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Double Chocolate Pancakes

 

Hear! Hear! for Administrative Professionals, the women and men who help us serve our clients well and who make our lives easier. Your assistance is invaluable.

In 1952, the United States Secretary of Commerce, Charles Sawyer, declared June 1-7 as National Secretaries Week. In 1955, the week was moved to the last full week of April, and in 2000, the unofficial holiday was rechristened as Administrative Professionals Week to acknowledge the expanding roles of office workers.

At my law firm, we formally recognize our administrative staff by cooking and serving breakfast during the last week of April. I’ve been in charge of planning the menu for the past five years. Our staff is talented and “over the top,” so each year I try to come up with a menu item that is new and sufficiently “over the top” to recognize their contribution.

This year’s “over-the-top” recipe was Double Chocolate Pancakes with Chocolate Ganache, based on a recipe submitted by zerrin on www.giverecipe.com. This recipe has everything chocolate — cocoa, chocolate chips, and an amazing smooth ganache. It’s like eating cake for breakfast!

Days after we served breakfast, I’m still getting compliments on the recipe. My favorite comment came in an email from one of my colleagues: “They were awesome! I thought my tongue was going to slap my brains out.”

Try them. Then hold on to your brain so that it doesn’t get slapped out of your head.

Double Chocolate Pancakes with Chocolate Ganache

  • 1 large egg
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Whisk the egg and sugar until creamy. Add in the milk and oil. Whisk until combined.

In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined. The batter will be thick. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Cook the pancakes over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes per side. Serve with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

  • 4 oz. chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat the cream in a saucepan until it shimmers. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Do not stir the mixture for 5 minutes. Then whisk the chocolate chips until they form a silky ganache. Serve at room temperature.

Makes about 8 pancakes.

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Negotiating with Bullies (Part Two)

Bullies use various tactics to try to pressure you into an unfavorable deal. Some bullies try to “win” a negotiation through a series of increasingly more outrageous demands. In a variation of this theme, the bully gives you an unreasonably short time to consider his demand and notes that future demands will escalate dramatically.

Don’t let escalating demands control the timing or terms of the negotiation.

Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash

To be sure, you should critically reexamine your strategy throughout the negotiation. Do your research. Challenge your assumptions. Reevaluate the pros and cons of the escalating demands. But unless extrinsic evidence convinces you that your strategy is flawed, don’t give in.

The person with the least amount of interest controls the negotiation. Holding fast to your reasonable position can help turn the tables on a bully.

Many years ago, I represented a man who had been sued by a classic bully. The bully claimed that my client — the former president of his company — was competing unfairly by starting a competing business after the bully fired him. The bully stopped making severance payments to my client and sought to crush his competition.

The bully had no basis for his claims. My client had not signed any restrictive covenants. He took no confidential information with him. And he had worked in the industry for many years before he joined the bully’s company. My client was legally authorized to use his skills and knowledge to compete fairly against the bully.

I reached out to the bully’s attorney, outlined the flaws in the bully’s claims, and noted that the bully owed my client four months of severance pay. We asked him to dismiss his claims and pay my client what he was owed.

The bully refused and tried to turn up the heat on my client. We ignored his increasing demands.

We took the deposition of the bully’s star witness, who had sworn that the allegations in the Complaint were true. At the end of his deposition, the witness acknowledged that he had no first-hand knowledge about anything in the Complaint. Rather, he conceded that the Complaint was based on “rumor and innuendo.”

We again asked the bully to dismiss his claims and pay my client what he was owed. The bully again refused and increased his demands.

Armed with the testimony of the star witness, we prepared four motions seeking to dismiss all of the bully’s claims. We again invited the bully to dismiss his claims and pay my client what he was owed. The bully again refused and, once again, increased his demands on my client.

I had great fun arguing the motions. The judge ruled from the bench and granted each of the motions in turn.

When the judge left the courtroom, the bully’s lawyer turned to me and frantically asked if our offer was still on the table. I assured him that it had expired, as we had warned it would.

We had turned the tables on the bully. Ultimately, my client recovered the monies he was entitled to receive plus his attorneys’ fees spent in defending the case.

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Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

If you are looking for a treat and have some time to spare, try my twist on cinnamon rolls.

The foundation of the rolls is a rich, eggy challah dough. We then couple the tangy tartness of craisins with a light lemon cream cheese frosting. It’s a sweet treat that is not overpowering and is family approved.

