Recipes for Business, Personal, and Culinary Success
Early in the pandemic while I was working at home, I went out to check the mail and found an oversized envelope from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Curious, I opened the envelope and found vanity plates highlighting two of my biggest interests: Legal Chow and Arizona State University.
I inadvertently ruined my wife’s birthday surprise for me. Oops!
Thanks, Sweetie. I’m now officially licensed to cook.
Two weekends each year (in April and in October), my family gathers with other members of our faith worldwide to participate in the general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over two days, we listen to the general authorities and officers of the Church as they provide us with messages of hope and inspiration to guide our lives for the coming six months.
Modern communications allow us to participate in the conference from the comfort of our own home. And so we have turned the conference into a culinary experience as well as a spiritual one.
I like to make sweet rolls for our conference breakfast. In October, I made cinnamon rolls using challah dough as the foundation. But I’m always game for something new, so my eyes got big when I came across a recipe for Lemon Raspberry Sweet Rolls with Pistachios in the Breakfast 2020 issue of Fine Cooking magazine. Spoiler alert: it’s as good as it sounds.
Sweet raspberry preserves blend well with the tart lemon glaze. Toasted pistachios provide additional crunch and flavor. What a great way to start your day.
The Best of Fine Cooking: Breakfast 2020
In a small pan, bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. Watch it closely so it doesn’t boil over. Remove the milk from the heat, and melt the butter in the milk. Let the milk cool to 110* to 115*.
In a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, lemon zest, and salt on medium speed. Add the milk mixture and eggs and mix just to combine.
Knead the dough on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes in the mixer. If mixing by hand, turn out the dough onto the countertop and knead for about 12 minutes.
Form the dough into a ball. Place it in a buttered bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set the dough aside to rise until doubled in size (about 1 to 2 hours).
Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Mix the sugar and salt in a small bowl.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12×16 inch rectangle. Using a spatula or our hands, spread the softened butter evenly across the dough. Then spread the preserves across the entire surface of the dough. Coat the preserves evenly with the sugar and salt mixture.
Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the long seam and the ends closed. Using a serrated knife, cut the log into 12 one-inch wide pieces. Place the rolls into the buttered dish. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let them rise at room temperature until the rolls are touching (about 1 to 2 hours). During this second rise, preheat your oven to 350*.
Whisk the egg yolk and about 2 teaspoons of water to form an egg wash. Brush the wash across the top of the rolls. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
While the rolls are cooling, mix the powdered sugar, butter, and lemon zest with an electric mixer until smooth. Add heavy cream to bring the glaze to your desired consistency. Spread the glaze on the warm rolls. Sprinkle the pistachios over the glaze.
It’s been a while since I last posted.
During the interlude, we’ve celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Civil Rights Day, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents Day.
I’ve graded student papers, traveled to Waco, Texas for a week of studies with my colleagues in the Executive LL.M. program in Litigation Management, completed my own final exams, prepared written materials for a continuing education course, and taught the course. And because the second trimester of my studies started on the heels of the first, I have plunged into another round of classes, while trying to keep up with my day job.
It’s been a busy few months.
Friday night, I asked Rebecca what she wanted for our Saturday breakfast. She suggested we have Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, something we had not tried before. Well, now we have, and so can you.
This is the same recipe that I regularly use when making scones, with the addition of lemon flavoring and poppy seeds. Try out the recipe, and let me know what you think in the comments.
ingredients
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 to 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
zest and juice of one medium lemon
1 cup heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 450*.
Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of grains of rice. Mix in the poppy seeds.
Add the lemon juice and zest. Slowly blend in the heavy cream until the mixture forms a dough.
Roll (or pat) out the dough until it is about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the scones using a biscuit cutter or knife. I use a 2-inch cutter, which typically gives me 12 scones.
Place the scones about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Glaze the top of the scones with heavy cream. You also can sprinkle on turbinado sugar if you like.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes. You’ll be tempted to eat the scones as soon as they come out of the oven, but wait a few minutes first. The flavors intensify as the scones cool.
Photo by Alessandro Bianchi on Unsplash
Anything worthwhile in life is hard.
Winning a championship. Building a successful business. Nurturing a relationship. Each requires vision, passion, and dedication. Each requires a commitment of time, effort, and resources.
As human beings, we are most content when we are growing and progressing. Doing hard things is the best way to progress. In the end, the reward is worth the effort, even if you fall short of your goal.
I’m happiest when I push myself to achieve. I like having a little bit more to do than I can comfortably get done in a day. It makes me prioritize, focus, and act decisively. At the end of the day, I feel accomplished. When I stop pursuing personal growth, on the other hand, life becomes mundane.
That is why I have chosen to push myself out of my comfort zone.
In February, I learned of an Executive LL.M. program in Litigation Management offered by Baylor Law. The program focuses on the skills necessary to successfully manage a docket of high-volume, high-stakes litigation.
Over 14 months, the candidates take online courses centered on “very legal-specific strategic, analytical, business and cost management skills.” Three times during the program, candidates take a week of classes on-site to supplement online learning.
For six months, I had an internal debate over the merits of enrolling in the program. I came up with many reasons not to enroll – cost, work demands, and uncertainty about the future. Still, I could not escape the gnawing feeling that I need to bring a little turmoil and growth to my life.
It’s much easier to do nothing, so that’s precisely what I did. But representatives from Baylor were persistent, leaving messages for me every few weeks extolling the virtues of the program. The gnawing feeling continued.
After counseling with Rebecca and with trusted friends, I made the plunge last week. I submitted a resume and statement of interest on Thursday, and spoke with an advisor from Baylor and completed my application on Friday. On Saturday, I purchased tickets to travel to the orientation later this week. Classes start on September 23.
I’m excited to conquer this new challenge. I can do hard things.