Our Virtual Feast, Part 2

To return to Part 1, click here

Wilted Green Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Feta

Eric Beckman, Vice President and CFO

The sun-dried tomatoes come from the Beckman’s home-grown organic tomatoes. Eric says that store-bought sun-dried tomatoes will work just as well.

Wilted SaladIngredients:

For the dressing:

Method:

  1. Mix the mustard well with the vinegar.
  2. Slowly stir in the olive oil, mixing well.
  3. In a small saucepan, gently warm the dressing until it almost reaches the simmer.
  4. Toss the tomatoes, cranberries, and pine nuts into the simmering dressing for three minutes.
  5. Place the lettuces and spinach in a salad bowl. Pour the hot dressing on the greens until there is enough dressing to coat the greens well. Toss; the greens should gently wilt.
  6. Top with the feta cheese.

Serves 6-8

My Grandmother’s Beef Brisket

Joel Kleinbaum, Information Systems Manager

Joel says that his grandmother was one of the best cooks he ever knew. As was common with grandmothers of that era, “Grandma Lee” never used a recipe and never wrote anything down. He was lucky enough to watch in the kitchen, and he memorized every step. Joel’s mom also used to make brisket in the same way; some years ago, Joel and his mom were talking brisket, and the recipe was finally written down. Now Joel and his brother carry on the tradition, the third generation to make brisket this way.

BrisketIngredients:

Method:

  1. Trim the brisket of much of the fat (or have your butcher do it for you). Place the brisket, fat side up, in a roasting pan which you can cover.
  2. Make several slits in the top of the brisket. Rub the top and sides with the mustard. Put the chopped garlic on top of the meat, and in the slits.
  3. Brown the brisket, uncovered, in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
  4. Sprinkle the top with the brown sugar, add the carrots and potatoes to the roast, sprinkle with pepper and a little salt.
  5. Put the sliced onions on top of the potatoes and the roast. Add the orange juice to the roasting pan.
  6. Cover and reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Cook for 2-3 hours, until the meat is very tender, but not falling apart.
  7. Before serving, let the brisket sit for at least 20 minutes. Slice across the grain, and serve with the carrots, potatoes and onions, and pan juices on the side.

Serves 6, with leftovers for sandwiches

Janne and LatkesSide Dish: Potato Latkes

Joel says that Janne’s potato latkes compliment brisket perfectly. But we printed the recipe last year. And last year was a reprint from several years earlier. So we’re not going to print it again.

If you really want to make Janne’s latkes, click here.

This year we have a picture of our Chief Learning Officer (and latke-maker) Janne Rochlin, warming up her latkes for our holiday potluck. The latkes are at the lower right.

 

Dessert: Orange Cheesecake from Kim and Don

This recipe is a Barnes & Conti classic, reprinted from our very first virtual feast from 2001.

Kim says: “This recipe was given to me by a dear friend, Monica Moorcroft, of Chertsey, Surrey, U.K. She is living proof that gourmet cooking flourishes across the pond.”

CheesecakeIngredients:

Method:

  1. Beat the cheese and sugar together until smooth.
  2. Fold in the marmalade.
  3. Lightly whip cream and fold in.
  4. Spoon into pie shell and refrigerate for an hour.
  5. Arrange the orange sections on top. Loosen crust from pan with a hot knife.

Serves 6-8

Red Beans and Rice

Many of us at Barnes & Conti feel a strong connection to New Orleans. New Orleans was hands down our favorite “host city” for conferences and trade shows. Meagan McCrystle used to live in the Garden District. Many of us have vacationed in New Orleans. At one time, there was even a little lunch place near our office that we used to enjoy. It featured real Louisiana cooking: gumbo, jambalaya, “po boy” sandwiches, and red beans and rice.

In New Orleans—and much of the Louisiana Gulf Coast—it has been a long-standing tradition to have red beans and rice for Monday dinner. Monday used to be “washing day,” and red beans and rice was something that could be left simmering on the stove while doing the laundry; the longer it simmered, the better it tasted.

Although this recipe isn’t exactly festive, during the holiday season many of us like to remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves. We offer this recipe in the spirit of connecting with the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Red beans, rice, and collardsIngredients:

Method:

  1. Soak the beans overnight OR put them in a pot and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, remove from heat, and allow the beans to stand for at least an hour.
  2. Rinse the beans, put back in the pot, cover by at least one inch with water, add the crushed garlic clove, bring to a boil, and cook at a low boil/high simmer for at least 20/30 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse.
  3. While the beans are precooking, saute the onion, celery, and bell pepper in the oil for several minutes over medium heat. The vegetables should begin to soften and turn golden. Add the garlic and saute for a few more minutes.
  4. Add the beans and water to cover and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer, slowly, until the beans are very tender, and the liquid has thickened to a creamy consistency. (1-2 hours).
  5. You can speed up the thickening process by taking 1/2 cup or so of the beans, after they have simmered for 30-40 minutes, mash them, and put them back in the pot.
  6. While simmering, season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. (If you add sausage, taste first. Sausage is salty, and the traditional smoked andouille sausage is spicy.)

You can use the smoked sausage in several ways. You can add it to the beans sliced or diced and simmer (the flavor will cook out into the beans). If you like, you can brown the sausage first in a skillet over high heat. Some folks like the sausage browned and whole as an accompaniment. Notice that we didn’t say how much sausage. If you slice or dice it, 8-12 ounces should be plenty. If you serve the sausage whole, allow 1-2 links per person.

Serve over rice, with Louisiana Hot Sauce on the side.
Serves 4

Wine Recommendations

Once again, Eric Beckman and Joel Kleinbaum have put their heads together to come up with wines that would compliment just about every recipe.

