So, this weekend, the one thing my wife really, really wanted was homemade gnocchi. Not sure why she was craving it, but when I asked her what she wanted me to cook for her this weekend, that was what she wanted. Always happy to oblige, I immediately started thinking about the possibilities.
The first thing that sprang to mind was a simple brown butter sauce with sage. I’ve never tried it before, but it always seemed like a surefire winner with the gnocchi. But that left open the question of what to serve with it…that alone really isn’t a main course. So I started thinking along the lines of a Bolognese sauce. Not an Americanized spaghetti sauce, mind you, but an authentic Bolognese sauce, starting with a mirepoix of celery, onions, and carrots, and slowly coaxing maximum flavor from ground pork, beef, and maybe veal or lamb. A real Bolognese has no oregano or garlic, or any of the other seasonings we typically associate with that sauce. Nor is it overly tomatoey…my favorite Bolognese sauce recipe is from Saveur magazine (number 110, April 2008), which is “Anna Nanni’s Ragu alla Bolognese.” It is fantastic, and has only 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. It is utterly sublime over homemade gnocchi. But I digress…
I floated the idea of the gnocchi with the Bolognese sauce with Susan, and got only a lukewarm response. Her tummy doesn’t respond well to too much rich foods, and I think she was hoping for something a bit less fatty. Hmmm…back to the drawing board for me. I thought of all the things that go great with gnocchi…fontina cheese, pesto, etc….and I figured they all would be a bit too rich for this weekend.
So I started thinking about chicken…perhaps roasting one, and having the gnocchi on the side. But what to do with the gnocchi? Then it hit me…why not pull the chicken out of the roasting pan, and then put the gnocchi into the drippings, toss, and then roast? And, perhaps throw some fresh sage leaves into the mix? Susan also wanted asparagus to go with her chicken, so I figured I could parboil the asparagus, blanch it, and then throw it into the gnocchi / chicken drippings mix, and roast until hot.
By the way...if you've never made gnocchi before, I'll let you in on a secret....never boil your potatoes....bake them instead. I once tried to quickly boil small chunks of potatoes, and ended up with water-soaked potatoes. There wasn't enough flour in the world to bind the mashed potatoes into a dough that I could roll into gnocchi...it all had to get tossed. Then I read a recipe that had you bake the potatoes, let them cool, peel them, mash them, and combine with flour...that worked way more better, and I've never looked back. So, never boil, always bake, and add just enough flour to bind the potatoes, and you will have wonderful gnocchi.
That is essentially what I did, and it turned out pretty darn good. Except for the sage…that was waaaaay too strong. Normally, when I use fresh sage when I roast a chicken, I throw it on quartered red potatoes, and let it cook the entire time…that way the flavor is milder and the leaves are crispy and good. This time, after only a few minutes of cooking, the sage was raw and overpowering…I found myself shoving them to the side of the plate (as did Susan, who is usually a fresh sage freak). The gnocchi, though, immersed in the chicken juices, was very flavorful. So next time, I’m going to forego the fresh sage, and just use the chicken drippings to flavor the gnocchi.
Tonight, we decided to do homemade pizza. I used my favorite recipe for the crust, from “The New Best Recipe,” from the folks who do “Cooks Illustrated” magazine. I threw the dough together in my Cuisinart, and let it rise in a warm oven for about an hour. I had a couple toppings in mind…a leek/onion/tomato mixture for Susan and I, and a straightforward cheese pizza for my son Nick. I had also promised Nick that he could help, so he was very excited about cooking with Dad.
After getting the pizza dough started, I cleaned and chopped the leeks and onions. I threw those into some hot olive oil with salt and fresh ground pepper, and let that caramelize. I got Nick started with a very simple tomato sauce for his cheese pizza…a single can of tomato sauce with another can of tomato sauce, combined with a bit of garlic salt, some summer savory (‘cause I was out of oregano!), some dried basil, and a hit of fresh ground pepper. Then I had Nick form his pizza crust (see the pics). We pre-baked the crust on a hot stone (heated at 500F for about 45 minutes), and after about 5 minutes, pulled it from the oven, sauced it and cheesed it, and then slid it back in to finish.
While Nick’s pizza was cooking, I got going on the other pizza. I formed it, and got it on my pizza peel, and stabbed it several times to keep it from puffing. When Nick’s pizza was done, I slide mine in, and decided to go chill out by the computer with a glass of Pinot Noir. I waltzed back into the kitchen, and almost had a heart attack…my pizza dough had puffed to almost 5 inches in height! Egads! I pulled it immediately, and attacked with a fork. Fortunately, I was able to deflate it without too many issues, and started topping it. I poured the leek and onion mixture over it, and then added sliced roma tomatoes. I covered those with parmesan cheese, then shredded mozzarella, and finally a handful of dried basil. I slid that into the oven, and cooked until the cheese started to brown a bit.
It turned out pretty good. The tomatoes could have been a tad thinner…the slices were a bit thick, but overall, the complete package was fairly tasty. Nick’s cheese pizza was really good…I threw on some parmesan on that as well, and the final product was really good. It all reminded me how easy and good homemade pizza can be.
