Gnocchi

Ah gnocchi, the simplest little pasta going.  I remember back when I would buy vacuum sealed packages of it.  My life changed watching Michael Smith make it on one of his Food Network shows.  Even before he was finished making the gnocchi, I was in the kitchen baking a potato.  I didn't believe it could be that easy.  Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer.

Potato Gnocchi
What you need

• potato
• flour
• egg
• salt

Start boiling a big pot of water
Take a baked potato and mash it up (I've also nuked a potato.  I like to leave the skin on 'cause it's good for you)
Add an egg and some salt.  Keep mashing
Start adding flour until you get the consistency of non-sticky dough
Bust up into manageable pieces
Roll on a floured surface into a snake
Chop up the snake into bite sized pieces
Drop one at a time into the boiling water
When they rise they're done

Toss in some sauce and eat them.

Now I went as far as getting a gnocchi board

So when you have little bite sized pieces you roll them on the board before you plop them in the water to get little groves on each gnoccho to help grab onto sauce.

            comme ca

Now potato gnocchi is like carb on carb so I soon moved into ricotta gnocchi but I wouldn't just stop there.  Instead of potato one could puree some onion or celery use parsnips, turnip or celariac.  I just had an idea for some roasted garlic gnocchi that I have to try.

As for the sauce... whatever you want - a pesto, tomato, brown butter sage, cheese, mushroom pick one.

Pate a Choux Cheese Puffs

I blame Alton Brown.

What you need

• water
• butter
• flour
• cheese - pecorino, parmesean, romano (something hard)
• salt and pepper

Boil 1 cup of water
Toss in 3/4 stick of butter and as much salt as you feel like
Throw in 1 cup of flour and stir util you have a big firm ball (if too liquidy add more flour, if too firm add some water)
Let it cool a bit in the pot
Crack in one egg and work it in.
Crack in a second egg and work it in.
Add some grated peccorino, parmesean, romano, all three, or any hard cheese you feel like. And some pepper.
Now, you can either stuff this mix into a piping bag and squeeze out your profiteroles onto some parchment paper
Or, stuff it into a freezer bag, slice off a corner and squeeze away
Or, put some water in a bowl and with very wet fingers grab little balls of it and place on some parchment
They should be kinda round and smooth out the tops or any little pointy bits will burn
Preheat an over to 425 and toss in when it's at temperature
Five minutes later turn down to 350
When they look purdy they're done

And then you eat them all.  As Anne said, "These won't keep so we might as well finish them off."