Gnocchi Dokey

I've always wanted to try making gnocchi, but was intimidated by the horror stories I heard from others. The phrase "pasty mess" was not a confidence builder. But, I finally decided to face my fears and give it a shot.

After reading multiple recipes, I decided to take the best ideas from each and jump right in. My favorite recipe said that the whole process could be completed in less than 15 minutes. This gave me courage. If it was going to suck, at least I wouldn't have invested a whole lot of time.

The recipe I ended up using was a little bit from a number of recipes.

Here's what I ended up with:

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2. t salt

1- 1 1/2 c. flour

a bit of freshly grated nutmeg

Mix the ricotta, egg, Parmesan and salt.

Add enough flour to make a soft dough.

Divide the dough into fourths.

Take each fourth and roll to make a long dough snake about the size of your middle finger.

Slice it into 3/4 inch dumplings.

Toss dumplings into a pot of boiling salted water.

Remove as soon as they float to the top.

Baby gnocchi waiting for their bath.

Another shot of the gnocchi resting. Oh yes, there is no butter in the recipe. That was for the sauce. I guess I forgot to tell you about my Better Than Sex Gorgonzola Sauce.

These are so light to the touch at this point. The feel like little feather pillows.

At this point let me apologize for my lack of manicure. Oh, and the carrots in the upper right corner of the picture are also not used in gnocchi. They are used to keep the cook from snacking on the Gorgonzola for the Better Than Sex Gorgonzola Sauce.

The petunias in the bottom right are hiding out from the freeze they are promising us for tonight. Their snap dragon cousins are hanging out in the living room.

Here is the finished product. The gnocchi was light and fluffy. The Better Than Sex Gorgonzola Sauce was killer. The only thing I would change is to add some fresh radicchio next time.

Oh yes. The recipe for the Better Than Sex Gorgonzola Sauce.

1 c. heavy cream

2/3 c. Gorgonzola

1 T. butter

Put in a sauce pan over low heat. Swirl occasionally until cheese and butter are melted and combined with the cream. Pour over gnocchi. Or pour over bread. Or pour over anything you have handy. Enjoy.