my ears have been burned by the vehement opinions of friends and family. My take on the matter is that stuffing can be prepared either stovetop or baked inside the bird whereas dressing is baked in a pan separate from the main entrée. Here are a couple of recipes that you can add to your Thanksgiving Day table, to quell the strident opinion that may arise should one or the other be left out of the day’s offerings.

Mrs. Pat’s Pan Dressing

When I was growing up my Mom always made pan dressing with Thanksgiving dinner, many times her mother- Grandma Ruby- would also show up with a slightly different but still-substantial pan of dressing. It was dark and savory, more like a casserole or bread pie with cornbread and chicken. It was actually a meal in itself, and Mom always makes an extra pan for late-night leftovers when the munchies set in. I find pan dressing to be the perfect complement to the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special we always watch later in the evening. It’s my comfort food of choice, and I will eat an entire pan of this stuff if I’m not prevented from doing so. As an entrée-type offering I’ve added instructions for the extra step of adding chicken to the recipe, but as listed below it is offered as a competitor or alternative to the side of stuffing. This is best prepared the day before and left to chill in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors mingle. Just take it out and let it return to room temperature before baking so it won’t go soggy.

4 cups Cornbread, Crumbled
2 Cups White or other Loaf Bread, Torn
1 Large Onion, Diced
4 Stalks Celery, Diced
2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped or Rubbed Sage (fresh for a stronger flavor)
2 Tbsp Butter or Olive Oil
2 Tsp Poultry Seasoning
2 Large Eggs, Beaten

Put the bread into a large mixing bowl. Heat the butter or olive oil at medium heat, then sautee the celery and onion until translucent. Add the broth, sage and poultry seasoning and stir for 2 minutes. Add the broth and vegetable mix to the bread, stir and allow to cool a bit. Then mix in the eggs until the mixture is lumpy and pourable but not soupy. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) to allow the flavors to mix, then allow to return to room temperature. Pour into a greased (or sprayed) 9 x 12 baking or casserole dish. Preheat your oven to 350F and bake until crisp on the edges and a toothpick comes out clean. Cut into squares in the dish and serve.

Entrée Option: Bake whole small chicken, cut meat from breast, legs and thighs into strips and boil the bones and carcass for broth.  Add the chicken meat to the mixture and bake as usual.

Mister C’s Fruited Nut Stuffing

Some of you who have been fans of Cookin’ With Mister C for a while will recognize the stuffing recipe I’m reproducing here as the Fruited Nut Stuffing I use for Cornish Hens. Stuffing generally takes two forms: Stuffing made in a pan and stuffing that’s actually stuffed into the bird. They are very different dishes: one is fluffy and kind of crisp and the other is dense and very complex with the juices of the bird cooked into the bread mix.

4 Cups Stale Bread, cut into small cubes (whole grain or multigrain is good because it’s very firm)
1 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Cup Chopped Onion
2 Tbsp Butter (just enough to moisten the bread)
1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts, Almonds or Pistachios
1/4 Cup Dried Apricots, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Olive Oil and Butter, combined equal parts (1 Tbsp each, warmed and mixed)


In a large sautee pan or cast iron skillet heat the olive oil/butter mixture and add the onions and celery, sauteeing until just soft then remove it to a bowl. In the skillet add the remaining butter and bread chunks, moving the bread until it is moistened then stir until the bread is very slightly browned. Then add the onions, celery, nuts and fruit to the bread and stir on medium-low heat until it’s thoroughly mixed, steamy and soft. Then increase the heat to medium-high or high and toss until the bread is lightly browned and just barely toasty. Remove the stuffing from the heat and cover it to keep it moist until time to move it to a bowl for serving. If you are making this to stuff the bird, triple the ingredients (dividing the portions as needed to accommodate pan size)- trust me, you’ll be surprised how much stuffing it takes to stuff a turkey! If you make more than you need, just plate the rest and use it as garnish when the bird comes from the oven.

Tomorrow: Soups, Cheeses and Other Hors D’Oeuvres

Orange Sesame Chicken Legs

The past couple of weeks have been challenging. Yes, challenging seems to be a good word to sum it up. Writing new music for an emerging genre is challenging.  Editing video for the band documentary is definitely challenging.  Having children in different schools which are testing at the same time is challenging.  Responding to challenges as affronts to my ability to Take Care Of Business (at least that's what my Guy Manual has to say on the matter) leaves me precious little time for Cookin' With Mister C and other writing projects.  I'm not totally shut down though, as this weekend we'll be heading off to Anachrocon, a Steampunk-themed convention in Atlanta, where I hope to reconnect with many old friends and bounce ideas around for further literary projects. Drop by and see me if you're in Atlanta: Saturday morning I'll be assuming the persona of either James Watt, inventor of the first efficient steam engine or Nikola Tesla, who was... well... Nikola Tesla.

Rest assured, I still feed the family good stuff each night although it may not be the six-step kitchen dance I usually perform. A few days ago dinner disguised itself as one of those "opportunities to improvise" when I was working on several ongoing projects and noticed that I'd not even begun to plan dinner as I headed to the elementary school to pick up my son. Looking in the refrigerator I realized I had no leftovers, no salad makings and nothing thawed from the freezer; just before I slammed the freezer door I spotted a bag of frozen chicken legs. Good enough, I thought and went to work on something experimental, and hopefully edible.

I dumped the frozen chicken legs into the crockpot, turned it on high for 4 hours and began working on a sauce that I could add to the slow cooker later.  It turned out much better that I hoped, but I'm very glad I wrote it on the blackboard because I changed it several times before I was done.

As shown the portions make a lot of broth in the crockpot, so I used my big bulb to suck about two and a half cups to reduce for the couscous. If you have the time (and thawed chicken legs) the mixture can be reduced by half and the legs can be baked in the reduction at 350F until the skin is crispy and the meat is 160F. 

Mister C's Orange Sesame Crockpot Chicken

4 Lbs Chicken Legs, bone in

4 Oranges, juiced. Zest 1 Orange before juicing   

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Sesame Oil

1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Tbsp Ginger Paste

1 Tsp Coarse Ground Pepper

1 Tsp Salt

Place the chicken legs in the crockpot at 4 hours on high, then begin the sauce. Mix all the ingredients together except the pepper and the orange zest. After the sauce is mixed well add two or three pinches of the orange zest and mix it again, then pour the mix over the chicken legs. After 3 hours remove most of the broth from the crockpot, leaving an inch or so in the bottom of the pot.  Sprinkle the pepper and the rest of the orange zest over the chicken legs and cook for the remaining hour. 

