Funfetti Cookies

​♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

Last month I received a client request for a #pride themed brunch at the end of June. As I began to gather my menu options, it got me thinking about how I could have a greater impact with the work I do. Instead of just offering these options to one client, I wanted to share these featured items for the entire month of June and donate a portion of all of the sales of these featured items to the LGBTQ community. Two of the items featured are a classic flavor, funfetti.

For the past year and a half I have had the great privilege of honing in on a different approach to my cooking. I started assisting Sarah Pachelli in the kitchen and didn’t know how much the work she does would impact my overall approach to cooking. The best way I can describe it is refined with out any refined ingredients-which quite simply translates to swapping out ingredients that are harder on your body to process with easier options.  A client of hers requested clean funfetti cookies and we started making them on almost a weekly basis because they were such a yummy treat.

I am offering these cookies two ways, a classic variation or a refined with out refined ingredients, à la Ms. Pachelli. Sarah also shares recipes every Monday and I am pretty sure her take on these cleaner cookies will be shared since it’s heavily requested.

I am grateful to be able to give back to a community with the business I am building and lucky to have the good fortune of working with/being inspired by those I work with professionally. Happy weekend, get your orders and don’t forget to #findyourlittlefriday

Shrimp Cocktail 🍤

♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

A classic that has been overdone and can be underwhelming, but it remains a staple. My trick to giving it extra flavor comes from roasting the shrimps with their shells on, it is a game changer. Also, the wild caught shrimp just tastes better in my opinion. You do have to wait for them to cool to the touch so you can peel the shells and devein them. This sounds like a lot of work so that’s why I typically buy a quality store bought cocktail sauce. If I have the energy I make my own or sometimes I pair it with chimichurri. Enjoy!

2 pds wild caught shell on wild caught shrimp

good olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 of a lemon to squeeze over the cooked shrimp

Preheat your oven to 400º. On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread the shrimp out into an even layer. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast for 10 minutes. Allow to cool, you can submerge in an ice bath to speed up the process, Peel the shrimps and devein. Squeeze with fresh lemon and serve with cocktail sauce…or any dip of your choice!

Enjoy!

Aperol Spritz

The spring I moved to NYC is still fresh in my mind. I worked nearly 6 different jobs by the time my first summer came to an end, I was told this was typical for New York living/working. The first restaurant I worked at was in the West Village on a small street, in a tiny location. It was an Italian establishment and very authentic. I remember learning what primi meant (pasta course) and how to pronounce fish in Italian, pesce -PEH/sheh. After a busy service evening I sat for my shift drink, a drink on the house which is a common practice of unwinding post shift. Our bar manager had just returned from a wedding in Italy and couldn’t stop talking about the drink he was served as a welcome to the reception, an Aperol Spritz. Three simple ingredients and a garnish, perfecto. I remember the bubbly feeling and the contrast of the bitter Aperol. I did some research when I got home and learned Aperol was a rhubarb forward liquer. This is not shocking as to why I enjoyed it so much, rhubarb is my jam. With the longer, warmer and brighter days upon us, I suggest adding this to your repertoire. You can even sub out the Aperol for Campari or rosé if you prefer. Saluti!

• 3oz Prosecco

• 2oz Aperol Liquer

• 1oz Sparkling Water

• An Orange Slice Or Peel

In a large wine glass filled with ice or one large cube, combine the first three ingredients and stir. Garnish with orange and serve.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Streusel Topping 🍓

Hello May! While I still wait for the sun to shine on a constitent basis here in NYC, I to took stock in what makes me happy. That’s right, go back to what you know, for me.....pie. My midwestern roots and love of spring rolled up into something so delicious and edible. This time though, I called in reinforcements.

Update to my favorite, a streusel topping to my strawberry rhubarb. Yes it’s delicious, yes it renders you speechless and yes change can be good! Follow along this recipe, I always make two pie crust discs even when one is only needed. I simply freeze the other until needed. The filling is my classic ratio and the topping is a riff on my much tried and true favorite streusel topping

Pie crust

Yields 2 9 inch discs

•2 1/2 cups a.p. flour

•2 sticks of chilled unsalted butter cut into cubes

•1/4 cup of brown sugar

•1 tsp of salt

•6-8 tbsp of cold water

Sift together flour, sugars and salt. Add the cubed butter into the mixture either using a pastry cutter to incorporate or your hands. Working quickly, mix all ingredients together until the butter starts to become pearl sized as it gets combined with the dry ingredients. Slowly add a few tbsp of cold water and mix together. Add more water till the mixture begins to be moistened through but not overly wet.  Separate the dough into two equal parts, wrap in plastic and refrigerate each disk for at least an hour-freeze one for later if making the streusel topping

While the dough rests make the filling

•1 quart of strawberries cleaned, stemmed and quartered

•3 stalks of rhubarb cleaned and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

•1/4 cup of sugar

•1/4 cup of brown sugar

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and place in the fridge for half an hour to allow the fruit to macerate

Topping

•1 cup of four

•1/3 cup granulated sugar

•1/3 cup brown sugar

•1 tsp salt

•1 stick of butter

•1/2 cup of quick cooking oats

•1/2 cup sliced almonds, plus a tbsp more for sprinkling

For the topping, place the flour, the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the oats, and work it with your hands until it's in large crumbles. Add 1/2 cup of the almonds and mix well

Preheat your oven to 375º. Take one disk of dough out of the fridge. Flour a clean, flat surface and roll the dough out.  Starting from the center with a floured rolling pin, you want to work out towards the corners. Once you get the dough to a desired thinness (a little less than a 1/4 inch) place in a buttered 9" pie dish.  If the dough hangs over the sides a bit don't worry you can trim it back later. Pour in the strawberry and rhubarb filling, then top with the streusel mixture, ensuring the fruit is covered, sprinkles remaining almonds. Bake for 40 minutes until the filling is juicy and bubbling. Let the pie rest and cook for at least an hour before slicing! #FindYourLittleFriday ♥️