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.
