I do love to cook and Fall is the perfect season to make sweet potato gnocchi. Frankly, I could eat these pillows of goodness any time of the year and so I did! I don't know why I waited so many years to make these from scratch. I just needed the motivation I received after a trip to Italy in 2004. The last day before flying out of Rome, hubby and I literally ran around the Eternal City to take in as much as we could. We ended up on a vibrant (busy and noisy) street just in time for lunch. We chose a sidewalk cafe and I proceeded to order their special which was delicate gnocchi drenched in a blue cheese sauce sprinkled with mushrooms. Molto bene!
Gnocchi is one of the easiest pastas to make from scratch. No rolling with a machine, no fancy tools although I did invest in a gnocchi board to get those nice grooves that sauce sticks to readily.
I could provide the actual recipe, but there isn't one. I put about a cup of roasted sweet potato with one egg into my food processor. Give it a whirl and begin to add flour to get a somewhat stiff batter. I add a bit of salt and pepper and sometimes a pinch a grated nutmeg, stir and refrigerate for a couple of hours. The dough may be quite soft. Turn onto a board dusted with additional flour and cut off a piece of dough, roll into a "fat pencil" shape. Cut your gnocchi into serving pieces. If you have a "gnocchi"board use that but don't let the lack of one deter you from making these. Make "rustic" pieces just by slicing them.
To freeze them for later I put them on a parchment lined sheet pan and place it in the freezer. After they are frozen transfer them to a plastic bag. When you want to cook them drop them into boiling water; they will rise to the top when done. These are good with a brown butter sage sauce or some gorgonzola cheese sprinkled on top! Enjoy!
Dear Favorite Place, Oh, how I've missed you! You've been a great friend over the years and I owe you an apology. My original intent for writing this blog has always been to compile my recipes and gather the recipes of my ancestors, put them in one place for eternity for generations to come. One of the main reasons for not updating my posts is because I've been taking care of my new grand baby, Ryann. She is truly my heart and her smile makes my heart dance! I can hardly wait to teach her what I know from the culinary world. I especially want her to know about my grandmothers, their recipes and the special relationship I had with them.
One grandmother was French through and through, very prim and proper, but knew how to have fun. She loved her sweets and I spent as much time as I could watching her whip up her rice krispy squares, fried chicken, and lemon chiffon pie, etc. I don't have any recipes of hers that were saved, unfortunately. From what my mom has said, she was a very good cook but Grandpa was only interested in his meat and potatoes, not a fancy French inspired meal!
My other grandmother, Emma, a single widow for many years would come over for most birthdays and bring her specialty dishes from her Czech heritage. Lentils, peach dumplings, red cabbage and at Christmas time she'd make a large bowl of her eggnog! Her sauerkraut was the best! I have a few Czech cookbooks and a handwritten recipe for red cabbage that I received from Grandma..
If I can be of this caliber of a grandmother for Ryann she will hopefully have many wonderful memories and my job will be done! I have almost perfected some recipes from my husband's Italian heritage. Years ago I would never have even tried to make Italian because my mother-in-law made the best. After a few trips to Italy I learned some tricks and gained more interest for Italian cooking. Now, I believe, I can hold my own in that arena.
Today my son was reminiscing about some of the meals I would make when he was a young boy. Evidently he was fond of my chicken broccoli casserole and rice pilaf. He showed an interest in cooking when he was 3. We'd move a chair close to the stove (but not too close) so he could watch and help me stir the scrambled eggs. He now owns a deli and ice cream shops where he comes up with some unique and interesting flavors like rosemary chocolate chip, chocolate curry, thai tea, blueberry pancake and the list goes on and on!
I gaze at my beautiful grand daughter as she approaches 12 months old and wonder what she will be like. No matter what, she'll have generations of culinary talent behind her and I secretly hope she'll appreciate her varied heritage and the family of her past. She is a beautiful spirit!
