Thanksgiving 2021

By Eric Beckman, Barnes & Conti Global Director

November brings us toward the close of 2021 and the holiday season is upon us. In the United States, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the season. Thanksgiving was meant to celebrate the harvest. It’s a holiday in which I like to show gratitude for both the food and the people who have helped me and my family get through another year.

The spirit of Thanksgiving for me, is to take a moment of gratitude and share it with others. When we are able to express our gratitude, we can turn a simple meal into a feast, a shelter from the elements into a homey refuge, and a stranger into a friend.

Along with much of the world, we at Barnes & Conti have spent the last two years in various stages of lockdown. For most of us, this has been a stressful experience. During times of stress, it’s even more important to take a breath, look for the positives in our lives and in other people, and give thanks for what we do have. I hope you’ll join me in remembering to thank others for their efforts, even when those efforts are “part of their job.” Gratitude expressed becomes gratitude felt.

Wherever you find yourself this Thanksgiving, I hope you are in good company, and—if you experience any conflict—I trust that you’ll be able to rise above it, at least for a few hours. Let’s endeavor to take the time to express our gratitude, even if we’re only able to express it by our attitude. Being grateful is a form of mindfulness; this mindset can make small positive contributions to our own and others’ lives.

I want to express my own thanks to you, the extended Barnes & Conti community, for caring, sharing, and connecting.

How Identifying with the Other Makes You a Better Influencer

By B. Kim Barnes, Barnes & Conti CEO,
reprinted from LinkedIn, October 13, 2021

One of the most important skills for influencers is the ability to “think themselves into” the mind of the person they are hoping to influence. Identifying with the other is often key to developing a successful influence approach. Once you have clarified your objective, you can put yourself in the other’s place and imagine how learning about it might affect them. Here are some questions that can help you in this process:

• What is currently “top of mind” for the other? What are they most concerned about right now?
• What are some areas of common interest (that will be obvious to the other) between you related to the action you’d like them to take?
• What possible conflicting interests might arise, given your objective? Even if you don’t agree that the other might have something to lose by taking the action you would like them to take, what might the other fear losing?
• What “felt needs” (i.e., needs that he or she experiences) does the other have that might drive their decision-making about this? 
• What issues or concerns might arise from these needs and/or what practical issues might come up for them?

The answers to these questions will help you decide on your approach – to choose influence behaviors that are relevant to the needs and issues that will drive the other’s decision.

Read the entire article and join the conversation on LinkedIn 

Virtual Catalog of All Barnes & Conti Programs

Are you in the midst of looking at your organizational needs and planning your trainings for 2022? Check out our catalog with updated virtual offerings. All our programs are available either online/virtually or in person.

We hope you will find topics that resonate with your organization’s or workgroup’s needs for the coming year.

Please download the catalog here and feel free to contact Lauren Powers (lpowers@barnesconti.com)/215.850-2882 to discuss your needs and how we might partner to design a custom solution for your organization.

Our Learning Survey is Still Open! We'd Love to Hear from You...

Is your organization considering returning to in-person learning? Will you be continuing with remote learning? Are you considering implementing hybrid learning? Our Learning Survey is still open, and we’d love to hear from you. Please take the survey at the link below so we can better understand your needs for facilitation and how we can better serve your organizational priorities.

Please take the survey 

Thanksgiving Recipes

Featured Recipe: Apple Cranberry Sauce

Contributed by Lauren Powers, SVP Business Development.

Every family has their traditions for the Thanksgiving holiday, including cranberry sauce. Each year, our neighbors, Tom and Ann, prepare a little extra of their favorite cranberry sauce for our holiday table as they are preparing for their family’s meal. We are touched by their generosity and in return share our sausage stuffing (see below) each year.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups diced and unpeeled apples
• 2-3 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• Lemon juice to sprinkle on top of fruit

Topping:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, in pieces

Method:

1. Mix fruit ingredients and place in casserole dish.
2. Sprinkle lemon juice on top of fruit.
3. Combine topping ingredients and put over fruit.
4. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
5. This can be made ahead of time and frozen.

Serves 8 as a side dish

Featured Recipe: Sausage Stuffing

From Lauren Powers

Lauren says, "For years I thought stuffing was kind of boring. I never really understood why such a big deal was made of it. I had only experienced my Grandma Rose’s (who was otherwise a fabulous cook). Then, I discovered the secret ingredient to a great stuffing….sausage! My mother-in-law made the most amazing stuffing using sweet Italian sausage. I have changed this up a bit, of course. I now use turkey sage sausage." (Editor’s note: if you can’t find turkey sage, substitute your favorite sausage, preferably seasoned with sage. But sweet Italian sausage will work, too).