As I made it in the crockpot it was very tender and after I removed the extra broth for the couscous it developed a nice golden brown on the skin.  I browned some nuts in olive oil and reduced the broth by a half cup and used that to make the couscous. It was excellent with that hint of chicken and orange, and the nuts tossed in just before plating finished the meal admirably.  I had an ice cold IPA with my meal and thought it was mighty nice. Share this with your friends and tell them you got it from Cookin' With Mister C-

Thai Peanut Simmer

I don't post much about Asian dishes, although we eat more than our fair share of Indian and Thai. I was tallying up the meat offerings a couple of weeks ago and saw we were a bit heavy on the beef side, and we had gorged on Indian and chicken dishes until we were kind of sick of poultry.  At the local market I found some boneless country ribs that were very lean and on sale, so all I had to do was come up with a way to prepare it while not resorting to the standard sweet/hot grill I use for pork. I've always loved Thai-inspired peanut sauces, I just can't stand fish sauce unless I'm eating a seafood dish; I used to make a variety of African meals using peanuts, mostly chicken but I'd always wanted to give pork a try with a hot and not-sweet nut sauce.  It needed to be a quick meal because we had a play to attend, but I knew it also needed to have a good bit of ballast as we would eat early and not return to GreenWood until late in the evening.  It turned out better than I thought it would, so I added some bell peppers and noodles to a frozen stir-fry mix and served the whole thing over white rice. 

A longtime friend of mine reminded me that he loved a lot of the recipes I share but he's Jewish, and I am one of the most notorious kosher-busters in the realm. So, for my Jew and Muslim friends I'll try to add kosher/halal substitutes as far as my limited knowledge of the dietary restrictions will carry me. All of you, feel free to give me guidance for the recipes you'd like to see here, especially you men who have found yourselves in the role of family chef-

Mister C's Thai Peanut Simmer

2 Pounds Boneless Lean Pork, cut into 2-inch chunks (Substitute Chicken Breast or Lean Beef)
1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
1/2 Cup Light Soy Sauce
4 Tbsp Crunchy Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup Crushed Peanuts, Cashews or Almonds
1 Tbsp Grated Ginger
3 Tsp Minced Garlic, or 3 medium cloves crushed
1 Tsp Sesame Oil or 1 Tbsp Tahini
2 Tbsp Canola or Peanut Oil for frying
1 Medium Sweet Bell Pepper
1 Cup Egg or Udon Noodles
4 Cups Frozen Stir-Fry Mix (optional)
4-8 Cups Rice (prepared)

In a microwave-safe bowl combine the broth, soy sauce, peanut butter, ginger and garlic. I find it's much easier to mix if I heat it up for 30 seconds or so in the microwave to soften the peanut butter, and heating the mix will speed up the mixing of the flavors as well. In a large skillet or wok heat the vegetable oil on medium-high and add the meat, searing it on all sides. Reduce the heat to medium, add the sesame oil and the peppers and cook an additional 5 minutes or until the meat is done. Add the stir fry vegetables and noodles, toss to mix with the peppers and meat then add the peanut sauce to the mix. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve hot over the rice. Beer is perfect with this meal, as is a crisp wine or even a juicebox... Enjoy and tell your friends you got it from Cookin' With Mister C-

Barbecued Bat Out of Hell

And so we come to that time in midwinter when we can catch our breath after the holiday season.  Here at GreenWood we had a great time with family but we're exhausted.  I cooked, and cooked and then I cooked some more. We aren't having meatloaf tonight, but I had this older recipe posted on a different site and figured I'd post it because I'm still lazy and slow from the holidays. But before we get to the meatloaf recipe, let me tell you a bit about the past month or so at GreenWood.

As we tally up the results and survey the mess we've made it becomes evident that we need to redouble our efforts to renovate this old house into something new.  We bought this place knowing it needed some TLC, hence the very reasonable price we paid, but the years and other variables have outstripped our ability to just keep patching the leaks. If we add the couple of contractors we hired (i.e. out-of-work people we knew in our community who claimed to know what they were doing) who did far more damage than repair it starts to look like we need to tear everything out and start from scratch.  Ah well, says I, let's see how close we can come to doing just that; look for infrequent updates as I start the piecework- perhaps I can build a custom jewelry design studio with a Viking kitchen in the rear?

In other news, I'm writing again. Four books, on my own time: a memoir, an advice book, a steampunk horror tale, and a cookbook (you knew it had to happen sooner or later). I've made the most progress on the advice book but the cookbook and steampunk novel are on the front burner for the foreseeable future.  The jewelry design business is very much affected by the slow economy, so I'm culling equipment and accumulated junk from the shop while continuing to sift through the enormous amount of material I've mined over the years.  Each time I go through another batch I find more great stuff begging to be cut, as soon as the weather turns a bit warmer.

How am I going to get all these projects completed? Simple, I won't... not all of them- but I never intend to finish all the projects I start.  At least not now.  But you want meatloaf, as does my son:

Barbecue Meatloaf with Smashed Potatoes and Vegetable Medley.

The Smashed Potatoes are simply a bit more... man-mashed, you could say.  I take red or white potatoes, cut them into large chunks and boil them with a few pinches of Old Bay Seasoning until they are just tender but not super-soft.  Drain, add a little milk and butter for creamy goodness then smash.  Smashing is fun, much more fun than mashing- mashing is so... civilized.  To smash potatoes just do a little imitiation of The Incredible Hulk a few times- just remember that your enthusiasm is in direct proportion to your cleanup effort- until they are smashed (chunky) but not mashed (not so chunky).  While the potatoes are boiling you can prepare the meatloaf:

It's an easy list of ingredients but more importantly it lets me rummage through my cabinets like a mad scientist, wield sharp knives and mangle meat with my hands. Some days a guy just has to make a meatloaf.

First, preheat your oven to 375F

1.5lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 cup oatmeal or breadcrumbs
1 onion chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1.5 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper or to taste (I use at least 1 tbsp)
24oz bottle of Barbecue Sauce of your choice or you can make your own:
16oz tomato sauce (fresh or from the can)
1 cup water
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp spicy mustard
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine three-quarters of the sauce with the rest of the ingredients, mangling until unrecognizable as anything other than raw meatloaf with onions. Dump the mixture into a casserole dish (9x6 should do), level it off and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the remaining sauce to cover the top of the meatloaf and bake another 30 minutes or until the loaf is 165F in the center. Before slicing, take 5 minutes to fix yourself a refreshing drink. With rum. And an umbrella. And a straw. That's better. Better have another sip, to prepare for the slicing. Lay it out just like Mom used to do, diner-menu style if you want to add some presentation value to your meal. The vegetable medley is basically whatever I can find that I can steam together. That saves more time to devote to the meatloaf:  It can also be served over linguine if the smashing of potatoes offends your sensitivities.  However you wish to have your meatloaf, enjoy it and let your friends and dearest enemies know you got it from Cookin' With Mister C.

