Holiday Greetings

Tradition and Innovation

Nuremberg ChristkindlmarktB. Kim Barnes
President & CEO

While in Nuremberg on business recently, I was struck by several unusual sights. Nuremberg is famous for its “Christkindlmarkt” (Christmas Market). At the market, the colorful stalls spill out of the main square and down several of the walking streets. Crowds of people jostle for places in line at stalls selling mulled wine—in cups shaped like snow boots—and holiday pastries. With refreshments in hand, they eat, drink, talk, and buy unique handcrafted gifts. The market features a carousel along with other rides for the children. Sights, sounds, and smells all contribute to the festive spirit.

As I was walking along in the gathering dark (in Northern Europe it is already dark by late afternoon at this time of year), colorful lights illuminated a small group of Peruvian Indians. They were standing in front of the offices of an evangelical Christian organization, playing beautiful music on their pipes and selling traditional crafts. Their distinctive music competed only slightly with the music of a brass ensemble from St. Petersburg, which was playing more traditional Christmas music in front of the cathedral. A little further on I noticed a large overhead swag with lights spelling out “Christkindlmarkt.” Just below the sign was a vendor stall selling sushi, right next to the sushi was a stall selling the much more traditional lebkuchen (traditional gingerbread Christmas cookies). Turning onto one of the main streets leading off the square, I spotted a large Henry Moore sculpture—and from a certain angle it looked for all the world as if it was in communication with an enormous teddy bear dominating one of the stalls (see photo, below).

Nuremberg: Henry Moore SculptureThe point of all my marketplace meandering came to me later as I realized that we live in a “both/and” world. People keep their traditions and adopt new ones. High art and low art exist in relationship and can communicate. We are surrounded by sounds originating from many parts of the world. As I write this, I am sitting in the Freeman Centre of the University of Brighton, home base for CENTRIM, the Centre for Research in Innovation Management, a partner in the development of our new Managing Innovation™ program. I have been running workshops in Barcelona, Grenoble, and Nuremberg on creativity and innovation. My experience reminded me that the collision of ideas—through diversity of thought, experience, culture, and knowledge—can stimulate invention and ingenuity rather than defensiveness and destructive conflict. This, in turn, can lead to value-creating innovation. In this difficult time and great yearning for peace, it is good to remember that.

In the spirit of the season, I wish you all a joyous holiday and a New Year filled with hope, prosperity, and peace.

B. Kim Barnes
President & CEO

In This Issue:

“Holiday Shopping with a Purpose,” by Grace Boone

“Magical—and Tasty—Memories: Grandma Rose’s Rugelach,” by Lauren Powers

The Sixth Annual Barnes & Conti Virtual Feast

News Items:

Just for Fun

Featured Art (above): “Winter,” by Marc Chagall

Holiday Shopping with Purpose

Holiday ShoppingGrace Boone, Marketing Manager

When my colleague, Lauren Powers (Barnes & Conti Eastern Regional Director), heard I was writing about holiday shopping, she offered to fly me to Philadelphia to do her shopping. Lauren said, “I hate holiday shopping. There’s just too much pressure and it’s too crazy.” While I love buying gifts, I know that holiday shopping—with the crowds, the picked-over selection, and the pressure to find the perfect present—can strike fear in the hearts of even the savviest shoppers. But the secret to being a graceful and effective shopper, I discovered, is to be purposeful, plan ahead, and—above all else—keep in mind the positive, giving spirit of the season.

I’ll admit it. My strategy used to be, “buy, buy, buy”— and figure out the details later. Starting in October, I would buy this-and-that, hoping that by December, I would have exactly the right presents for everyone. There were two problems, first, I didn’t need to shop for all of my friends and family; second, I would end up with great presents for friends who didn't need to be on my “list” and only “just okay” gifts, or no gifts for important people—like my mom. This year I told myself, “I am only shopping for my immediate family and closest friends.” I wrote my list first, and found that I could focus my time and funds on presents that will truly delight my loved ones.

