Our Holiday Gift: The Barnes & Conti 19th Annual Virtual Feast

About the Virtual Feast

As longtime readers of our newsletter know, our year-end newsletter comes with a “virtual feast” of recipes from our staff. The feast was inspired by our annual December pot luck lunch, a long-standing Barnes & Conti tradition. The virtual feast is so popular, that we continue making the virtual feast the centerpiece of our holiday newsletter.

As our expression of gratitude to you—our readers, clients, friends, and associates—we hope you will try at least a few of these and will enjoy them.

Ajo Blanco—Chilled Almond Soup with Melon and Prosciutto
Eric Beckman, Barnes & Conti Chief Operating Officer

Eric says: “While this soup is chilled, and more often associated with late summer and fall, the flavors are so well rounded that it is great in early winter if melon is still available.”

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 small garlic clove crushed fine with pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp quality extra virgin olive oil (plus 1 Tbsp held aside for garnish)
• 2 tbsp quality sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp pastis or other anise aperitif
• 2 slices prosciutto (or other thin-sliced cured ham). Vegetarian bacon could be substituted for ham, but results may vary.
• 1 ripe melon chilled (we use local favorite Crane melon for its floral bouquet)

Method:

1. Combine almond flour and garlic in blender, while adding water slowly until smooth consistency of cream is reached.
2. Drizzle in olive oil, sherry, pastis, and season with salt to taste. Chill soup in refrigerator.
3. While soup is chilling, bake ham slices on parchment in low oven until slightly crisp. Tear or crumble slices into shards and set aside.
4. Serve soup with spooned melon curls and ham shards sprinkled on top. If weather is very warm or soup is not chilled enough, add an ice cube to each bowl before serving.
5. Drizzle olive oil decoratively on surface of soup for color and flavor.

Makes two large or four smaller bowls of soup.

Lahmacun (Turkish Meat Pizza)
Kim Barnes, Barnes & Conti CEO

Here’ a simplified version of a Turkish classic, a meat ’pizza“ that uses pita bread rather than a homemade yeast dough for the flatbread crust. You can serve it as an appetizer, a light meal, or as finger food at a holiday party. /p>

Ingredients:

For the pie (filling):

• 4 pitas, sliced in half through the pocket
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 T olive oil
• Dried tomatoes
• 1 lb. lean ground lamb or beef
• 1 small jar sweet peppers or 1 raw sliced red pepper
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• Salt
• Pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• Pinch of allspice
• 2 oz pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Brush pita halves with oil.
3. Toast pine nuts.
4. Fry onions, garlic, and lamb or beef in 3 T of oil until soft.
5. Add tomatoes and cook until sauce is thick and liquid has disappeared.
6. Mix topping ingredients including tomato mixture and work into a paste.
7. Spread mixture on each half-pita.
8. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until mixture has cooked and bread is brown around the edges.

Makes 8 individual servings, or cut into wedges for finger food.

Chicken Thighs in Fig Sauce
Lauren Powers, SVP Business Development

Lauren says, “Making latkes is never an easy task, so I like to pair them with something I can prepare more easily. I came across a version of this chicken in fig sauce recipe from Smitten Kitchen when I was trying to figure out what to do with my multiple leftover opened fig jam jars taking up valuable real estate in our refrigerator.

This recipe is a great blend of sweet and savory and easy to make. My friend, Judy, makes fig jam from her own fig trees, but I would never waste her delicious jam for this. If you want a chunkier version, add some cut up dried black mission figs to the glaze. ”

Editors Note: you can find Lauren’s family recipe for latkes in our 2015 Virtual Feast

Ingredients:

• 1/2 – 2/3 cup fig jam
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fig vinegar (if you have it, otherwise use balsamic)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (I prefer whole grain Dijon)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dried figs (optional, if you have them)
• 10 chicken thighs, bone-in (or use boneless and adjust the cooking time)
• Garlic salt
• Pepper to taste, optional
• Cooking spray
• Sliced almonds

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Spray large roasting pan with cooking spray.
3. Season chicken with garlic salt and pepper, if desired and put in roasting pan, skin side up (if skin is on chicken.)
4. Combine jam, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, mustard and cut dried figs (if using them.)
5. Heat mixture until figs soften.
6. Brush with 1/3 glaze and roast for 10 minutes.
7. Turn thighs over and baste with another 1/3 of glaze and bake for another 10 minutes.
8. Turn thighs over again and base with remaining 1/3 of glaze and roast for 10 more minutes.
9. Place chicken on serving platter and pour pan juices over chicken.
10. Top with sliced almonds.

This recipe serves 6 – 8

Tagliata di Manzo (Grilled Sliced Beef)
In memory of our colleague, Don Bryant

Kim and Don brought this recipe back from a trip they made to Tuscany some years ago. They invited the entire staff over for dinner shortly after their return. This editor fondly remembers Don working the grill, cooking the meat to perfection, dousing it with the soffrito, and serving it with an ear to ear grin on his face. Although this is best cooked over a charcoal grill, in the winter months, it will still be enjoyable if you cook the steaks under a hot broiler. If you don’t have a hearty first course such as a pasta or Tuscan bean soup, roasted diced potatoes make a wonderful accompaniment.

