Hey there!

Living in the Pacific Northwest has its benefits. We’re within 2 hours of mountains, fabulous camp grounds, THE OCEAN… There is more than likely a state park within 15 minutes of wherever you are. The Scenery is green almost all year ’round, with beautiful colours strewn about each season. And for those of us who like mid range temperatures, The weather is perfect for 11 out of 12 months.

The only real problem with the area, is that you never know when its going to rain. And when you can’t tell, then it is more than likely about to rain at any moment.

Today was one of those days. It was kind of rainy, kind of drizzley, kind of dark. But still beautiful outside, despite a sky full of rainclouds.

Days like these require special dinners. Dinners that fill you up, make you feel warm inside, but not so warm that you start sweating before you finish your meal. Really, today was what my grandma would call a “meat and potatoes” day.

I wasn’t really feeling the Meat part of the equation, so I decided thatneverbashfulwithbutter.comhttp://www.neverbashfulwithbutter.com today was going to be a potatoes kind of day. But I can’t just sit and eat mashed potatoes for dinner.
…Or rather, I COULD just sit and eat mashed potatoes for dinner, but I’ve been out of diapers for a long time now, and I’ve also given up on choice dinner selections as “cooked carrots” “Mashed peas” and “Hawaiian delight”. No Gerber baby food, I will not be preparing a meal with your new summer product line.

Thinking through my options, I decided on a simple dinner of Potato dumplings in a rich cheesy cream sauce. Otherwise known as-

Gnocchi in Alfredo.  Only.. a little different.

I made the Gnocchi with ricotta and potatoes, a little garlic powder and butter. When you make gnocchi, you don’t need to add any of that, all you really need is Potatoes, Flour and a bit of salt for seasoning…

For a while there, I was completely addicted to pre-made alfredo sauce. Then I got sick of it. Now I can’t stand the stuff, but I LOVE home made alfredo. Mine I made with a twist. Instead of Parmesan cheese, I used smoked mozzarella (scamorza) and Sharp provolone. There is no pepper in my alfredo, only dried oregano, parsley, thyme and garlic. Also, I used regular milk instead of cream, so there is so much less fat in it than canned alfredo.

Boil up your little gnocchi, then let them settle in a lightly oiled bowl, so they don’t stick together. Keep them as warm as possible.

I probably could have made the sauce beforehand, but I didnt. It was pretty quick though, so really there wasn’t much of an issue of time.

Probably the most important thing about the presentation of this dish is pouring the sauce into the bowl before adding the Gnocchi. This way you’re able to limit the amount of sauce you use (within reason) and the sauce doesn’t completely weigh down the fluffy little dumplings.
Season with some garlic powder, dried parsley and sliced sundried tomatoes.

..Also, If there is anything I’ve learned from my husband’s obsession with Olive Garden, its you NEED the garlic bread to sop up the extra sauce left on your plate… So don’t forget the garlic bread. *smile*

Now, a really important part of dinner, at least to me, is the beverage.
You don’t have to drink during dinner, but its important that between courses, or after you’ve eaten, you cleanse your palate.

So to go along with this rich, hearty potato and cheese dish, I’ve created a simple little cocktail to both clear out the flavour of, and compliment the flavour of dinner.

…And since a cocktail just isn’t a cocktail in this house without a funny name, this one is called-

The Lava Floe.

I know, I know.. Lava is hot, a “floe” is a flat sheet of polar ice.

But seriously, this Strawberry drink has a Lemony kick, and its REALLY COLD!

And its alcoholic.
Don’t worry, there is a non-alcoholic version too!

Mmm..

While gnocchi are simple to make, they’re a little more time consuming than other foods. There are many points you can start from, but I’ll detail the entire long form process, and give you all some good “cheats” that no one will ever notice.

First, you’ll need your recipe-

5 medium sized potatoes. (russets or yukon gold work best)
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-3 cups all purpose flour

Before you do much of anything, you’ve got to peel, chop and boil the potatoes. Remove any eyes or blemishes from the potato. You don’t want any skin or brown spots. Boil the potatoes as if you were making mashed potatoes.

When the potatoes break apart when pressed against the side of the pan, drain all of the water from the pan, and let the potatoes cool enough that you can touch them. Once they’ve cooled, grate the boiled potatoes with a cheesegrater. If you don’t have a cheesegrater, press them through a fine sieve, or use a potato ricer. This is called “ricing” because it breaks down the potato pieces into a size similar to a grain of rice. You want your potato dumplings to be smooth and creamy, so getting rid of lumps is a good idea, and much easier at this point than later on.