Christmas Eve 2009 Grilled Rum Butter Lime Shrimp and Sassy Sockeye Salmon

At GreenWood the Holiday Season begins with the Winter Solstice or Hanukkah and continues on past the New Year, but Christmas Eve is the fulcrum point of the season.  I usually cook a massive meal: appetizers and main courses accompanied by all manner of libations, and this year was no different.  We started with an appetizer of grilled shrimp marinated in a rum, butter, lime and pepper concoction, then moved on to baked sockeye salmon in a tangy sauce.  White jasmine rice and brussels sprouts complete the tableau, accented with various Christmas tunes and occasional fighting between overexcited children.

This meal involves a few stages of preperation but once it's all in motion everything comes together in under an hour; make sure you have your own libations handy, since you'll be doing a decent imitation of Squiddly-Diddly in just a few moments.  These portions will serve 4, with a hearty salad it will serve up to 6.

Mister C's Grilled Rum Butter Citrus Shrimp

2 pounds Large, Huge, Colossal or other Monster Shrimp, fresh
4oz Spiced Rum (I like good old Cap'n Morgan Silver)
4 Tbsp Melted Butter
1 Tbsp Cracked or Coarsely Ground Peppercorns
1 Tbsp Ground or Grated Ginger
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
Depending upon your preference you can leave the shells on the shrimp or peel and devein them, I left them in the shell this time because I'm lazy and it was Christmas Eve.  Mix the rum, butter, ginger and pepper and pour over the shrimp in a spill-proof container with a good lid (you'll be shaking it up to distribute the marinade), but don't add the lime juice just yet unless you want ceviche, and give a few good shakes to get the marinade on all the shrimp. I let the shrimp marinate in the mix for at least an hour at room temperature (hence the need for fresh shrimp), shaking or stirring every 15-20 minutes or so to make sure the concoction gets to all the shrimp. While the shrimp is marinating you can make the Sassy Sauce for the salmon:
Mister C's Sassy Sockeye Salmon
Filet of Sockeye Salmon (Wild-Caught, at least 3 lbs)
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 Cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Chopped Scallions (mostly greens)
2 Tbsp Fresh Grated Ginger or Ginger Paste
2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped or Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil (more if you like the sesame to be dominant)
4 Tbsp Honey
Place the salmon in an appropriately-sized baking dish then combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium mixing bowl or large (2+cup) measuring cup; I put the mix in the microwave for around 20 seconds to warm it up and make the honey a bit easier to blend. This makes about 12oz of sauce- I divide it by half, setting aside 6oz or so to add for the final stage.  Pour half of the sauce over the salmon, making sure to coat all of the fish, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

While the salmon is marinating get your grill or broiler going, if grilling set the flame medium-high. I usually line the grill with foil for several reasons but mostly for ease of cleanup and to ensure more even cooking.  Time for the all-important cocktail to make the evening bright, you can be a big tot with your eyes all-aglow and find it easy to sleep tonight... go ahead and preheat your oven to 375F so you can segue from shrimp to salmon without a pause.  Now, some chefs with book-learning advise us to discard the shrimp marinade, but to me that's a waste of rum and butter so I keep it on hand to add to the grill while the shrimp is cooking- another reason I use foil when grilling the shimp! Place the shrimp on the grill, add the rest of the marinade and simmer/grill them about 2-3 minutes each side if they're peeled, add a minute if they're in the shell; it really doesn't take longer than 8 minutes in any case unless you wish to have very tough shrimp. The key is to grill them to medium at most so you can still taste the juices and marinade.  Take them off the grill and place into a bowl or covered dish to keep them warm while you're baking the salmon, drizzle the lime juice over them and give a stir. For an appetizer simply move them to a serving dish and introduce your dinner companions to your culinary creativity.

Pop the salmon in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 15-20 minutes- the aroma will drive you mad, and bring your dinner participants into the kitchen. Chase them away, for you are not finished.  When the salmon takes on that distinctive "flaky" look, add the remaining sauce to the fish and turn the oven to broil. Broil for no more than 5 minutes, to carmelize the honey and add that finishing touch to a grand and elegant piece of fish.  Take the salmon from the oven, capture the sauce for the rice and drizzling.  You are done but for the compliments.  I served this with jasmine rice, brussels sprouts and a good red wine. For dessert we enjoyed Ashley's Hot Buttered Rum, while the children had hot chocolate. Preare this for your next festive occasion and let your admirers know you got it from Cookin' With Mister C-

Personal Chickens With Citrus Apricot Ginger Glaze - Baked Stuffed Cornish Hens

 Baked Stuffed Cornish Hens With Citrus Apricot Glaze - "Personal Chickens"

Before I get to the recipe for the birds, I'm going to stage the scene with a bit of reminiscence- 

As a professional musician and artist I've had the great fortune to meet and become friends with some of the most excellent people of our time.  Many are writers or authors or media personalities, others are captains of industry, some come from very privileged backgrounds which have allowed them to pursue artistic paths, others travel frequently to Cons or other conferences.  For reasons I still don't understand it seems the Universe (Jesus? Ganesha? Quanyin? Anyone? Anyone?) desires my path to cross theirs in what is usually a serendipitous manner, late in the evenings; I've learned to read the signs and pay attention.  Some of these fine folk have become very good friends over the years, and we share all the trappings that good friends bring.  My friend M is one of those life-sharing friends who I was foreordained to meet in just that fashion: Ashley used to babysit her children when she was a teenager, in the DC area- nearly twenty years before we met and married. M is a world traveler, a research biologist with the Smithsonian, and also happens to be a top-level travel agent with a thirst for Science Fiction and Celtic Music.  She was our liason for two of the three tours of Ireland the band led, but she was never a tour leader except when she absolutely needed to be so. She just wanted to hang out with a bunch of like-minded cool folks and had the ability and talent to make it happen.  I've traveled with her, on boats and planes six thousand miles from home, drank whisky in centuries-old pubs... she's a Good Friend. Added to all this is a lifelong friendship between M and Ashley, which predates my presence in either of their lives by two decades- the kindly mocking voice of Gandalf whispers in my ear "A chance meeting... if chance it was..." She's also a bit of an Erma Bombeck-type, the quintessential Mom and has a full complement of domestic anecdotes. I posted another Cornish Hen dish on Facebook, to which M replied when her son was younger he called them "personal chickens" because everyone got their own hen. I loved it, and told her I'd try to make a signature dish and work "Personal Chickens" into the name of the dish. Her son's name begins with a "C", this one's for you-

