Category Archives: Lawyering

RASPBERRY FOOL

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Last month one of our associates — I’ll call him Biff (not his real name) — quit.  He never returned after the holidays, just came in one night after hours, packed up his personal belongings, and called one of the bosses to inform him that he was quitting and moving out of state.  That was it — no notice, didn’t turn in his billable time for the past month, did not hand off his files, did not let anyone know the status of anything he was working on.  As you might guess, he is not missed.  But I cannot help but be appalled by the shortsighted and unprofessional manner in which he resigned.  What a fool.

But wait — there’s more.  The firm set about to hire an associate to replace Biff.  One candidate, a young woman, showed up neatly dressed in a suit, and seemed interested in the firm.  After an offer was extended to her, the headhunter informed us that the young woman only wanted to work remotely.  I guess the strain of putting on an interview outfit and talking face to face with people made her realize she never wanted to leave the comfort of her home, Zoom, and sweat pants.  What a fool.

Fortunately, these two yoots are not representative of the lawyers at my firm.  I don’t know what they represent, but I predict their chances of success as lawyers are not great.

These two fools have inspired this recipe for Raspberry Fool.  Sweetened whipped cream and fresh raspberries — what’s not to like?  The young woman would probably be happy to know that you can eat this at home while dressed in your leisurewear.  And unlike Biff, I am giving notice — 1 week to be exact — that this makes an easy, elegant, and delicious Valentine’s Day dessert.

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RASPBERRY FOOL
Author: 
Serves: 2 servings
 
Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries, divided use
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Optional garnishes: powdered sugar, mint leaves, small butter cookies
Instructions
  1. Place ¾ cup raspberries in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a fine-mesh sieve placed over a bowl, and press raspberries through the sieve with a spatula. Discard the solids left behind.
  2. Place heavy whipping cream and sugar in a medium bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in raspberry puree, stirring until completely combined.
  3. Spoon the mixture into two glasses, layering with a few raspberries, and adding a few raspberries to the top. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Garnish as desired.

Fool me once, shame on you

Fool me twice, shame on me

Fool me 350,000 times, you’re probably a meteorologist

 

BIG THING IN BIG SPRING AND BANANA PUDDING

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You may remember My Big Fat Texas Hearing in the fall of 2021 (which we won).  This past fall, we had another big hearing in the same case (which we also won).  This time, my boss and I traveled to Big Spring, the county seat of Howard County, for the hearing.

Located about 40 miles from Mildand, Big Spring, population approximately 25,000, gets its name from a large spring in a small gorge between the base of Scenic Mountain and a nearby hill within the city limits.  I didn’t get to actually see the spring, but this artist’s rendition hung in our hotel:

Apparently, the spring was very important in the early days of Big Spring.  Even more important to the city’s development, however, was the discovery of oil in the area in the 1920s, which marked the beginning of the oil industry in the Permian Basin.

Big Spring is, if nothing else, pretty flat:

We stayed at the Hotel Settles, a historic hotel in Big Spring built in the 1930s.  The hotel has an interesting history, which you can read about here.

We were relieved to see the hotel was air conditioned:

The hotel’s grand lobby felt like something out of an old movie:

I loved my spacious room:

We had lunch at the hotel’s restaurant, Settles Grill (they are justifiably proud of their fried Brussels sprouts with bacon, bleu cheese, red peppers, and a honey-lime glaze), and spent the rest of the day going over materials for the hearing in the morning.  Dinner was cocktails and bar snacks at the hotel’s Pharmacy Bar.  Not a foodie trip.

Settles Grill

The next morning I got up bright and early to get ready for our 9:00 a.m. hearing, and watched the brilliant sunrise over the flat landscape:

After a quick breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant (definitely not a foodie trip), we headed to the courthouse.

Spying on opposing counsel at breakfast

Just as with our last hearing, the buzzards gathered as if in anticipation of what was to come:

There weren’t as many people as at the last hearing, but it was still big by hearing standards.  It lasted almost 3 hours (and for the record, one bathroom break was not enough), each side arguing passionately about matters that are of great importance to their clients.

When the hearing ended, we realized we could catch an earlier flight, and hightailed it to the airport.  Instead of a liesurely lunch with our client, it was a bag of Doritos and a Diet Coke at the airport (definitely not a foodie trip).  Not really sure how the judge would rule, but confident in our position, we were relieved when he ruled in our favor a week later.

So what happens now?  Normally, we’d proceed to trial to determine how much money all of the defendants owe our client.  Instead, the defendants are seeking an interlocutory appeal, in the hopes that the trial court got everything wrong and they can avoid a trial.  (No comment.)

While I wait for the appeal party to get started, I thought I’d share a recipe with a lot of appeal.  OK, bananas — but they have a peel, right?  No doubt, this recipe for banana pudding will appeal to your better judgment.  Some recipes for this Southern classic include a meringue topping, but we think whipped cream is so much better.  Pro tip — no one will complain if you add a tablespoon or so of bourbon to the pudding.

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BANANA PUDDING
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2-3 teaspoons bourbon (optional)
  • 1 box vanilla wafers (there will be some left over)
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • For the topping:
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in the whole egg and 3 yolks, and then stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes, being careful not to let the bottom burn. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and bourbon.
  2. Spread a thin layer of the pudding in a shallow 1-1/2-quart casserole dish. Arrange a layer of vanilla wafers on top of the pudding. Thinly slice the bananas crosswise and arrange a layer of banana slices over the wafers. Spread one-third of the remaining pudding over the bananas and continue layering wafers, bananas, and pudding, ending with pudding.
  3. To make the topping, whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Spread decoratively over the top of the pudding. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Like an onion, so too, does banana pudding have many layers

Comfort dessert extraordinaire