Ingredients:

• Steak (boneless sirloin or ribeye) 1.5 - 2 lbs. (allow 1/3 lb. to 1/2 lb. per person)

Flavored oil (soffrito):

• 2-3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 6-8 medium - large cloves garlic, sliced
• 6 sprigs of rosemary

Method:

1. Salt and pepper the steak to taste.
2. Make the flavored oil by heating together the olive oil, garlic, and rosemary over medium heat and sautéing gently until the garlic is colored a light golden brown; keep oil warm.
3. Grill the beef until it is medium rare to rare (3-4 minutes per side per inch of thickness, over a hot fire or in the broiler).
4. Let the beef sit for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing. Slice across the grain into long thin slices, no thicker than 1/4 inch.
5. Drizzle with the flavored oil and serve warm, or at room temperature.
   

Winter Vegetable Curry with Peach-Mint Chutney

Joel Kleinbaum, Internet Consultant and Newsletter Food Editor

Joel says that this recipe can be served as a side dish without the garbanzo beans, and as a hearty vegetarian (or even vegan) main dish with them.

Regarding the chutney, Joel says, “This chutney would also be good served with roasted turkey, roasted or grilled chicken, grilled fish, poached beef, or baked ham. If you’e fortunate to have preserved some peaches from your local farmer’s market during the summer—by all means use those! You probably won»need to add any sugar!”

Ingredients for the Curry

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp ghee, coconut oil, or 1 tbsp each butter and vegetable oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp finely minced ginger
• 1/2 cup tomato purée
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1 inch dice
• 1 large yam (jewel or garnet) peeled and cut into 1 inch dice
• 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only) sliced into rounds
• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• 2 cups precooked or canned garbanzo beans (optional for a side dish)
• 1 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• Cayenne pepper or chili flakes, to taste (only if you like it spicy)
• Water to cover

Method

1. Sauté the onion in the ghee (or coconut oil, for a vegan dish) over medium high heat
When the onion begins to just turn golden, add the garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant.
2. Add about 1 cup water, the tomato puree, and the coconut milk.Add all the other spices (except the cayenne) and mix well.
3. Add the vegetables, and additional water to barely cover everything.
4. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and add the hot pepper to taste, if you like.
5. Cover and simmer for at least 25 minutes, until all the vegetables are fork tender.

Serve with plain basmati rice, plain yogurt, and peach-mint chutney (see below). Serves 6 - 8

Peach-Mint Chutney

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. frozen peaches
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 tsp ginger, finely minced
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1/8 tsp each ground cloves, ground cardamom, and cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp sugar or brown sugar, to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 2 tbsp+ finely chopped fresh mint

Method

1. Sauté the onion in the coconut oil until the onion is soft and barely begins to turn golden. Add the ginger, and keep cooking for another minute, until the ginger releases its fragrance.
2. Add the peaches, the water, the tamarind paste, spices, and lime juice. Simmer until the peaches are soft and the chutney thickens. Mash (for a chunky chutney) or purée (for a smooth chutney. Add sugar to taste (it should be sweet and sour), and the chopped mint.
3. Let the chutney cool (and the flavors blend) for at least an hour or two before serving.

Apple-Noodle Pudding (Kugel)

Kim Barnes, Barnes & Conti CEO

This versatile pudding is traditionally served as a side dish, but can be served as a dessert as well.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. wide egg noodles or farfalle
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup egg shell water*
• 3 large apples, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp butter plus some for the top

Method:

1. Cook and drain noodles.
2. Add other ingredients.
3. Place in greased casserole and dot with more butter.
4. Refrigerate overnight, if possible.
5. Bake at 350 degrees covered 30 minutes, 400 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes.

Serves 6 – 8.

*Editor’s note: Eggshell water is made by steeping crushed, rinsed eggshells in water that has been brought to the boil. Once the water has cooled, strain and discard the eggshells.

The editor would also like to point out that this dish, much-loved in Eastern European Jewish cooking, has an infinite number of variations, e.g., up to six eggs, more or less sugar, a teaspoon or two of cinnamon, apples shredded instead of sliced, even the addition of up to 1/2 cup of sour cream.

Apple Upside-Down Cake
Lauren Powers, SVP Business Development

Lauren says, “I found this recipe when I was a teenager and I loved to make it. Years later, when I met my husband, he told me how much he loved his mother’s Pineapple Upside-Down Cake although I could never recall having it. I asked his siblings and discovered that it was Pineapple Cheesecake that his mom actually made!

You could probably use this one as well for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake but I prefer the apples. The apples give a taste similar to Jewish Apple cake but more gooey. I have also made a gluten free version substituting Red Mill Gluten Free flour and it was a big hit!”

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 stick butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups blanched almonds or pecans, chopped
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 4 medium-sized baking apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced thin
• 2 3/4 cups sifted flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Method:

1. Melt butter in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan in 350 degree oven while preheating.
2. Combine 1 cup of the sugar, almonds, and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over melted butter.
3. Arrange apple slices overlapping slightly in three rows in baking pan.
4. Sift flour, remaining sugar, and baking powder into large bowl of electric mixer.
5. Add shortening, milk, eggs and vanilla. Beat at low speed until combined, then at high speed for two additional minutes.
6. Pour batter evenly over apples.
7. Bake in 350-degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched with fingertip.
8. Cool in pan or on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen around the edges with a knife and cover pan with a large tray or cookie sheet. Carefully lift off pan. Best to serve it soon after you remove the cake from the pan; if it sits too long, it can get a little soggy.
9. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.