Start with one of my favorite bread doughs, challah. We’ve made this recipe in my home for 20 years or more. The dough is smooth and easy to handle. It adapts well for use in cinnamon rolls and other desserts. (See my prior blog post that uses challah loaves in a bread pudding.)

When Rebecca and I married more than 30 years ago, my Grandmother Gibson gave us a Bosch bread mixer. We use it all the time; it’s still going strong after all these years. I can’t imagine making bread without our Bosch.

Challah

  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups warm milk (about 110*)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup milk mixed with the sugar. It will be frothy in about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the remainder of the milk and the two cups flour. Cover the bowl and let it stand for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The sponge will be bubbling when it’s ready.

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 cup canola oil or other vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 eggs
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour

Sprinkle the sugar and salt over the sponge, then add the oil and the vanilla. Gently beat the eggs; pour the eggs into the sponge. Mix the sponge until the ingredients are incorporated.

Add the flour one cup at a time, mixing after each addition until the flour is incorporated. You will start to get a soft dough. If the dough is too wet, add flour gradually, 1/4 cup at a time. Knead the dough until it is soft and springy.

Grease a large bowl with about 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Place the dough in the bowl, then turn the dough over so that it is oiled on all sides. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 12 x 18 inches. You will repeat these steps three times (once for each piece of dough), so remember to divide the remaining ingredients into thirds as you proceed forward. If you have more dough than you can use in one sitting, you can freeze it for later use. (Or you can bake it into a gorgeous loaf of challah bread.) If you choose to freeze the dough for later use, remember to decrease the remaining ingredients as you move forward.

Cinnamon Roll Filling

  • 20 tablespoons melted butter (2 1/2 sticks), divided
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups craisins (or other dried fruit)
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Melt the butter. Using a pastry brush or your fingers, spread about 1/4 cup of melted butter over the dough. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread about 1/4 cup of the mixture over the dough. Spread 1/2 cup each of craisins and nuts over the dough.

Roll the dough into a log.  Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 2-inch segments. You should have about 8 or 9 rolls from each piece of dough.

I like to bake cinnamon rolls in disposable foil trays. I can give some cinnamon rolls to friends and they won’t have to worry about returning a pan to me. But you may want to bake the rolls in a 9 x 13 pan instead.

Pour 1/2 cup of the melted butter into the bottom of your baking pan. Sprinkle in about 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Then place your cinnamon rolls in the pan.

I

Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel, and let them rise about 1 hour.

Bake at 350* until the rolls are golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Top the cinnamon rolls with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Molly’s Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), softened
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 6 to 8 cups of powdered sugar
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • juice of 1 lemon (to taste)

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until it is creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese, and mix for about 3 minutes more.

Add the lemon zest, vanilla, and (approximately) 1 tablespoon lemon juice to the butter and cream cheese mixture. Then add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Add lemon juice to taste.

I typically use all of the lemon juice and no more than 6 cups of powdered sugar. Add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter frosting. The frosting should be fluffy and spreadable. If it is too thick, mix in some milk, one tablespoon at a time.

When the cinnamon rolls have cooled, frost the rolls. If you have some frosting left over, it makes a great topping for pancakes or waffles.

Enjoy.

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Negotiating with Bullies

Photo by Daniel Delle Donne on Unsplash

At some point in your business dealings, you will have to negotiate with a bully.

Bullies take many forms and employ different negotiating styles. The classic bully tries to intimidate you into doing what she wants. Her typical tactics are pressure and threats.

Other bullies are easy to get along with,  but try to gain power in the negotiation by taking extreme (and irrational) positions. They overreach, then try to get you to “split the difference” based on their initial unreasonable position.

Remember, the person with the least amount of interest controls the negotiation. So if you want to shift the power in the negotiation, you have to persuade the bully that you are willing to walk away from the negotiation. You have to become the person with the least amount of interest — or at least convince the bully that you are willing to walk away from the negotiating table.

Silence can be a valuable tactic in your negotiations with a bully.

A bully gains power by getting you to engage with him. He hopes that you will become stressed and frustrated, which will lead you to accept a bad deal with him. If you refuse to engage with the bully, he loses power over you. Your silence can help shift the balance of power.

Bullies thrive on conflict, the messier the better. They know that most people find conflict distressing. And, when thrust into a distressing situation, most people will do anything to relieve their discomfort, even if it means entering into a deal that they will regret once the conflict has ended.

When you refuse to engage with a bully, you switch the tables on him. You become the person with the least interest in the negotiation, which gives you control over the negotiation.

Silence — refusing to engage — can be a useful tactic in your negotiations with a bully.