Ingredients:

• 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Seasoned Bread Cubes (herb flavored)
• 4.5 cups chicken broth, add 1/2 cup more if dry
• 1 very large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 - 3/4 lbs ground turkey sage sausage
• Handful of chopped parsley
• A few chopped sage leaves (optional)

Method:

1. Brown sausage with a little bit of butter in large soup pot, remove and drain.
2. Sauté onion, leek and celery in 1/2 cup of butter in same pot and remove.
3. Add broth to pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
4. Add bread cubes.
5. Add sausage and sautéed leeks, onion and celery.
6. Add some chopped herbs if you have such as parsley and sage.
7. Bake at 325 degrees in a pre-heated oven for one hour in a buttered dish.

Salad: Treviso Radicchio and Apple with Blue Cheese and Walnuts 

Joel Kleinbaum, Web Developer and Newsletter Editor

Joel is an avid farmers' market shopper, and he says, "One of my favorite vendors announced their last week for the season at the market. It was a cold and rainy day, and the farmers had an abundance of beautiful Treviso-style radicchio (the kind with long, loose leaves). I had an idea for a radicchio salad, based on a traditional Italian recipe where you mix the slightly bitter vegetable with a tart/sweet autumn fruit (apple or pear). This recipe is the result."

Ingredients:

• 2 smallish heads Treviso style radicchio (if you can’t find the long, loose-leaved Treviso radicchio, substitute endive or another loose-leaved chicory)
• 1/2 small, sweet onion, diced (optional)
• 1 carrot, coarsely shredded
• 1 medium/large apple with some tartness, cored, quartered, and sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
• 2 oz. or more of your favorite blue cheese, crumbled
• 2+ tbsp good quality olive oil
• 1/4 tsp good red wine vinegar, or to taste

Method:

1. Prepare the radicchio by cutting off about an inch from the bottom, and discarding it. Shred the leaves into about 1/2 inch wide pieces. If the leaves are large, you might want to cut them in half.
2. In a salad bowl, toss the radicchio with the diced onion, shredded carrot, and sliced apple. Add the olive oil and toss until all is well-coated.
3. Add the vinegar and toss until it’s well distributed.
4. Mix in the blue cheese and walnuts.

Variation: substitute balsamic vinegar, or (and especially if the radicchio is on the bitter side), just add a few drops of good quality balsamic vinegar and toss well.

Serves 4-6

Side Dish or Vegetarian Main Dish: Danielle’s Sweet Potato Gratin (adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi)

Eric Beckman, Barnes & Conti Global Director

Here's a rich and innovative take on the traditional Thanksgiving sweet potatoes. Sage, garlic, and cardamom give it a savory twist.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium sweet potatoes (at least 3 lbs worth)
• 5 tbsp coarse chopped fresh sage (plus some sprigs for garnish)
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 cup heavy cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400º F. Wash sweet potatoes (do not peel them), trim off 1/4" of each end, and cut them into rounds about 1/4" thick. Using a mandoline will speed the task, but a sharp knife works.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, then gently and evenly mix in the sweet potato slices, (try to avoid breaking them). Arrange the sweet potato slices in a deep oven-proof dish by laying stacks of tightly packed slices on edge/side with skins showing into neat rows. Fan/lean the slices slightly to expose some of the insides attractively. Sprinkle any remaining garlic and herbs over the top of completed potatoes.
3. Cover dish with aluminum foil, place into oven, and bake for 40 minutes. While dish is baking, allow cream to come to room temp. Remove aluminum foil and pour cream evenly over potatoes. Roast uncovered for additional 25 minutes to brown surface and thicken cream. Test potatoes in several locations with point of sharp knife. They should be totally soft.
4. Garnish with some fresh sage sprigs. Either serve immediately or allow to cool down a bit. Serve in the baking dish for maximum visual impact.

Dessert/Sweet: Sugar Hubbard "Pumpkin" Bars

Kim Barnes, Barnes & Conti CEO

Here's a lighter Thanksgiving dessert, using the usual sweet pumpkin filling in an unusual way. It comes to us from the vast recipe collection of Kim Barnes.

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe shortbread dough

Filling:

• 1 cup fresh pumpkin, sugar hubbard squash, or butternut squash puree
• 1/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla liqueur
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• a pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Take the dough and press it into a 5" x 5" greased baking dish with at least 1 inch sides. Let rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes, and then bake until it is lightly golden, about 20 minutes. If the dough has a side crust, cover the edges with foil when you bake it off to keep them from over browning. While the dough is baking, finish preparing the filling.
3. Add the squash puree, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt to the bowl of a mixer, and beat until smooth. Add the egg and egg white and beat, then add the coconut milk and beat a bit more. It will be quite thin, but don’t worry… it will set up when you bake it.
4. Pour the filling onto the pre-baked crust (you may not use all of it), and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the custard has set. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate if desired (it’s easier to slice when chilled, but not necessary).

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