The first thing that sprang to mind was a simple brown butter sauce with sage. I’ve never tried it before, but it always seemed like a surefire winner with the gnocchi. But that left open the question of what to serve with it…that alone really isn’t a main course. So I started thinking along the lines of a Bolognese sauce. Not an Americanized spaghetti sauce, mind you, but an authentic Bolognese sauce, starting with a mirepoix of celery, onions, and carrots, and slowly coaxing maximum flavor from ground pork, beef, and maybe veal or lamb. A real Bolognese has no oregano or garlic, or any of the other seasonings we typically associate with that sauce. Nor is it overly tomatoey…my favorite Bolognese sauce recipe is from Saveur magazine (number 110, April 2008), which is “Anna Nanni’s Ragu alla Bolognese.” It is fantastic, and has only 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. It is utterly sublime over homemade gnocchi. But I digress…
I floated the idea of the gnocchi with the Bolognese sauce with Susan, and got only a lukewarm response. Her tummy doesn’t respond well to too much rich foods, and I think she was hoping for something a bit less fatty. Hmmm…back to the drawing board for me. I thought of all the things that go great with gnocchi…fontina cheese, pesto, etc….and I figured they all would be a bit too rich for this weekend.
So I started thinking about chicken…perhaps roasting one, and having the gnocchi on the side. But what to do with the gnocchi? Then it hit me…why not pull the chicken out of the roasting pan, and then put the gnocchi into the drippings, toss, and then roast? And, perhaps throw some fresh sage leaves into the mix? Susan also wanted asparagus to go with her chicken, so I figured I could parboil the asparagus, blanch it, and then throw it into the gnocchi / chicken drippings mix, and roast until hot.
By the way...if you've never made gnocchi before, I'll let you in on a secret....never boil your potatoes....bake them instead. I once tried to quickly boil small chunks of potatoes, and ended up with water-soaked potatoes. There wasn't enough flour in the world to bind the mashed potatoes into a dough that I could roll into gnocchi...it all had to get tossed. Then I read a recipe that had you bake the potatoes, let them cool, peel them, mash them, and combine with flour...that worked way more better, and I've never looked back. So, never boil, always bake, and add just enough flour to bind the potatoes, and you will have wonderful gnocchi.
That is essentially what I did, and it turned out pretty darn good. Except for the sage…that was waaaaay too strong. Normally, when I use fresh sage when I roast a chicken, I throw it on quartered red potatoes, and let it cook the entire time…that way the flavor is milder and the leaves are crispy and good. This time, after only a few minutes of cooking, the sage was raw and overpowering…I found myself shoving them to the side of the plate (as did Susan, who is usually a fresh sage freak). The gnocchi, though, immersed in the chicken juices, was very flavorful. So next time, I’m going to forego the fresh sage, and just use the chicken drippings to flavor the gnocchi.
Tonight, we decided to do homemade pizza. I used my favorite recipe for the crust, from “The New Best Recipe,” from the folks who do “Cooks Illustrated” magazine. I threw the dough together in my Cuisinart, and let it rise in a warm oven for about an hour. I had a couple toppings in mind…a leek/onion/tomato mixture for Susan and I, and a straightforward cheese pizza for my son Nick. I had also promised Nick that he could help, so he was very excited about cooking with Dad.
After getting the pizza dough started, I cleaned and chopped the leeks and onions. I threw those into some hot olive oil with salt and fresh ground pepper, and let that caramelize. I got Nick started with a very simple tomato sauce for his cheese pizza…a single can of tomato sauce with another can of tomato sauce, combined with a bit of garlic salt, some summer savory (‘cause I was out of oregano!), some dried basil, and a hit of fresh ground pepper. Then I had Nick form his pizza crust (see the pics). We pre-baked the crust on a hot stone (heated at 500F for about 45 minutes), and after about 5 minutes, pulled it from the oven, sauced it and cheesed it, and then slid it back in to finish.
While Nick’s pizza was cooking, I got going on the other pizza. I formed it, and got it on my pizza peel, and stabbed it several times to keep it from puffing. When Nick’s pizza was done, I slide mine in, and decided to go chill out by the computer with a glass of Pinot Noir. I waltzed back into the kitchen, and almost had a heart attack…my pizza dough had puffed to almost 5 inches in height! Egads! I pulled it immediately, and attacked with a fork. Fortunately, I was able to deflate it without too many issues, and started topping it. I poured the leek and onion mixture over it, and then added sliced roma tomatoes. I covered those with parmesan cheese, then shredded mozzarella, and finally a handful of dried basil. I slid that into the oven, and cooked until the cheese started to brown a bit.
It turned out pretty good. The tomatoes could have been a tad thinner…the slices were a bit thick, but overall, the complete package was fairly tasty. Nick’s cheese pizza was really good…I threw on some parmesan on that as well, and the final product was really good. It all reminded me how easy and good homemade pizza can be.
It was all delightful, though I would have enjoyed a bite of Nick's pizza...if you'd left me any.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for humoring me on the gnocchi. Yum.
Yum! Can I come over for dinner at your house???
ReplyDeleteChristy