Mister C's Personal Chickens With Citrus Apricot Ginger Glaze

Prep Time: 30 Minutes  Total Time: 2 Hours    Serves: 4
We like to brine the birds to make sure they don't dry out when browned in the oven.  Use enough water to cover them completely, add at least a half cup of salt and a couple of tablespoons of sugar to the water and stir it to mix then add the birds to soak for at least 2 hours.  Safety dictates you refrigerate while brining, however I rarely have that much space in my refrigerator... do as you will, I say.  You will need:


4 Fresh or thawed and rinsed Cornish Game Hens (at least 24oz each) 
Citrus Apricot Ginger Glaze
4oz Apricot Preserves (or 4oz Dried Apricots with 2oz water and 2oz warm honey to soak until soft) 
2oz Fresh Pineapple, Orange or Grapefruit
4 Tbsp Fresh Ginger or Ginger Paste (dry ginger is less potent if you want to tone it down)
1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes (more or less to taste)
1 Tsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Blend all ingredients until smooth, then set aside for glazing the birds

 Fruit Nut Stuffing

Bread Stuffing with Fruit and Nuts
4 Cups Stale Bread, cut into small cubes (whole grain or multigrain is good because it's very firm)
1 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Cup Chopped Onion
2 Tbsp Butter (just enough to moisten the bread)
1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts, Almonds or Pistachios
1/4 Cup Dried Apricots, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Olive Oil and Butter, combined equal parts (1 Tbsp each, warmed and mixed)
Before you start preparing the stuffing, preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large sautee pan or cast iron skillet heat the olive oil/butter mixture and add the onions and celery, sauteeing until just soft then remove it to a bowl. In the skillet add the remaining butter and bread chunks, moving the bread until it is moistened then stir until the bread is very slightly browned. Then add the onions, celery, nuts and fruit to the bread and stir on medium-low heat until it's thoroughly mixed, steamy and soft. Remove the stuffing from the heat and cover it to keep it moist.
Remove the birds from the brine mixture, discard the brine and fill the cavities with the stuffing- it's OK if it overflows a bit. Place the stuffed birds neck-to-neck in the baking dish: I've found that it assists in cooking the thicker ends of the birds if they're arranged that way.  Glaze the birds generously and place on the center rack of the oven for 30 minutes. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know what to do next; for you newcomers, this is the part of Cookin' With Mister C where the refreshing cocktail or glass of wine becomes necessary.  After all, you've just whipped up the beginnings of a culinary whirlwind and now you have to recharge... you're not done yet, and from here you're going to be moving pretty fast.  After 30 minutes pull those birdies out and add another layer of glaze, making sure to touch up those spots where they touch the sides of the dish and each other. If you're using a baking dish you may wish to pull the juices out of the dish for gravy or other purposes, because the brining makes for a very moist bird. Put the birds back in the oven, glazing at 15-minute intervals over the next 45 minutes. Make sure to turn the pan as often as needed to assure they all brown evenly and pull the juices with a baster bulb when the dish starts to fill up.
After a total of 75 minutes or so the birds should be glazed golden and beginning to crisp on the wingtips.  Remove the birds fromn the oven and all them to rest for the next 10 minutes or so while you pull together your sides; this time I served a Caesar Salad and Sauteed White Button Mushrooms. Place a Personal Chicken on each plate and your family and guests will know you did all this Just For Them.
Enjoy, and if you like this recipe and Cookin' With Mister C, please send your friends and dearest enemies to Life at GreenWood!

Crock Pot Wednesday: Mediterranean Chicken

Wednesdays are serious crunch days around GreenWood, usually 18 hours at least so I like to get dinner started around 9am in the trusty crock pot.  Today's photo has the early morning Sun shining through the kitchen window; because the window is incredibly dirty it gives a beautiful, soft illumination to the entire kitchen. I read once that professional photographers used to smear petroleum jelly on their lenses to get a similar effect, so my reluctance to actually clean the windows has a bit of artistic pique involved... but that's another story if not another blog entirely.  The carrots and celery are a couple of the ingredients for today's dish, sans the rose petals. Of course you can throw them in, as you prefer, to give the house a hint of rose aroma while it's cooking. 

Busy is the word for Wednesday, especially since we've started the rehab effort on the house and shop in earnest.  Add to that the normal schedule of rising at 5:50am to get kids ready for school, doing the regular day's chores and finishing rehearsal at the studio around 11pm and I have almost no time to bathe, let alone cook in my accustomed manner. Enter the crock pot.  I used to think the crock pot was for unimaginative people who had no desire to eat well or overworked career-moms who just needed to have something ready by the time she and hubby got home from work... needless to say my perception's changed over the years. Now I make all sorts of dishes with the slow cooker, from traditonal pot roast to more experiemental stuff like miso apple beef and cinnamon mole. I buy whole chicken cut-up as well as the boneless breasts and thighs because I'm cheap, and I like to keep bone-in chicken on hand for soups or stocks.

This dish is so easy to fix, all you need to do is add some rice or a salad and you'll have a hot and very good meal at the end of the day.

Mister C's Mediterranean Slow Cook Chicken

Ingredients:

One whole chicken, cut-up

Four carrots, sliced or chopped into 1" sections

Four stalks celery, cut into 1" sections

4 tbsp Mediterranean Seasoning (or, 1 tsp of the following: Sea Salt, Dried Red Pepper, Dried Garlic, Dried Onion, Grated Lemon Peel, Parsley)

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Cracked Pepper

No one wants to look at raw chicken, so here's a photo of Bossa Nova Salad ingredients

Place the carrots and celery in the bottom of the crock pot, sprinkle with the sea salt and pepper.  Then arrange the pieces of chicken so the seasoning mix will cover each piece.  Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the chicken and cook for 8-10 hours.  I leave the skin on the chicken to flavor the vegetables, but you can just as easily remove it to keep those fat calories down.  The crockpot will cook the chicken to fall-off-the-bone tenderness and the vegetables should be soft and richly-seasoned.  Serve with rice or fresh bread and salad. 

Men, this bit of advice is for you: Learn how to use a crock pot.  It'll open up new possibilities in the realm of "set and forget" cooking, it just takes a bit of forethought so you don't wind up with crock pot puree.  We'll revisit the slow-cooker method from time to time, because sometimes there's not enough time to prepare dinner.

Boneless Pork Loin Steaks with Hot Fruit Relish

I haven't posted a recipe in a while: Cookin' With Mister C has taken on a bit of a soggy tinge lately, what with the two feet of rain we've had over the past 10 days or so. The rain began the day we buried Sadie, and finally stopped yesterday morning; food has been more or less an afterthought on those grey days. Mushrooms are growing in the chicken coop, and the grass is approaching knee-high simply because I haven't been able to mow for nearly two weeks. So to snap us out of our musty reverie, here's something brightly-colored and spicy-hot to celebrate the return of the Sun, however briefly:

Mister C's Boneless Pork Loin Steaks with Hot Fruit Relish

Serves four.

