Creative Cook Exceeds Expectations

I've learned many cooking tips and tricks by working as a caterer over the years. In college, I started my own small catering business to pay my tuition. I kept it up for added income while my wife and I worked as teachers and raised our family.

Great texture and eye-appealing color make Almond Wild Rice perfect with the tenderloin. It, too, can be made ahead and I've found it doesn't get sticky. If you ever make a rice dish that does, sprinkle on a few drops of olive oil and stir it in to glaze the grains.

Any combination of seasonal fresh fruits is enhanced by Raspberry Vinaigrette. Time and again, people tell me how much they like its tangy flavor. The vinegar and lemon juice in the dressing also keeps fruit like bananas, apples or pears from turning brown.

Moist, rich-tasting Mocha Bundt Cake was first served to me by a Swedish cook who told me his grandmother "brought over" the recipe. It may be old, but it certainly is timeless.

All this cake needs is a dusting of confectioners' sugar. To dress it up, serve slices with whipped cream or ice cream topped with mocha sprinkles.

In addition to cooking, I'm an avid gardener and am known in my neighborhood as "The Mum Man." To help fund the kids' college educations years ago, I started raising a small-scale crop of hardy mums and never stopped. Last fall I grew 5,000 plants on my 3 acres.

I'm always on the go, and seldom a day goes by when I'm not planning a menu or cooking. There is still nothing more satisfying than hearing the comment, "Make it again, Mark!"

If you fix my favorite meal, I hope you'll hear that same kind of compliment from your family and friends.

Cheddar Potato Soup

Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

Almond Wild Rice

Fruit Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Mocha Bundt Cake