The list gave me purpose and focus; now I needed a game plan. I put the list in a spreadsheet with fields labeled for “giftee,” gift, estimated cost, store, and date of purchase. With spreadsheet in hand, I didn’t need to run all over town. In fact, I was able to complete all my shopping in two trips! The internet helped, too. Online resources like the Personality Profiler on Gifts.com gave me ideas; mall directories and review sites like yelp.com helped to make the best use of each shopping trip.

Even with my list and my plan, I still had to face the biggest challenge—the actual shopping. I shopped online as much as possible, being careful to check ship dates and return policies. When I hit the mall, I tried to get into the giving spirit of the season. After all, shopping was about showing my love. When I couldn’t find my first choice for Mom, I found another. I was polite but firm when asking about stockroom checks on sizes. I even made a few last minute size-verification phone calls, too. My friends and family would appreciate the caring, the thought, and the energy much more than the present itself.

So, if you weren’t able to get your son the latest Nintendo console, don’t panic. Buy a gift card or a game; when the console does become available you can get it then. He will appreciate the thought and enjoy the Nintendo later. While the act of shopping can be filled with stress, it does not have to be a pressure-filled experience. Planning ahead, shopping purposefully, and keeping a positive, giving, state of mind can make the process easier and your holiday that much happier.

Grandma Rose and DadMagical—and Tasty—Memories

Lauren Powers, Eastern Regional Director

As families come together over the holidays, I always think back to the days of my Grandma Rose coming for a visit. We greeted her with a long list of our favorites for her to prepare: meat blintzes, latkes, stuffed cabbage, brisket, and of course, rugelach. She always seemed happy for these requests, immediately putting on her apron and spending her entire visit joyously in the kitchen. We stood by her side ready to help out with mixing, grating, rolling, and most importantly, tasting!

Grandma Rose is the reason that feeding others brings me such satisfaction and the holidays certainly provide ample opportunity for this! Long after my grandmother had passed, I wanted to replicate these dishes. Only problem, she didn’t use a recipe. I consulted my Aunt Shirley who long ago understood the legacy value of family food traditions. Aunt Shirley had indeed recreated many of Grandma Rose’s recipes by following her mother’s every move, interviewing her, and taking measurements as she proceeded.

So with “a little of this and a little of that,” here is our family’s favorite rugelach creation which I just recreated for my dad’s 90th birthday party. I relished his declaration that “it tastes just like my mother’s!” (Grandma Rose and Dad are pictured above.)

Wishing you some magical memories with your family and friends throughout the holiday season!

Grandma Rose’s Rugelach Recipe (As Recorded by Aunt Shirley)

RugelachIngredients:

For Dough:

For Raisin-Nut Filling:

For Topping:

Method:

  1. Cream softened butter and cream cheese. Add flour a little at a time. Knead until blended. If necessary, add a little more flour until a ball of dough comes away from the bowl and your hands without sticking.
  2. Refrigerate dough for several hours. You can also freeze dough to use later.
  3. Lightly dust board and rolling pin with flour. Roll out a part of dough to be 1/16 inch thick. Cut dough into triangles or pie shapes.
  4. Sprinkle with raisin-nut filling. Roll from wide edge to point and shape to crescent.
  5. Place on ungreased cookie sheet after dipping only the top portion of the pastry into sugar and cinnamon topping mixture. Avoid dipping the bottom as the sugar will make the bottom burn when baking.
  6. You might have to make some more filling until you finish the dough (or just wrap up balance of dough and freeze it until you feel like making it again. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven, 15-18 minutes, until golden. Use the highest rack so bottoms don’t burn.

Virtual Feast: Our Holiday Gift to You

This is our sixth annual holiday “virtual feast”! We started the tradition in 2001 because we couldn’t invite all of you to our annual holiday potluck. This year, Barnes & Conti is celebrating our 21st year, and many of our recipes have an especially festive note about them. The fondue and any of the recipes listed as appetizers would be outstanding choices for your holiday parties.

We sincerely hope that at least one of these recipes will brighten your holiday season.

Truffled Lobster-Pear Tartlets

Roslyn Raley, Desktop Publishing Manager

Roslyn Raley has once again found a scrumptious appetizer recipe guaranteed to add elegance to your holiday dinner and/or cocktail party. Black truffles may be difficult to find, but white truffle oil is generally available at food specialty stores and upscale grocers.