1-1/2 - 2lbs (4 pieces) Boneless Pork Loin chops or steaks at least 1" thick
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
4 Kiwi Fruits, peeled and diced
1/2 lb Strawberries, diced
1 Mango, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp Green Onion tops and bulbs, chopped fine
1 Medium Jalapeno, Serrano, or Sacramento Pepper, chopped (substitute 1 tbsp fresh ginger)

First, make the relish: combine the fruit, onion and pepper and mix well. Add more or less pepper depending on your sweet/heat tolerance; I like the Sacramento pepper because it's medium-hot but very sweet. It'll get a bit gloppy, but that's the goal- if it's too chunky then add orange juice a little at a time while stirring the mix. Relish is very much about consistency, so mix it with a fork or wooden spoon until it has that unmistakable relish look-and-feel. Set it aside, or better yet chill for an hour or so before you start cooking the pork. Sensitive palates take note: This relish hits around a "7" on the heat meter so adjust your pepper accordingly or substitute the fresh ginger.

Combine Olive and Sesame oils in a medium frying pan on medium heat, add the garlic and chops. Pan-fry the chops until done, slice medium-thin and add the relish. As a lower-calorie option, cover the pork with the relish and bake at 350F for 30 minutes or so until done.

This goes well with jasmine or basmati rice and a salad. For a different serving option, spoon the relish over rice or serve the relish on the side.

RIP Sadie Mae, The Junkyard Dog

Sadie Mae 1993- 2009

One month since my last update, although it seems like a season has passed here at Greenwood. The dog is our dear old mutt Sadie, 15 or 16 years old and as goofy as the photo suggests. Sadie in her senility had taken to following whatever happened to be moving around her, and would become confused and unable to find her way home. We have no fences here at GreenWood- although we've wished for them for some time now- so I had to hunt her down more than once. Yesterday, she evidently followed Zoe and Ash to the bus stop, and then being basically blind and deaf wandered into the highway and was hit by a car. Tragic, yes but certainly not unexpected.

Old Sadie was rescued as a puppy from a junkyard by Zoe's dad Felix, where she had been fed massive quantities of booze and suffered subsequent brain damage. She was a full grown trash-eater by the time I came onto the scene, a weird and kind of scary chow-german shepherd mix; she'd get spastic and run away if one tried to pet her, but then she'd come up behind you and shove her head in your lap for a good scratch. The house in Decatur was in an older suburban neighborhood, and so there were animal control employees who collected unfenced dogs. Sadie mocked them, and their lariats, and their food traps; she especially enjoyed mocking their football-fake-rush attempts to tackle her, giving them good sport and showing them how it was done. They never managed to catch her, so they settled for yelling at us about our dog from time to time.

We moved to GreenWood in 2002 and of course Sadie came with us. Ash said she didn't travel well and would puke in the moving van, but it turned out she was just fine. Now Sadie had lots of land to explore, woods to sniff and all sorts of animals to discover. Sadie stayed on the porch, not caring at all that there were deer in the field along with rabbits and squirrels practically underfoot. What got her riled was unfamiliar cars coming up the long driveway, and it was on those occasions that we saw the other side of Sadie the Junkyard Dog. She wasn't a big dog, but she gave the impression that she didn't need to be. Never one to cry wolf, when she started barking I knew I needed to come outside.

A couple of years later Norno and Tatsu came along, all 150+ pounds of them and Sadie had to learn the dominance game. She didn't mind being lowest in the pack as long as she could still eat compost and lay about on the porch. Sometimes I had to wade into a three-dog fight but they pretty much functioned as a mini-pack. Then Tatsu was killed, and we had a succession of strays show up who Sadie accepted in her strange way: Jax, the flying Jack Russell who bit her tail constantly; Honey, the Corgie/lab mix who was part of a rescue litter of nine puppies; then came Pugsley.

Sadie and Pugsley were inseperable, and Pugsley was the only dog I ever saw Sadie play with. Every morning they made their rounds together, trotting side by side around GreenWood. She would spring to her feet whenever he came outside, and always seemed happy to see him. When she was so stiff she couldn't get up Pugsley was able to get her up and moving when all she would do was bite me.

These past couple of years her decline accelerated, and she was basically blind and deaf. I could tell that petting her was painful and she just wanted to lie about most of the day. We gave her glucosamine and Prednisone when she began to fall off the front porch, her back legs not really working correctly. When she discovered that she could move about without so much pain, she would try to run but with her legs locked. She looked like a hobby-horse trying to make a break for it, but she kept up somehow.

The last few weeks were difficult, as it was becoming obvious that she was losing what was left of her vitality and mind; Ash and I talked several times about the option of giving her release but we decided that we'd just tough it out and let her come to her end naturally. She wandered off two weeks ago and we thought she was dead then, but my neighbors found her and I brought her back to the house. I knew then it was pretty much a matter of time, I just hoped it didn't happen while we were away at Dragon*Con. We came home and there was Sadie, standing on the porch like she'd just been put off a bus in a strange town, not really knowing us but happy to see us nonetheless. She was so frail that Norno's tail could knock her over, and she had a hard time rolling off her dog bed but she managed to rouse herself whenever there were leftover ribs to be had- a frequent treat here at GreenWood.

When I walked outside yesterday morning to take Conor to school I didn't see her on the porch; I knew that I'd find her dead this time. She was on the side of the highway, facing East with her ears straight up. No blood, not mangled, but looking towards the rising sun like she'd just decided to lay down and die right then and there. No final twisted grimace of violent death, her eyes still clear and her mouth closed; she looked like she'd been prepared by a taxidermist. I had my yellow garden wagon down on the highway to carry her back in some semblance of comfort, and when a trucker saw what I was doing he stopped right there in the highway and blocked traffic so I wouldn't get hit myself. When I rolled her back across the highway he flashed his lights and gave her three quick blasts from his air horn, then the world returned to its mindless rush. At that moment, the skies opened and torrential rain began to fall: I think that was the longest walk I've ever taken up the Road and driveway.

I knew where I wanted to bury her, there's a spot at the edge of the woods near the pumphouse where a previous owner had buried a dog. It looks North, towards Three Sisters mountain and Woody Gap where the Appalachian Trail begins its first serious rise. Sadie was a bigger dog than I realized, and her grave took me all day to dig. I had to dodge lightning and the worst of the deluge but there was nothing for it, she deserved to be laid in comfort- I'd be able to anesthetise myself later. We all participated in filling her grave, Felix was on the cellphone while we were working so it was a true family affair. Sadie's spot is ringed with rocks we've collected over the years, and I'll be planting a V-8 engine head as her headstone in honor of the junkyard dog that she was until the moment of her passing.

