Our Holiday Gift to You:
The 11th Annual Virtual Feast

About the Virtual Feast

Just about every year, the staff of Barnes & Conti gets together for a holiday potluck. Over ten years ago we started sharing this tradition with our friends, colleagues, partners, and customers (some of you fit in several or all of those categories!) by way of a “Virtual Feast” in our holiday newsletter. We asked everyone to contribute a recipe or two, and those recipes made up the first virtual feast. The virtual feast was so popular, that we continue making the virtual feast the centerpiece of our holiday newsletter.

This year, we’re adding a bit of interactivity to the feast. Click on any recipes listed at the right to view it here on the left. And please, feel free to print the recipes, or copy and paste to your word processor.

And most importantly, enjoy your holidays!

Breakfast/Brunch: Bridge Creek Lemon Ginger Muffins

From Kim Barnes and Don Bryant

Kim says: “These muffins are a staple of holiday mornings at our house. The recipe was given to me a number of years ago by the proprietor of a wonderful but short-lived restaurant in Berkeley. It reminds me that when we keep ideas to ourselves, they can't outlive us but, when we are open-hearted and open-handed we can have an impact beyond what we can ever predict.”

Ingredients:

• 2 oz fresh ginger
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon zest (2 lemons worth)
• 8 tbsp butter @ room temperature
• 2 eggs @ room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 16 muffin cups.
2. Cut ginger in large chunks. Process or chop into fine pieces, about 1/4 cup.
3. Put ginger and 1/4 cup sugar in small skillet, cook over medium heat until sugar has melted. Remove from stove, let cool.
4. Process or chop lemon zest and add 3 tbsp sugar. Add to ginger mixture.
5. Put butter in mixing bowl, beat and add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beat until smooth.
6. Add eggs, beat well.
7. Add buttermilk, mix until blended.
8. Add flour, salt, baking soda. Beat until smooth.
9. Add ginger-lemon mixture and mix well. Spoon batter into muffin tins so each cup is 3/4 full.
10. Bake 15 - 20 minutes; serve warm.

Snack, Appetizer, or Lunch: Empañadas

Lauren Powers, Senior VP of Business Development

This is the all-time favorite for the Powers family. Lauren says:

My husband, Bob and I have such fond memories of empañadas from our college “study abroad” days in Bogota, Colombia. Every morning at 11:00 our school served homemade empañadas as a snack. The luscious smell filled the building; then these wonderful pocket snacks were offered with freshly squeezed fruit juices. It was the best mid-morning snack ever!

The empañadas in Columbia were filled with beef. We fill ours with ground poultry. We make them for all kind of special occasions. They are also great to have in the refrigerator—ready to go for holiday time. Enjoy and feel free to take liberties with the recipe.

Once you get the knack, you’ll be exploring all kinds of empañada fillings such as spinach, cheese and artichoke.

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions diced
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• 1-2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large red pepper diced
• 1 can white corn drained
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 lb ground chicken or turkey (with dark meat) seasoned with garlic salt
• 2-3 tbsp white wine
• 2-3 Tbsp of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 lb cheddar and/or Monterey jack cheese (I prefer reduced fat - 2%)
• 2 1/2 packages of Goya frozen empañada discos

Method:

1. Saute onion in oil. When translucent, add minced garlic and red pepper and saute until peppers are soft.
2. Add corn, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Saute for a couple of minutes and remove the mixture from the pan.
3. Cook seasoned poultry in 1-2 tbsp of oil. When browned, add wine, and tomato, and additional salt to taste.
4. Cook for a few minutes to reduce liquid.
5. Add to vegetable mixture you’d set aside and put in some chopped cilantro; let cool in refrigerator.
6. When mixture is cool, add cheese.
7. Use defrosted discos when ready to assemble.
8. Set up 4 disco shells and place about 1/4 cup of filling in center of shells. Brush edges with cold water and fold over and crimp edges using fork. Continue this process until all the filling and shells has been used. It will yield about 25 depending on how filled you make them.
9. Place on a cooking sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable oil.
10. Place in preheated oven of 400 degrees and bake until nicely golden brown on top and bottom, maybe about 20 minutes.

