Holiday Brunch or Dessert: Great-Aunt Josephine’s Coffee Cake

Kim Barnes & Don Bryant

Kim says that this is absolutely the most fabulous coffee cake ever. Great for the holidays.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Butter for the pan and the top

Method:

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees. Grease a two piece tube pan thoroughly with soft butter, including the tube, to within 2 inches of the top.
2. Mix sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle a spoonful of this mixture into the greased pan and turn and pat the pan until the butter is completely coated (add more cocoa mixture if needed). Make sure to coat the tube.
3. Sift flour with salt and set aside. Note: The original recipe said to sift the flour six times. Feel free!
4. Separate eggs, and beat egg whites to soft peaks; set aside.
5. Cream butter with sugar; add egg yolks one at a time, beating thoroughly between additions.
6. Add flour to butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Add baking powder to last addition of flour (don't forget this step!).
7. Gently fold in egg whites by hand.
8. Put five large spoonfuls of batter evenly spaced in the greased and sugared tube pan. Sprinkle generously with cocoa mixture. Continue to alternate batter and cocoa mixture, saving a little to sprinkle on top.
9. Top with 8 large dabs of butter.
10. Bake 1 hour. Leave in pan until completely cool. Remove the outer piece of the pan. Loosen cake from bottom with spatula and make sure the cake can turn around the tube, then lift carefully off tube using two long knives or spatulas for support underneath.

Appetizer: Trendy Cocktail Meatballs

Joanna Russo, Barnes & Conti Senior Associate

Editor’s Note: We hope that many of you get to know Joanna Russo. She is one of our trainers who specializes in training Exercising Influence, primarily in the Eastern United States. Here is Joanna’s tasty, trendy recipe. Enjoy!

Have you ever noticed how certain foods, similar to fashion trends, fade from the “what’s hot” lists only to reemerge after being off the scene for a while? A few months ago I thought if Jell-O salads can make a comeback then it was certainly time to dig through some of my old or forgotten recipes. After a trip down memory lane, I decided it was time to resurrect the cocktail meatball. When did it fall from grace, you might ask? Some say it never did, it’s just been overshadowed by fancier versions of hors d’oeuvres bearing garnishes in many colors. Similar to the modern take on old fashioned trends, this is not your regular 80’s version of a Swedish meatball; instead it’s a modern take on a meatball intended only for the most discerning palates and for those who prefer appetizers that do more than look pretty on a platter.

These meatballs can be baked and served on hot toast points or baked on a cookie sheet and then marinated in a sweet and sour sauce. I’ve included a sauce recipe that certainly pleased my friends and family at our last gathering. This recipe has proudly regained its spot in the front of my virtual recipe file. It’s nice to get reacquainted with old friends.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 3 scallions, finely minced including the green portion
• 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp firmly packed dark brown sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together and form into walnut size meatballs, approximately 1inch.
3. If baking on French bread slices, place one meatball on each slice of bread on a cookie sheet.
4. If serving in the marinade (see below), place meatballs on a foil lined cookie sheet.
5. For either serving preference, bake for 7 to 9 minutes.

Sweet & Sour Dark Sauce Marinade

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 4 tsp cornstarch

Method:

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat till thoroughly mixed and sugar is dissolved. Pour over meatballs and serve warm. Makes 1-1/4 cups.

Soup: Cauliflower, Potato, and Leek

Joel Kleinbaum, Barnes & Conti Webmaster

This “White Soup” is quick and easy to make. I purée it in an old fashioned food mill, or mouli legume; I don't peel the potatoes because the food mill takes care of that. If you don't want the texture of potato peel, you should peel them first. This soup requires the best and freshest vegetables you can get. Local farmer's markets are recommended.

Ingredients:

• 4 large, all purpose potatoes (see note above) quartered
• 3 large leeks, white and light green part only, cut into 1 inch lengths
• 1 medium head of cauliflower, separated into florets
• At least 1 1/2 tbsp of butter
• 3/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
• At least 1/3 cup cream or half and half
• At least 1/3 cup grated gruyere cheese
• Generous grating of nutmeg

Method:

1. Put the leeks, potatoes, and cauliflower in a soup pot. Add water, enough to cover the vegetables. Add the sea salt.
2. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The vegetables should be very soft for the next step.
3. Purée the soup using either the medium disc of the food mill, a wand, or a food processor. Return to the pot and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the butter, cream, and nutmeg. You might also want to add salt to taste. If it is too thick for you, you can add water as well. Because there is no flour, you'll need to stir it while it is simmering; the solids like to drop to the bottom of the pot.
5. Before serving, turn off the heat and stir in the grated cheese until it melts into the soup. If you like, you can garnish with snipped chives.
6. This soup is even better if cooled, refrigerated overnight, and reheated the next day.