We came in and celebrated Sadie's long life with bloody rare ribeyes, smashed potatoes with Old Bay and a romaine/sweet pepper salad. Ash and I drank an entire bottle of Shiraz, and toasted the Old Lady until we were pretty well snockered.

RIP Sadie Mae, you old weirdo.

Mungo Jerry Pork Loin with Toasty Nuts

I've been up to my eyeballs in the backend of production for "That Night in the Garden", with all the associated pain which comes from independently producing a CD and then sending our baby off to the finishing school known as "Mastering and Artwork" at our production facility. So, I'm indulging in a little thumb-sucking and doing only creative things in the shop and kitchen. We've got peppers, lettuce and tomatoes coming in- plus an early pumpkin from the compost bin.

Today's Cooking With Mister C was inspired by what was in my fruit and veggie cooler, and it's been damned hot the past week, so I've been revisiting "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry. It was the first album my uncle ever gave me, but I've always been inspired by the line "just do what you feel" so I found Bing cherries and a mango that were languishing beneath a bunch of carrots and lettuce. Chopped in the blender with some ginger paste and it makes for a tart and interesting combination of fruity layers. Mango:Mungo/Cherry:Jerry and so you will know where my mind is of late. Nuts are the new good thing for men my age, so I added a couple of tablespoons of crushed cashews and pine nuts browned in olive oil as a crunchy topping for the pork loin I was going to grill. It's pretty, dark red and thick with plenty of sweet tang and the final punch of the ginger enhances the cherry and mango.

Served with my trademark Bossa Nova Salad, with fresh peppers and green beans from the garden and white rice.

Here's the recipe:

Mister C's Mungo Jerry Pork Loin with Toasty Nuts

Lean Pork Loin 3-5lbs
1 Cup Sweet Bing Cherries (Stoned, and as ripe as you can stand)
1 Medium Mango
1 Tbsp Ginger Paste (or chopped for the blender)
2 Tbsp Chopped Cashews
2 Tbsp Pine Nuts
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Pit the cherries but don't skin them, peel and slice the mango into large chunks and add these with the ginger to the blender or food processor. Chop only long enough to break up the cherries and mango, but don't puree- it needs to be thick and chunky, almost like salsa.

Set the sauce aside to do its thing, and heat up the olive oil in a small pan on medium heat. When it starts to smell like hot olive oil, add the nuts and begin toasting them in the pan; you have to be vigilant in keeping the nuts turned so they won't scorch. When your nuts begin to smell toasty and turn golden brown take them off the heat and let them sit in the remnants of the oil for a bit.

Turn the grill to medium heat or preheat to 400F in the oven with the baking rack set high in the oven, and use about 1/3 of the sauce to make a thick baste on the pork loin, concentrating on the top of the roast. Take the nuts and add to the sauce on top of the pork loin, pressing them in a bit as you go. Close it up and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours, no more basting needed. When the loin comes to 165F through the center it's ready. Let the loin set for 5 minutes, then slice. Add the remaining sauce to the slices and get ready for the compliments.

On Goat Cheese and Geodes

A couple of weeks ago we visited Victoria in her college town of Huntsville, Alabama. We're geeks, and so instead of doing the regular parents-visiting-their-kid-at-college stuff like taking all her roommates grocery shopping and cleaning their I-really-don't-know-how-long-that's-been-there apartment (hey, look at it as an immune-system builder), we left our Pug to be doted over by beautiful college girls and their buff-but-polite guys-in-waiting and headed for SciQuest at Calhoun College. It's a hands-on science museum, literally in the shadow of the Space Shuttle and Saturn V as it's across the road from Marshall Space Center. There's a little shop inside the museum, and it took me all of 2 minutes to find the geode bin. Walnut-sized whole geodes. A dollar each. Hmmm, I have rock saws. So we took the geodes home, and discovered one was partially hollow and one had a beautiful heart-shaped pattern when sawed and polished. We're mad for geodes, some of my most prized possesions are geodes which contain ancient water that's anywhere between 40 million and 300 million years old. And they're translucent, so you can actually see the water that most likely was contemporary with the dinosaurs. That's near the top of my Cool List...

Who? Oh, Vic. She had a great time with Pugsley, and it's nice to finally be able to have a cocktail with my oldest daughter while talking about things adults talk about (True Blood, Dragon*Con- you know the drill). We took her out to dinner at Bonefish Grill where we saw the inspiration entree for today's Cookin' With Mister C. No one ordered it, but it was billed as "Lily's Chicken", grilled with lemon and basil and served with goat cheese, sauteed spinach and artichoke hearts. Not being one to simply rip off a signature dish of a nationwide chain of fine restaurants, I thought about how it might be prepared and then changed the parts I thought could be done differently. It's significantly different from the Bonefish recipe as I really wanted to make a goat cheese sauce with a bit of color and tang:

This was served with mushrooms sauteed with oilve oil and pine nuts, over whole grains with roasted garlic and pecans. It came out so much better than I expected, even Conor wanted seconds; in retrospect I'd double the goat cheese sauce recipe and juice a fresh lime to add more tart to the recipe. The only downturn is that it comes out distinctly purple instead of red, looking a bit like baba ganoush but a true knockout for the taste buds. Take a Lactaid or two, this is rich.

Mister C's Lemon Basil Chicken with Red Wine Goat Cheese Sauce

Six Boneless Chicken Breast Halves (2lbs or so)
4 Tbsp Butter
A Handful of Fresh Basil (or 2 Tbsp Dried Basil)
1 Lemon, Juiced
1 Cup Chicken Broth
4 oz. Goat Cheese
1 Tsp Mediterranean Seasoning (or 1/4 tsp each: grated lemon peel, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Red Wine (or 1/4 cup for less thick sauce and more tang)

Melt the butter, chop the basil finely (save a pinch for the sauce) and mix with the lemon juice into the butter. Keep this at room temperature or warmer for at least 20 minutes to allow the oils and acids to mix and mingle. While you're waiting, preheat the grill and begin the sauce:

Red Wine Goat Cheese Sauce

Add the chicken broth, olive oil and wine to a saucepan and simmer until reduced by about half. Add the Goat Cheese and Mediterranean Seasoning, simmering and stirring until it thickens.

Grill the chicken, turning and brushing with the lemon basil mixture frequently until done. Add the Goat Cheese sauce in a healthy portion to the sliced chicken breasts, and serve with the sides and a salad. I'm one of those people who believe that red wine goes with everything except a Baby Ruth, but a cold crisp white would also do nicely.

