Gnocchi, Lofty Fare Or Peasant's Delight?

Basic gnocchi, as pictured, are comprised of a handful of kitchen staples.  As daunting as they may seem, gnocchi can be whipped up in virtually no time  and require no special equipment to make.  As I was rolling them out last night, I was musing to myself how inexpensive and relatively easy they were to make.  If you have eggs, flour and a couple baking potatoes on hand you're 99% there.  Below, please find my basic gnocchi recipe.  I like to serve these with red sauce, buerre blanc or even pesto.  They're very versatile!




Rachel's Basic Gnocchi

Two large russet potatoes (approximately two pounds total)
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste

Bake the potatoes.  Pierce the potatoes with a sharp knife all over and bake for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Alternatively, you can put them in a microwave safe baking dish with 1/4 cup of water and microwave on high for about 10-15 minutes until soft and cooked throughout.  Let the potatoes cool until they can be handled and peel off the skins.  If you have a potato ricer, food mill or even a colander with large holes, push the warm potatoes through the holes in to a medium size mixing bowl.  If you do not have one of these tools, no worries.  You can skip this step and use a spoon to gently mash the potatoes.  The key here is to eliminate as many lumps as possible without over-processing the potatoes.  Mix the egg yolks, salt and pepper in to the potatoes.  Add the cup of flour and knead.  The dough should come together but be soft but not sticky. Add up to another 1/4 cup of flour until it is not sticky.  Start a large pot of salted water to boil.   
 
On a floured surface roll the dough in to a single rope about 3" in diameter.  Cut the dough in to six even sections.  Roll each section in to it's own rope about an 1" in diameter and cut at 1" intervals.  Gently roll each of these pieces off the back of a fork and allow to dry on a floured surface for 20 minutes. Have your sauce ready.  Begin to cook the gnocchi in three batches.  The gnocchi will sink to the bottom of the pot of boiling water and then rise to the top.  After about 2 minutes they're done.  With a slotted spoon, remove to the serving bowl.  Once all the gnocchi are finished, sauce them in the serving bowl.  Serves 4.           

Super Buttery Pecan Toffee Recipe

2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 pound unsalted butter
2 cups toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup water
12 oz. good quality semi-sweet chocolate in chip form or bar form chopped fine.

Line two large sheet pans with foil.  Spray with non-stick spray or grease with butter.  In a large (6 quart+), heavy pot or sauce pan add all the ingredients except for the chocolate and pecans.  Bring to a steady boil stirring constantly.  Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot.  Continue to boiling stirring constantly until the thermometer reads 305  which is the hard crack stage.  Remove the pot from heat and add the nuts stirring briskly to distribute.  Immediately pour the hot candy, distributing it evenly between the two baking pans.  Using a heat proof spatula, spread the candy as thinly as possible without  breaking it.  After about two minutes, sprinkle the chocolate bits/chips evenly over the top of each sheet of hot toffee.  Allow to sit for another minute or two and with an offset spatula, gently spread the melted chocolate evenly over the top.  Spread to the edges.  Allow to cool at room temperature until chocolate is solid and toffee is completely cooled.  Break in to pieces and store at room temperature.  Makes approximately 3 pounds.  

Malbec Wine Poached Fuyu Persimmons

Malbec Wine Poached Fuyu Persimmons With Star Anise, Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean and Orange Zest.

Recipe as follows:

6-8 medium Fuyu persimmons

3 cups red wine

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 whole star anise

1 vanilla bean

2" strip of orange zest

Peel, stem and quarter the persimmons. Add all ingredients to a heavy, large pot. Simmer on over low heat until the persimmons are tender and the wine mixture has reduced by half. Serve persimmons and syrup over ice cream, puddings, pancakes, oatmeal, or enjoy them by themselves. If you have a Fuyu persimmon tree: 1. I am jealous. 2. this is a great gift to jar and give away.  Cheers!