When the potatoes are completely broken down, add the ricotta, garlic, and salt. Mix well, ensuring even distribution of all ingredients.

Slowly add the flour in half cup increments. You do not want to “over flour” your potato dough. You want to add enough flour that the dough is soft, but not tacky to the touch. If your dough is still sticky after adding 3 cups of flour, add more. Be sure that as you begin to knead the dough, you’re doing so gently, because you don’t want the gluten in the flour to develop.

Once you’ve got a ball of dough-

Break that ball of down into more manageable pieces. Roll those pieces into ropes, and cut into 1″ pieces. Roll those 1″ pieces into balls-

And then roll those balls of dough over the back of a forks tines, to produce the distinctive Gnocchi shape, kind of like a little fist.

At this point, leave your potato dumplings on a floured board and let them dry for about 15-20 minutes as you prepare the Provolone Alfredo.

Recipe-

2 cups grated smoked mozzarella
3/4 cup grated sharp provolone
1 ounce laughing cow swiss processed cheese spread (or you could add cream cheese)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon each- dried oregano, thyme, sage and flat leaf parsley
1 dash of sea salt
1 cup milk (1% and up)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon flour

This sauce is easy, and it moves FAST.

Start out by melting the butter in a sauce pan. When the butter has melted, add the flour and stir until the flour has been completely distributed through the butter. As it browns slightly, add half of the milk, and all of the garlic, oregano, thyme, sage, flat leaf parsley and sea salt. Stir constantly. Add all of the cheese, and as it begins to melt, the rest of the milk. You’ll not want to turn the stove top heat above medium high, but you should bring the cheese mixture to a boil before placing the pan on a back burner and turning the heat to simmer, or one click above off.

Now you’ll want to boil your gnocchi. This part is easy. Bring a few quarts of water to a boil in a large sauce pan. salt the water slightly, and add the lightly dried gnocchi one piece at a time, making sure not to crowd the gnocchi as they boil. Allow them to boil only 30seconds to a minute, as most of the ingredients are already fully cooked (the potatoes) Strain the boiled gnocchi with a slotted spoon and either place directly onto the serving plate, individual dish, or into a lightly oiled storage container.

Plate your gnocchi by placing a spoonful of the alfredo into a bowl, and topping with about 10 or 15 gnocchi. They’re not super big, but they’re VERY filling. Top with sauteed sliced sundried tomatoes (the kind packed in oil) and season before serving with garlic bread, to sop up the extra alfredo (a guilty pleasure you shouldn’t deny your guests)

Be warned, these recipes will feed upwards of 4 very hungry adults.

As for the summertime sipper, We’ve named it the “lava floe” as its a kicky strawberry lemon dr ink served with frozen strawberries and made with chilled ingredients.

The alcoholic version-

1/2 cup liquid strawberry margarita mix
or 1 cup fresh strawberries w/tablespoon sugar
pureed
1 shot triple sec
2 shots lemoncello
1 shot vanilla, strawberry or citrus flavoured vodka
Blu’ moon lime essence sparkling water
10 small frozen strawberries

In a shaker, combine the triple sec, lemoncello and vodka, shake with ice.

Pour a 1/4 cup of the strawberry margarita mix or pureed strawberries into the bottom of two cocktail glasses. Top with the frozen strawberries. Pour the alcohol mixture over top and fill the rest of the glass with blu’ moon lime essence sparkling water. allow to sit 1-2 minutes before serving.

SO GOOD. Letting the strawberries sit in the alcohol allows them to thaw and macerate a bit, enhancing the sweetness and flavour of the drink. After you’ve taken a sip you’ll initially taste the strawberry, then you’ll have a kick of lemon in there. Surprisingly refreshing.
Serves 2.

For the non alcoholic version-

1 cup fresh strawberries, pureed with 1 tablespoon sugar
10 small frozen strawberries
Lemon or lime ade

Pour the strawberry puree into the bottom of two glasses (1/2 cup each)
place 5 frozen strawberries in each glass. Top off with lemonade or limeade. Stir before serving.

Enjoy!

-A..

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 1:55 am and is filed under May 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.