Spend some time over this meal, it's worth it.

Recording Blues and Squid Tacos

We've encountered our usual snares during this latest round of recording- the studio computer's main hard drive gave up the ghost and so I spent many days scrambling to make everything exactly the way it was before. We've been hard at work in the studio but also recording live before our fans: this is the shortest deadline we've ever given ourselves, so it's been intense. Jewelry commissions are a bit thin but I always have enough material to cut that I'm not without more work than I care to do artistically.

We've been eating a pretty eclectic diet lately, but a summertime favorite is fish tacos, San Felipe-style. Easy, low-impact and quick cleanup. We substitute or add squid to the cod fillets usually used, and the beer batter is the key as always. Here is the batter recipe:

1 cup Regular All-Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Oregano (optional: San Felipe recipe)
1 egg
1 cup fresh dark beer
1 lb fish (Cod is our favorite for tacos)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Cut the cod into 1" wide strips, cut squid into tentacles and 1" tube sections. Add to the batter and stir to coat thoroughly. Heat oil to 375F, enough to deep-fry (at least 2"). Add fish and squid a bit at a time, taking care not to overcook (a light gold is perfect). Drain and set aside.

Now, all that's needed is about a dozen corn tortillas, a couple of chopped fresh tomatoes, shredded cabbage and cheese. And that frosty rum-laced drink. I bet you thought I'd forgotten about the booze, eh?

Enjoy

Bossa Nova...Salad!

Bossa Nova- my ultimate chill music. No other music quite captures that combination of relaxed anticipation, the languorous sensuality and ease of mind that tropical breezes and bright colors incite. I have a passion for Portuguese although I don't speak a word of it; but that's the beauty of Bossa Nova: it doesn't require fluency, only an open ear. Ashley's cousin Jessica Sarles is one of the up-and-coming artists in the NYC Brazilian acoustic jazz scene, and she's very good- check her out at her MySpace page to hear some samples of Gringa. If you're a fan of Brazilian jazz (it's smooooth) do yourself a favor and give a listen.

In my last post I promised the recipe for Mr. C's Black Bean Salad so without further ado, here 'tis:

Mr C's Black Bean Salad

2 Large Bell Peppers (red, yellow or orange)
1 Medium Tomatillo
1 Medium Cucumber
1 Can Black Beans, drained
1 Can Sweet White Corn, drained
3 Green Onions
Italian Salad Dressing

Dice the peppers, onions, tomatillo and cucumber and toss into a salad bowl. Add the black beans and corn, toss again to mix, then add salad dressing to taste- usually about 4oz. Toss again to coat the salad and chill covered for at least 2 hours before serving. This dish gets better the longer it chills, so be sure to make enough to enjoy the next day- Relaxe e Desfruite!!

Easy as Pie: Mr. C's JerkBerryRibs

Back in the early '90s I was working as a full-time bench jeweler and salesman while going through a rough divorce. The first Bush had recently left office, and I was reeling from the mini-recession a single Bush term had cast the nation into; I was in need of comfort, and so I discovered the music of Bob Marley, the local graduate school and gourmet cooking on a budget.

My new roommate Dan was a wealthy grad student and epicure, raised in the surf culture of the Eastern Shore and had already enjoyed life as an international downhill skiing champion. To my everlasting gratitude he was also a die-hard live music fan and a world-class connoisseur of reggae music. We were both young, single and enjoyed cooking Caribbean food while partying hard, so we devised a sure-fire method of keeping the people coming (with a focus on female grad students) and the fun times going: "Bring it and we'll cook it" parties. Add booze, grad-school "party favors" and music and we had a serious event happening, but adding the booze and other stuff to the mix made for some interesting experimentation in the kitchen. And in the back yard, upstairs den, and on the stoop of our townhouse. Soon there were people I didn't know in my dining room, showing up with all sorts of meat to grill or bake and we began to see the need to move the party out to the back garden with an eye towards co-opting the communal greenspace (and industrial-sized grill) behind our building. That decision was not well-thought out, as there are always more people who want to come to a cookout than you have space to accommodate, and we soon ran afoul of the building association. We also realized that we were actually reducing our ability to stay under the radar of the local constabulary, as those worthies have always gone the extra mile to ensure that no group of grad students has a good time off-campus... but I digress...

Being health-conscious surfer/snowboarder types we tried to ensure that our offerings were indulgently organic if not specifically low-calorie, and so we began to combine fruit with tahini and other interesting textures to use as sauces or glazes. As our epicurean mob began to expand with the addition of girlfriends and friends from abroad, Dan and I found ourselves relying increasingly on the grill in the garden rather than the oven; more fruit found its way into glazes because it's so easy to combine taste and texture and save the leftover glaze as a sauce. Our garden was full of organic peppers, tomatoes and herbs plus we had a huge organic grocery store a couple of miles away which carried a variety of inexpensive jams and preserves which served as the carrier for the glazes. Then we added herbs and spices as time and availability permitted, and settled in for one gastronomic journey of discovery after another. It was cheap, allowed us to drink and party at home and acquire a reputation for being Really Cool.

Why the long ramble down memory lane when you're waiting for a recipe? Because the road to a favorite recipe often leads past landmarks in the memory: cooking for others (whether they are your family or friends) is equal parts creativity, nurturing and social justification. When we set out to cook something other than burgers or fishsticks we usually have a memory associated with what we're preparing; sometimes it's an attitude or feeling that motivates that desire to re-create or embellish a memorable dish. Personally I like to remember favorite times and what type of cuisine I associate with them, and then get creative from there. Tropical always works for me, and fruit is somewhat neglected in meat and fish recipes so I like to experiment with them mixed with jerk spices on the grill. In the present, I make sure we have plenty of all-fruit preserves because this is one of the family favorites. This time I served it with a Black Bean Salad and white rice. I'll post my Black Bean Salad recipe in the next post-

With all that said, here's my JerkBerry Ribs Recipe:

Mr. C's JerkBerry Ribs
*double or triple amounts for multiple racks

Rack of Pork Spare Ribs (at least 5lbs)
1 cup of mixed all-fruit preserves (or fresh fruit mashed into goo for less sweet and more tart)
*This version used 1/3cup each of strawberry, red raspberry and black currant preserves
4 Tbsp Jerk Seasoning (adjust the quantity to your heat preference- we like it hot)
2 Tbsp Minced Ginger or Ginger Paste
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Honey (to carmelize)

Warm the preserves or fruit mash with the honey until soupy (about 30 sec in the microwave), then add the other ingredients and mix well. Now's the time to do several things: Start the grill, and try to get it no warmer than 300F... it's harder than you'd think, at least for my grill. Now you can fix that frosty beverage of your choice and prepare for the basting. Toss the ribs on the grill bone-side down (I used foil and nonstick spray because I loathe cleaning the grill more than I absolutely must) and baste the top and sides of the meat with the glaze. Close the grill and resume partying with your friends or kids (in appropriate fashion, of course). Check on them every 20 minutes or so, basting fresh each time until they are done. I usually cook them for at least 2 hours if I can: Because they cook at such a low temperature the juices are retained and they practically fall from the bone.