Influential Casserole: A Tool for Dads Looking for Leverage

Carter Serrett, Vice President of Sales and Marketing

I decided a long time ago that my son would have as much control over his own diet as possible. In an age so consumed with body and image issues, I thought it wise to start him out without too much pressure and angst about food. This, however, posed a dilemma: how would I get my son to eat protein? How could I encourage him to eat meat/fish/eggs rather than his all-time favorite: pasta with butter and biscuits?

I started by negotiating: “Okay, eat your fish and you can have a treat... It’s your choice, but I need to let you know there will be no treats unless you eat the fish.” Invariably, a very advanced negotiation—advanced for a 5 year old and 38 year old—ensues over exactly how much fish is enough fish. As a self proclaimed sugar boy, he almost always eats just enough to move on to get to the treats.

Negotiation may not work forever; fortunately for me, I accidentally discovered a great negative motivator, the Turk-a-Choke Casserole. A few weeks ago I invented the Turk-a-Choke, and I thought it quite good. Of course, I was raised on every form of Frito-Lay-covered casserole imaginable, but my son—with his acute five-year-old taste buds—hated it. He wouldn’t take a second bite, even if it meant no treats or sweets.

So now I can hint about making the dreaded Turk-a-Choke and he will say, “Uhhh, daddy... if you make fish, I’ll eat the whole thing!”

For those of you brave—or evil—enough to try this, here is the recipe:

Turk-a-ChokeTurk-a-Choke Casserole

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Boil the pasta for 8 minutes, then coat in butter.
  2. Put in casserole dish and mix in turkey, artichoke hearts, and olives.
  3. Pour turkey broth (or chicken noodle soup if you want to be really interesting) over the mix, add a coating of crushed potato chips and drizzle with milk. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Serve with a grin.

Barnes & Conti: 2005 in Review

2005 was a year in which Barnes & Conti continued to expand our global influence, both literally and figuratively!

At the end of 2004 we established ties with a partner company in Korea, KMS (Kora Management Solutions). In early 2005, CEO Kim Barnes went to Korea to showcase Exercising Influence® with Dr. Johnny Chung, Senior Consultant for KMS, who also translated Exercising Influence® into Korean.

In Singapore we took on a global partner, Antioch Consulting and Training (ACT). They will be offering Exercising Influence®, along with other Barnes & Conti programs.

In Mexico our partner company, Competencia Organizacional, successfully piloted Exercising Influence® with Burger King. Our Polish partners, P-AIZ (Polish-American Management Institute) piloted our ever-popular influence program with the largest insurance company in Poland.

We continued our work with many of our existing clients, and added many new companies, including: AARP (American Association for Retired Persons ), Applera Corporation, Applied Materials, Digidesign, OOCL (Orient Overseas Container Line), Roche Molecular Systems, Siebel Systems, Solectron, St. Paul Travelers, and the whole “Citi Family” (CitiCards, CitiGroup, etc).

In 2006 we will be delivering our Constructive Debate™ and Inspirational Leadership™ programs to several new clients. Kim is also working with David Francis, Ph.D, Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Innovation Management of the University of Brighton in the U.K. on a new innovation management program. We expect to be ready to pilot the new program by the second quarter of 2006.

We look forward to telling you all about our new developments. Please watch for our upcoming newsletters in 2006!

Events, Trade Shows, and Happenings

Training 2006 Conference
March 6-8, 2006, Orlando, FL

Kim Barnes and Jack Harris, MD, Vice President of Global Medical Operations, Lilly Research Laboratories will be speaking on “Inspirational Leadership: Involving Senior Leaders in Developing the Next Generation” on Wednesday, March 8, from 2:45 - 4:15 PM.

Upcoming Public Programs

Exercising Influence
March 13-14, 2005, San Francisco, CA

To register for one of our public programs, click here
or go to: www.barnesconti.com/ppsched.php

MistletoeJust for Fun

Holidays in Space

Question: If athletes get athletes foot, what do astronauts get?

Answer: Missile-toe!

Happy Hollandaise!

A man goes to the dentist because something is wrong in his mouth. The dentist examines him and exclaims, “Holy Smoke! That plate I installed in your mouth about six months ago has nearly completely corroded! What on earth have you been eating?”

“Well... the only thing I can think of is this... my wife made me some asparagus about four months ago with this Hollandaise sauce and doctor, I’ve never tasted anything like it! Ever since then I’ve been putting it on everything... meat, fish, toast, vegetables... you name it!”

“That’s probably it,” says the dentist “Hollandaise sauce is made with lemon juice, which is highly corrosive. It seems as thougt I’ll have to install a new plate, but made out of chrome this time.”

“Why chrome?” the man asks.

“Well, everyone knows that there’s no plate like chrome for the Hollandaise!”

Affirmations and Resolutions for the New Year?

  1. I assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else’s fault.
  2. In some cultures what I do would be considered normal.
  3. My intuition nearly makes up for my lack of wisdom and judgment.
  4. I need not suffer in silence while I can still moan, whimper, and complain.
  5. When someone hurts me, I know that forgiveness is cheaper than a lawsuit, but not nearly as rewarding.
  6. Blessed are the flexible, for they can tie themselves in knots.
  7. Today I will gladly share my experience and advice, for there are no sweeter words than “I told you so!”
  8. A scapegoat is almost as good as a solution.
  9. Before I criticize a man, I will walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he’s a mile away and barefoot.

New Words from 2005

Elaine Turcotte, Our Manager of Operations and Client Services—and possible Mensa candidate herself—contributed this most intriguing word list.

The Washington Post’s Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are a few of this year’s winners:

To return to Part 1, click here

Please send feedback to newsltr1 at barnesconti.com
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Copyright © 2006 Barnes & Conti Associates, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.