Lobster Tail/TruffleIngredients:

Method:

  1. Preheat broiler.
  2. Combine the mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, lime juice, pear, truffle (or truffle oil) and a pinch of salt and pepper.
  3. Fold in the lobster meat and mix gently.
  4. Brush tartlet shells with melted butter, fill with the lobster mixture.
  5. Place on a backing sheet and sprinkle with cheese.
  6. Run under broiler for 5-8 minutes, watching carefully until cheese has melted. Serve warm.

Makes 20 hors d’oeuvre tarts.

Seafood Medallions

Sam Roberts, Research Assistant and Trainer-in-Training

Sam Roberts just joined our staff last month, and is already contributing to our virtual feast! Sam says this is his grandmother’s recipe. Sam and his grandmother both sound like wonderful cooks.

ShrimpIngredients:

Method:

  1. Make the bread crumbs, using the steel blade of a food processor. Set them aside.
  2. Put the seafood and seasonings in the work bowl and process 60 seconds, scraping down as necessary.
  3. With the motor on, pour the cream through the feed tube and process about 10 seconds longer.
  4. Remove the cover and add bread crumbs. Process until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. In a frying pan, over medium low heat, melt a small piece of butter until it sizzles. Add a heaping teaspoon of batter and flatten it. It will be cooked in about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan, let cool slightly, add a drop of lemon juice, and taste. If it needs more salt, add another 1/4 teaspoon and process briefly.
  6. Fry patties in desired sizes.

Makes about 60 miniature cocktail appetizers. The cooked medallions, in an airtight wrap, may be frozen for weeks with very negligible loss in quality.

Note: This preparation may be used immediately, but it is easier to handle if refrigerated several hours or overnight.

BannockScottish Smoked Salmon Bannock

Eric Lewis Beckman, Chief Financial Officer

A bannock is a scone-like bread, yet thinner than a scone, originating in Scotland. Usually it is made from or with oatmeal, and takes the form of a large oatcake. Native Americans in Canada and the northern Great Plains adopted bannock in their own cuisine over the 18th and 19th centuries, most likely from Scottish fur traders. Even today, many aboriginal Canadians routinely prepare bannock, and it is often more closely associated with native cultures than with its Scottish roots.

One of the oldest and certainly the most famous of all bannocks is the Selkirk Bannock. It is a traditional sweet bannock made with Sultanas (golden raisins). When Queen Victoria visited Sir Walter Scott’s granddaughter at Abbotsford (near Selkirk) she is said to have refused all else with her tea save a slice of the cake. Thus, she ensured that the bannock’s reputation was enshrined forever. The Royal Burgh of Selkirk* is a town known for its bannock, glass making, and salmon fishing.

Eric says that bannock can be baked in the oven, or more traditionally, in a skillet or on a griddle. Bannock is a great camp food and the many various recipes lend themselves to campfire cooking. Using the skillet method (below), start the bannock over a low flame very gently so as not to burn it. However, it is better to do as the Indians and Old Timers did—prop your pan beside the fire so it will get the heat and bake from the top. After the top is done, you can turn it and brown the other side. It usually takes about twenty minutes. The secret is a slow, even heat.

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Combine the dry ingredients, and add the butter/lard, rubbing it in to form fine crumbs.
  2. Combine/beat egg with milk, add crumbled/flaked salmon and grated cheese, and stir into the flour mixture. Knead briefly to form a soft dough, adding water as necessary to moisten all ingredients.
  3. If using a skillet or griddle, grease the surface then dust with flour. Place enough dough in the pan to cover the bottom or spread dough into a 10 inch round between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.
  4. Heat over a medium-low flame. Cook about 7-10 minutes until the bottom is lightly brown, then flip and cook an additional 7-10 minutes on the opposite side. Bake remaining dough in similar fashion.
  5. If baking in oven, pat down into greased pie plate. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until cooked in the middle. Cut into pie-piece shapes while warm.

Serves 4-6 with tea or as an appetizer.

*The Selkirk Grace (below), is a pre-meal grace attributed to Robert Burns. Today it is mainly used on special occasions like Christmas and Burns’ Night.

Selkirk

Our Virtual Feast continues on page 2 (click here)

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