Lauren says, “You can bake and then freeze these for later use. They are best served warm, but my kids seem to love eating them right out of the refrigerator cold as well. They make a great meal when served with Black Bean Salad and Brazilian Rice (see recipe, below).”

Black Bean Salad with Brazilian Rice

Here is Lauren’s aforementioned recipe. Says Lauren, “I had the good fortune to meet my friend Marianne when she was a tenant in the first house we bought. She lived there with her Brazilian husband and moved shortly after their first child was born. Marianne is one of the most extraordinary cooks I know and introduced me to the national favorite feijoada, which I could never attempt to replicate. She also shared her mother-in-law’s secret to preparing rice that I then combined to serve with my black bean salad. There is something magical about warm rice and cold black bean salad. It is great for accompanying fajitas and empañadas (see above).”

Brazilian Rice Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup long grain white rice (I prefer Carolina)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Saute onions in oil and butter.
2. Add rice and coat with oil/onion mixture.
3. Add water, and salt and stir.
4. Bring to boil.
5. Without stirring (very important NOT to stir), sprinkle garlic powder on top.
6. Cook on low heat until done. Do not stir until all water is absorbed.

Black Bean Salad Ingredients:

• 1 large can Goya Black Beans drained and rinsed. (Use only Goya as they are firmer than others)
• 1 diced cucumber (with seeds removed)
• 1 diced large tomato
• 1 can of corn drained
• 2 stalks of celery diced
• handful of diced Vidalia onion to liking
• 2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 red pepper diced (optional)

Vinaigrette:

• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup wine vinegar with a splash of fresh lime juice
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or splash of Tabasco sauce

Method:

1. Mix together salad ingredients in large bowl.
2. Mix together ingredients for salad dressing in covered container and shake.
3. Add about 1/4 of the dressing to salad. Refrigerate the rest for future salads. It keeps a long time.
4. Serve cold salad with warm rice.

Soup: Creamy Butternut Squash with Truffle Oil

Joel Kleinbaum, Info Systems Manager

Joel says, “This soup is an autumn favorite. It is simple to make, once you get the squash peeled and cut. The tough skin of the squash will destroy your standard vegetable peeler. I use an Amish-made device with a sharp, flexible blade. Similar peelers are available for $10-20. I also use a saw to cut the squash in half. Butternut can challenge even the sharpest of knives. Unlike my other puréed soups, which rely on potato as thickener, this soup needs a roux of flour and butter.”

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 small onion, halved
• 2-3 leeks, trimmed and sliced, white and light green part only
• 1 celery top, with leaves
• Large sprig of parsley
• About 3 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 tsp sea salt or to taste 2 tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp flour (I use gluten free flour mix)
• At least 1/4 cup cream (or half and half), feel free to indulge
• Generous grating of nutmeg
• White truffle oil for drizzling

Method:

1. Peel the squash and cut it into large chunks.
2. Put the squash, leeks, onion and water into the soup pot, add the salt and bring to a boil.
3. Turn the heat down to a simmer and simmer for 20-30 minutes. The squash and leeks should be very tender.
4. Remove the parsley and celery top, purée the soup using a food mill, blender, food processor, or wand (Joel uses a food mill).
5. Melt the butter over medium heat in your now-empty soup pot. When the butter is bubbling, add the flour and stir for a couple minutes, until the roux is smooth and a tiny bit blond in color. Remove from the heat and let cool.
6. Add the puréed soup all at once, turn the heat to high, and stir until the soup starts to thicken. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Grate the nutmeg into the soup, add the cream, and let simmer slowly for at least 15 minutes (this simmering develops the flavor in the soup).
7. Serve drizzled with the truffle oil for a decadent treat. You can also garnish with sage leaves sauteed in olive oil until the leaves are crisp. Servers 4 as a first course.

