The Gnocchi Tutorial

Details to come...but first, some photos from the evening.

Quick recipe:

2.5 lb potatoes (cooked, cooled, riced -- finished weight.  You'll need about 5 lbs potatoes to start.)
3 eggs
1.5 - 2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
Additional flour as necessary for rolling

 Cooked, riced, cooled potatoes -- 2.5 lb finished weight

Idaho russets, baked until soft, cooled slightly, halved, scooped out.
(Drizzle the leftover skins with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then baked at
350°F for about 20 minutes -- better than potato chips!) 

 Jeanne Z hard at work cutting the gnocchi!

 Rolling out a log of dough.

 The cut gnocchi, ready to be rolled/indented/dimpled to increase the surface area.

 The finished gnocchi, laid out on a linen cloth, ready to be cooked.

 

 Gnocchi al pomodoro

Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola

Chicken soup for supper -- simple and satisfying

Chicken soup for supper.

Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, sauteed for a few minutes until tender. Good, rich chicken stock, made from leftover roasted chicken, a handful of aromatics and herbs, and simmered low for a couple hours. Pastina. Cut-up chicken from the stock added back in.  Warmed through gently, and ready to serve.

Simple. Satisfying.

Sausage skillet supper

I made a simple supper the other night -- skillet-roasted sausages with sweet red bell peppers, onions, and potatoes.

1 lb pork sausage
2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered (hint, leave a bit of the root end on, and the quarters will remain coherent)
3 cloves garlic
2 medium red-skin potatoes

Even better, I used my new heavy-gauge steel skillet which I bought last week at Williams-Sonoma with a gift card.  Love it.

The sausages are from Martin's in Reading Terminal Market. They have an excellent selection of sausages.  I bought their luganega, which is a pork sausage with garlic, cheese, and parsley. 

Zap the potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes until tender. Quarter and let cool a bit. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, garlic powder, and drizzle some olive oil over, tossing to coat completely.

Start the sausages in an ovenproof skillet: add a bit of water, cover, and steam for about 5 minutes.  Uncover, and let the remaining water evaporate. Doing this gives the sausages a good head-start in cooking, so that once in the oven, all they need to do is brown. 

Drizzle in a bit of olive oil, then arrange sliced peppers, quartered onions, and the seasoned, quartered potatoes around.  Peel a few cloves of garlic, and add them whole to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle a bit of thyme over all.  Give it all a good stir. 

Roast in a 400°F oven for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sausages and potatoes are browned, and the vegetables are tender.  

and 

Happy Pi(e) Day!

 3.14 pies for you.

Morning at the Market

Busy morning at the Market....meat, veggies, fruit, coffee, bread, and a special treat--hot cross buns from Beiler's.

I did get there extra early -- 8 am, just as it opened -- because the Flower Show is still going on, and the crowds and parking later in the morning would make shopping impossible.  

Hot cross buns from Beiler's.

A quick breakfast of Old City coffee (extra cream, Splenda),
and a hunk of herb focaccia from LeBus.

Beiler's awesome whoopee pies.