Gnocchi w/ Shrimp in Tomato-Wine Sauce

The first time I had gnocchi was at a friend's house for homecoming my senior year of high school. Our little group of friends loved going there for dinner. His mom & dad would prepare a feast for all of us, light candles & create the most special dinners for us. We loved  the time & energy they would put into the food & atmosphere. From a parenting standpoint, how awesome is that? I want to create an atmosphere for my kids & their friends to want to hang out. Momma Perez will be handing their little friends hot tortillas. :)


So..back to homecoming. This was the first time I had Gnocchi...those soft, doughy dumplings are right up my alley. 


[I'm wild about carbs, might die without them]


Since then I've ordered them at restaurants but I've always wanted to make them & tonight was the perfect time. We were out of food, but had these ingredients & of course, all I ever want & think of is Mexican...So I was wondering around the kitchen thinking about what we did have & this delicious dish was created. 


At one point I thought it was a disaster & I actually felt awkward & like Curious George making Gnocchi, but the dough is so forgiving. I almost gave up in the middle, but they turned out great. Don't be discouraged if you feel like a total wreck the first time you make these little darlings.


Whenever I get a wild hair for something, I go to: www.allrecipes.com


I found the Gnocchi instructions here.

THE GNOCCHI:

Ingredients:

2 Potatoes

2 Cups Flour

1 Egg (beaten)

Directions: 

Wash & peel 2 potatoes

Cut potatoes in 1/2, long ways.

Then into 6's.

Start with the potatoes in cold, salted water

Bring it to a boil & cook for 15 minutes or until fork-tender & soft enough to mash

Mash the potatoes

Add 1 Cup of mashed potatoes with the egg & flour

Kneed on well floured surface

Take small sections & roll into long, skinny, "snakes"

Keep rolling, gotta get it skinnier..

Cut "snake" into 1/2, then 1/4's.

Then the 1/4's into 1/3's...

I'm not sure what I was doing here..but I always see chefs roll the gnocchi on the fork, so I tried something like it

Drop them into well-salted, boiling water & cook until the little dumplings float.

Remove from the pot & place directly onto the serving plate or bowl & top it with any sauce. I have included my quick tomato-wine sauce w/ shrimp below...

Tomato in White Wine Sauce: 

1. Dice 1/4 White onion in olive oil, add 1 clove garlic & cook for 30 seconds.

2. Pour 1/3 C white wine to the cooked onion & garlic. Bring it to a boil & cook the alcohol out of the wine. 

3. Add 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes & 5 large basil leaves, rolled & cut into thin chiffonades. 
4. Simmer 30+ minutes. Just minutes before eating, add shrimp to the pan. Add a splash of stock, maybe another splash of wine...season with salt. 

Serve w/: Crusty bread, the wine you cooked with & double the sauce if you want enough to soak it up with the yummy bread or of course for left overs.