Note: This recipe is taken from Joel’s food blog, Farm to Fork PDX. If you want to see how to cut a squash with a saw, please visit this blog.

Main Dish: Pan Fried Trout, Greek Style, for Hanukkah

Joel Kleinbaum, Newsletter Editor

Joel says that Hanukkah is about foods fried in oil. In the Eastern European tradition, this means potato latkes (pancakes). In the Mediterranean tradition, people celebrate with fried fish. This recipe is a Kleinbaum household favorite. The fish is marinated in latholemono, a mixture of lemon, olive oil, and herbs. It is then dredged in flour, and pan fried in olive oil. Joel uses trout because his market almost always has fresh, delicious, locally farmed rainbow trout available. Joel says that in any Mediterranean fish recipe, your fish must absolutely be fresh and never frozen.

Ingredients:

• Trout fillets, about 1/3 to 1/2 lb per person. You can substitute and thin whitefish, tilapia, sole, or snapper. It will be just as good.
• Juice of 1 or 2 lemons, Meyer lemons recommended
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (or more)
• 1/3 cup (or more) flour or gluten-free flour mix
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• Olive oil for frying

Method:

1. Make the latholemono marinade by combining the the lemon juice, olive oil, pressed garlic, and dried oregano.
2. Put the marinade in a non-metallic, flat dish, with the fish, skin side up. If your fish has been skinned, you'll need to turn it in the marinade. Marinate for 30-60 minutes.
3. In a flat bowl, mix the flour or gluten-free flour mix with about 1/2 tsp or so of sea salt and generous gratings of black pepper.
4. Dredge the fish in the seasoned flour mix, coating the fish on both sides. If you have a lot of fish, you may need to make more flour mix.
5. Heat up more olive oil in a heavy, non-stick frying pan. When the oil is hot enough to spatter a drop of water, add the fish, starting flesh side down. You may need to fry it in batches.
6. Regulate the heat to medium high so the olive oil doesn't smoke. The fillets need to cook 10 minutes total for each inch of thickness at the thickest part of the fillets. My trout fillets are generally not thicker than 1/2 inch, so I allow about five minutes: three minutes on the flesh side, turn, and 2 minutes on the skin side.
7. Serve hot with wedges of Meyer lemon.

Side Dish: Dutch Vegetable Whip

Kim Barnes

Kim says that this is a very flavorful substitute for mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups diced turnips
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 tart apple, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp chopped parsley

Method:

1. Place all vegetables in a pan (except parsley) with water and cook until vegetables are done. Mash, add butter and whip until fluffy. Garnish with parsley.

Dessert: Honey and Aniseed Fritters

Eric Beckman, Barnes & Conti President

This was a favorite recipe of Pablo Picasso’s and makes a wonderful addition to almost any meal. There is no sugar or sweetener in the batter so the fritters are not too sweet.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp brandy
• 1 pinch of salt
• Oil for frying
• Quality honey (chestnut is excellent)
• Aniseed to taste

Method:

1. Separate the eggs.
2. Lightly oil the work surface. Place the flour in a mound onto the work surface.
3. Make an indentation in the center of the flour, and fill with the egg yolks, oil, lemon juice, salt, and brandy.
4. Gradually work the flour into the center, blending all Ingredients: to a thick doughy batter. Add water as needed if the mixture is too dry.
5. When Ingredients: are well blended, but not overworked, place the batter in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place for two hours.
6. Whip the egg whites to medium peaks and fold them into the rested batter.
7. Heat the frying oil to about 340°F (170°C).
8. Roll out the dough/batter to 1/4 inch thick. Cut the sheet into 12 squares and fold each into a triangle.
9. Combine/fold trim pieces into extra fritter shapes.
10. Carefully place the pieces in the hot oil and cook until golden brown on all sides.
11. Remove fritters from the oil, and drain them on paper towels or brown paper bags.
12. Drizzle honey on the fritters and sprinkle with aniseed. Serve hot.

Makes 12-14 fritters.