Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Have you ever had gnocchi? (pronounced no-kee.... I think)  They are an Italian specialty made of potato and flour and then boiled in water. They have a sort of noodle or dumpling type texture and take most of their flavor from the sauce.

The first time I ever had gnocchi, they were "the real deal", that is made to perfection by an Italian family.  It was mid-afternoon in an Italian restaurant somewhere in the German city of Karlsruhe or its suburb Neureut.  Connie and Cati had taken me (and several of their friends) to Cati's family's restaurant.  I had never heard of gnocchi before, and I was fascinated by these tiny fat little pieces.  I don't know that I particularly believed their assertion that these tasty little noodles drowning in tomato sauce were actually made from potatoes.  Let me just say, they were really good, and (ahem) many years later they still hold a fond place in my memory bank of tasty foods I have had in my life.

Having heard me talk about them, my sister gifted me with a cute little gnocchi board this Christmas.  I am not sure that my  version of sweet potato gnocchi would pass muster against "the real deal" gnocchi, but they were very fun to make and quite cute with their orderly little ridges formed by my new gnocchi board.  While I did a more ad hoc, play it by ear kind of recipe making with this batch, I essentially modified this recipe from allrecipes.com. And used a video or two from youtube to figure out how use the gnocchi board.  

Since I wasn't so sure how a sweet potato gnocchi would go with tomato sauce, we served it instead with a spinach parmesan alfredo sauce.  (Basic white sauce with garlic powder, salt, parmesan and cooked spinach to taste.)  Lovely and comforting for a chilly winter afternoon.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

sweet potatoes
butter
flour

*peel and quarter several sweet potatoes
*boil in salted water
*mash sweet potatoes once soft
*allow butter to melt into the potatoes
*add flour in 1/2 cup batches until you have a soft workable dough

*roll piece of the dough into longer strips
*break off 1/2 " to 1" pieces
*roll the (well floured) pieces down over the gnocchi board with your thumb
*place the gnocchi on a tray or pan separated enough that they are not touching
*boil the gnocchi in a salted pot of water, allowing them to boil for about 3-5 minutes after they rise to the surface
*serve with your sauce of choice
*freeze any extra (uncooked) gnocchi  for another time

  

A Good Day for Some Cincinnati Chili

Well this is one meal Vanilla Bean better not touch.  Too many spices for her, but if you have a cupboard full of spices you haven't used in a while this one's for you.

A favorite of mine and the youth loved it after a fun afternoon of hunting and cutting down a Christmas tree and decorating it for me.

Ready to dig in.

An old recipe of my mom's from a magazine clipping:

1 lb ground round

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 clove garlic, minced

1 cup bbq sauce

1 cup water

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, grated

1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon

1/4 tsp each of ground cloves, ground coriander, ground cardamom

1 tsp salt

tomato juice, as needed

9 ox. spaghetti, cooked

16 oz can of small red beans

2 onions, chopped

1 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic.  Drain fat, add bbq sauce and water.  Bring to a boil and add spices.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve over spaghetti, topped with onions, red beans, and cheese for  five way Cincinnati chili.  

My NaNoWriMo Rebellion....or rather November musings...: Remnants of Biscotti

So I did some baking tonight.  Brownie Biscotti.  Yummy, yummy.  However, my short blog on it is at my November Nano Rebel site, so you will have to go there to check it out.

My NaNoWriMo Rebellion....or rather November musings...: Remnants of Biscotti: Disclaimer: Today you got two posts, because yesterday I fell asleep on the couch.  As Lydia would say, I put myself on punishment, no couc...

A Little Pre-Thanksgiving Survey

A little Thanksgiving survey since 'tis the season (soon)!
 

I am trying out some survey software through a program called REDCap for a "class" assignment over at coursera.org. It should only take about 2 minutes to complete. All answers are completely anonymous, but look for the combined results to be coming to a  blog post near you in the not too distant future...

Thanksgiving Survey Here      (link no longer available)

Addendum 1/12/14 Oops. Didn't post these result yet. Will post results in the next week or two!

Grandma's Shortcake...not much better...

Mmmm....strawberry season is upon us.  Yesterday, my mother and I took an excursion to visit Schnormeier Gardens - a private gardens that they open to the public one week a year.  On the way there we stopped at a produce stand and I spent an exorbitant amount($4.50) on strawberries compared to my mother who got some at MCC($2.50) earlier in the week, but they were enjoyable on our trip.  Today, when I stopped by mom's she whipped up a pan of shortcake and cleaned strawberries, while I went on a run (and walk) at the Wilderness Center with Colonel Mustard.  When we returned home, we feasted on Strawberry Shortcake, there is just something about mom's strawberry shortcake that I just love.  Mmmm...Mmmm...good.



Grandma's recipe for shortcake.

Fresh Strawberries, the first tastes of summer.

A delicious bowl of strawberry shortcake.

 Verna Weaver's Shortcake Recipe

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

3/4 c. milk

1/3 c. butter, melted

 

Combine dry ingredients.  In another bowl mix egg, milk, and butter together and then stir in to dry ingredients.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Serve with strawberries and milk.

 

 

 

A few shots from strolling through the meadow gardens yesterday.