Serves 4-6

Salad: Wilted Red Cabbage

Joel Kleinbaum, Newsletter Editor

This salad is a winter favorite during those months when locally grown lettuce is difficult or impossible to get. The salad is healthy, flexible, and you can dress it up or down as you like. See the method, below, for suggestions.

Ingredients:

• 1 small red cabbage, cored and shredded
• 2-3 carrots, grated coarsely
• 4-5 scallions, sliced into rings, or 1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 tbsp wine (red or white) for wilting the cabbage
• 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar for wilting the cabbage

Method:

1. Wilt the cabbage with the wine and wine vinegar in a pan over high heat. Cook until the cabbage turns bright red and is somewhat softened.
2. Let the cabbage cool in a wide bowl or serving platter.
3. Add the shredded carrot and scallions or onion.
4. For a plain salad, dress with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Be generous with the oil, and miserly with the vinegar.
5. For a fancy salad, dress with a vinaigrette made from 2 tsp red wine vinegar, several gratings of pepper, 1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard, and 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, all mixed together. Top with crumbled chevre cheese and chopped walnuts.
6. For a Greek salad (our favorite), dress as for a plain salad (#4, above) but top with crumbled feta cheese and/or Kalamata olives.

Serves about 4-6.

Main Dish: Sole For the Season

Nelson Soken, Ph.D., Barnes & Conti Senior Associate

Nelson Soken is one of our trainers and an expert in and researcher on innovation and innovation management. Nelson offers an innovative remoulade sauce for this dish, instead of the usual tarter sauce. Says Nelson, “Having this sauce, you will never go back to tartar sauce!” Nelson recommends making the sauce first. He also serves the stuffed fish with oven roasted root vegetables. It goes well with a rice pilaf and pasta as well.

Ingredients for the Remoulade Sauce:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tbsp dill pickle relish
• 1 tsp finely chopped capers
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried leaf tarragon
• ½ tbsp of horseradish (If you like a little more kick like I do closer to 1 tbsp)
• 1 tsp of dried chives
• Dash of sugar
• Salt, to taste, optional (I don’t put in additional salt)

Combine the above ingredients and mix together. To bring out all the flavors, let the sauce marinate in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for the Sole:

• 6-8 very fresh sole fillets with no skin
• 1 lb of fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
• Fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste
• Optional: You could use fresh crab meat and/or a combination of shrimp and crab as well.

Panko Bread Crumb Topping:

• 1/2 cup of Panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp of canola oil
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Dash of kosher salt
• 2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves minced fresh garlic

Method

1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees.
2. Mince shrimp.
3. In a bowl, combine the minced shrimp, mustard salt, pepper and cream cheese and thoroughly mix together.
4. Liberally take shrimp stuffing and put into sole fillets. Roll the fillets and fasten with a toothpick.
5. Put the rolled and stuffed fillets into a greased baking dish.
6. Put into preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes.
7. While fish is starting to cook, mix together all of the Panko bread crumb ingredients.
8. After 10 minutes (see step #6), put the Panko bread crumb topping onto each fillet and put back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the fish is flaky, the shrimp stuffing is melted, and shrimp is cooked.
9. Remove from oven and serve immediately with the remoulade sauce.

Serves 6-8

Dessert: Baked Pears

Lauren Powers, Senior Vice President, Business Development

Lauren says, “This is a staple for our family. It is particularly nice to have during the holidays as a healthy alternative for breakfast or dessert. Its beauty is in its simplicity…so easy and quick to make.”

Ingredients

• 6-8 ripe pears (the riper the better!)
• 2-3 cups apple cider
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• cinnamon

Method:

1. Quarter pears leaving skin on and remove seeds.
2. Place in rectangular baking dish.
3. Pour apple cider over pears covering them about halfway.
4. Mix in dried cranberries.
5. Sprinkle cinnamon over pears. You can also use a cinnamon sugar mixture but since the pears, cider, and cranberries are sweet, it is usually not necessary.
6. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to one hour, checking for doneness. It is done when the fruit is soft.
7. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for dessert or cold with granola and/or yogurt for breakfast.
8. Leftovers remain for days in the refrigerator.

Just for Fun

Holiday Training

A man walked into a toy store and admired a train set. As the salesman approached he said, “That’s a fantastic train set. I'll take one of those.”

Said the salesman, “Great! I’m sure your son will love it.”

The man thought for a moment and said, “In that case, get me two of those.”

Quotable Quotes for New Year’s Resolutions

• A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other.
• May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!

The Barnes & Conti Holiday Newsletter is published annually. For more information, visit our website, or the Barnes & Conti Blog

Joel Kleinbaum, Editor and Designer

Please send feedback to newsltr1 at barnesconti.com

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