Let me know how yours turns out, and share it with a Dad Who Cooks.

On Beltane, or May Day

Welcome the "official" debut of Life at GreenWood- the place where I live and work. Here I hope you'll find enough that's interesting that you'll drop by or leave a comment about Cookin' With Mister C, GreenWood Studio creations, Church of The GreenWood or the many things of a musing nature I hope to post here. Music and video will show up here too, with Emerald Rose news as well as other projects I'm working on.

Happy Beltaine to those of us who celebrate in the Old Style- may your day be lascivious and fun! Happy May Day to my friends who celebrate for Workers' Rights, and to those who just want some reason to dance around a Maypole!

Be sure to catch the previous posts for recipes and other minutiae- I'll have more recipes and studio updates soon

Grilled Seafood with Butter Rum Lemon Baste

Sundays at GreenWood are usually laid-back, late breakfast and leisurely work on the property being the general rule for the day. As our workload gets heavier during the week at the lab and in both studios, we find that we like at least one weekend day to be the proverbial Day Of Rest; this being GreenWood, that means not resting much but doing yard work, and devoting some time to What I'd Like For Dinner.

Rum. Silver spiced rum with citrus. That's what we imbibe on Sundays, and ... you know, as long as the bottle's right there... We also like to have seafood on Sundays, and after working on the garden I'm in a sweaty but tropical frame of mind- so this happened:

Mister C's Grilled Seafood With Butter Rum Lemon Pepper Baste

4 Fillets (4-6oz) Tuna, Amberjack, Snapper or other firm fish
12 Large Sea Scallops
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Oz. Silver Spiced Rum (the vanilla makes the difference)
1 Oz. Lemon or Lime Juice (or fresh-squeezed)
1 Tbsp Cracked Pepper

Heat the grill to 400F, and melt the butter in a small bowl. Add the rum, juice and pepper and stir until mixed. Dip the scallops in the baste, then brush both sides of the fish and toss on the grill. Grill, turning and basting frequently, until done (no more than 10 min for scallops and fish) and serve hot. Garnish with additional citrus slices and rum drink served with a silly straw. Brown bread and a fresh salad complete the meal, and you'll start Monday on a good note- especially if you have leftovers. This is also terrific in the salad.

Lush-Us Chocolate Guinness Chili

Anything can come up here at GreenWood- So I sort of got roped into a chili cookoff... and I had to make it on Band Night. I usually reserve chili for the "out of the box" meals but I had to make a gallon and was a command performance. No photos of the Chili as I've never seen one that didn't look gross... It's a bit on the sweet side, but a novel recipe and I thought it would do well:

Mr. C's Lush-Us Guinness Chili
2lbs Lean Ground Beef or Turkey
24oz Diced Tomatoes (about 6 good-size fresh or a large can)
1 Bottle Guinness Extra Stout (or other bitter dark beer)
1 Cup Strong Brewed Coffee
2 Chopped Onions
3 Cloves Garlic (chopped)
4 Cans Red Kidney Beans
2 Cans Black Beans
1 Can Beef Broth or 1Tbsp Better Than Bullion
2 Cans Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar (optional)
4 Tbs Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Oregano
2 Tbsp Cumin
4 Hot Chili Peppers chopped
1/4 Cup Masa or Cornstarch Paste (optional)
2 Tbs Cocoa or Mole

Brown the meat with the garlic and onions, then drain and put in a large stewpot and bring the heat to simmer. Add the diced tomatoes, beer, coffee, beef broth or bullion and tomato paste. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add the brown sugar (optional), cumin, chili powder and peppers, cocoa or mole, oregano and salt to taste. Simmer another 20 minutes, then add the beans and masa if desired. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring to keep from sticking.

Now this is fine served after cooking for an hour or so, modified for your personal sweet-salty-spicy preferences; it's much better the next day. Usually a hunk of good brown bread and another Guinness is all that's needed to complete the tableau.

Cookin With Mister C: Beautiful Baked Sockeye Salmon

The original inspiration for the salmon can be found on CDKitchen under the title "Firecracker Salmon". We like more "zip" and less "fire" so I modified it to suit our particular taste and it's a family favorite. The sauce is the heart of the meal but it's very easy to prepare. Regarding the fish: a friend of mine used to work in a salmon processing plant in Alaska, and she told me to never never never eat salmon that was not bright red; if memory serves, she referred to the typical orange farm-raised salmon as 'dog food'... and meant it. So, about once a month I pick up a nice slab of Alaskan Sockeye, bake it in this wonderful tangy sauce and make my family happy:

Fillet of Sockeye Salmon 2-3 pounds

Mister C's Salmon Sauce:
4 Tbsp Olive oil
4 Tbsp Soy sauce
4 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp Grated ginger or ginger paste
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tsp Sesame oil
3 Cloves chopped garlic
1 Tsp Red pepper (adds zip)
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a large measuring cup or small bowl, until blended. I find that 30 seconds in the microwave will heat it up and facilitate mixing. Preheat your oven to 375F after you finish the mixing. Place the salmon skin-side down in a 9X13 baking dish, mix the sauce once more and pour evenly over the fish and bake uncovered for around 20 minutes adjusting for thickness and desired doneness. This also makes a fine glaze for grilling, just halve all the ingredients except the honey. Don't overcook the salmon or you'll realize just how good it could have been, and you can always pop it in the microwave for a minute if it's too rare.

My browned pine nuts and whole baby portobello mushrooms in an olive oil and butter sauce are definitely not low-calorie but so very good and packed with vitamins. You can throw it together in about 10 minutes:

8oz Whole baby Portobello mushroms
1/4 Cup Raw pine nuts
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp Butter

Heat the butter in a large skillet or pan until just sizzling, then add the olive oil. Add the pine nuts, browning them evenly. I like to take the pan from the heat for a minute or two and allow the oil, butter and pine nuts to develop a heady infusion; if you do so then remove the pan when the pine nuts begin to change color or they will overcook and turn dark brown. Take the time to grab that frosty beverage of your choice, then return the pan to the heat and add the whole mushrooms, toss and cover for a few minutes, then toss and cover for another few minutes. Uncover, toss once more and serve hot.