Rosemary Gnocchi

 Left over mashed potatos...

Ever have one of those dinners where you really just went overboard on the potatoes?  Okay... I have a bit of a potato disability that causes me to always make more than enough of whatever potato dish I am working on... and that surely includes mashed potatoes.  Normally in my household, leftovers aren't a problem, however, mashed potatoes just are never as tasty the second time around.  So what do you do other than waste?  Well, today I chose to make gnocchi.  Yes it seems a little daunting, but honestly, it is my absolute favorite way to use leftover mashed potatoes.  It is a classic Italian dumpling and it is way easier and faster than any homemade 'pasta' I've seen!

Alright so dump the following ingredients into a large bowl:
-2 cups smoothly mashed potatoes
-1/2 cup parmesan
-1/2 to 1 cup of flour (depending on how moist your potatoes are, your dough should still be sticky but very thick)
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-2 tsp  dried rosemary
Mix it all well with your hands and then for my easy gnocchi making technique!

**A quick note of the rosemary:
I use dried because it has a stronger flavor than fresh and I can't grow anything for the life of me... but if you have fresh, feel free!  Also, it can be substituted if you have your own favorite herb (I also think thyme would be very nice...).  The trick for this is just to not overload with a herbal mix (Herbes de Provence, Italian) or more than probably two spices.  When that happens, I think the integrity of the individual spices is lost in simple dishes such as gnocchi.  Remember, less is more!  If you haven't experimented with single spice use, I really encourage you to do so!  You might be surprised at how much wonderful flavor can come from a single spice.

 Onto piping (of sorts)!

So I've seen various chefs on FoodNetwork make gnocchi, and I've watched many of them roll the potato dumpling mixture into long logs and then nicely slice it up into small little potato squares...  This is a fine method, but I find it tedious and completely unnecessary thanks to a wonderful sous chef on Iron Chef.  I had made gnocchi before, and used the log method, which worked fine but it just took a lot of time.  As I was watching Iron Chef one night, one of the sous chefs was making gnocchi and I saw him put the dumpling dough into a piping bag, squeeze it out and cut it into perfectly sized pieces over his boiling water.  Now, this may not make for perfectly uniform shapes and sizes, but really, do we need that?  Don't we want to keep the rustic feeling of gnocchi by making it a little rough around the edges?  Of course!  So, I took his technique and boy was I ever glad!  This was much faster and easier, and hey, the gnocchi still looked amazing at the end:

So drop the gnocchi in boiling, well-salted (ocean!) water and once they float give them no more than 90 seconds before taking them out.  Leaving them in too long will make them start to dissolve and fall apart which is obviously not good for eating, so take them out!  Then lather on your favorite sauce (or these would even be good in browned butter or just a simple parmesan topping) and eat your beautifully and rustically made gnocchi!

Mushroom Risotto

Risotto... worth the effort.

Alright, so this is my second major attempt at a risotto.  Success!  This proves my theory that risottos are worth the time and effort.  As I came out on the other end today, plating my success, I realized that risottos really aren't that difficult, nor do they take much more time than other dishes.  Just a little TLC and you've got a delectable meal on the way!

First, I have to give my two cents about the rice: buy it from World Market (one of my all-time favorite stores), not from your local grocer.  The first risotto I made (see here) I bought my rice at my local Safeway and paid over 7 dollars for the box!  A few weeks ago I was meandering the food section of World Market and came across the exact same arborio rice, for 3 dollars less!  Yes friends, it really does (usually) pay to buy your oriental food items from oriental food places.

Anyway, to make the risotto:  chop up one large onion and saute in EVOO for about 3-4 minutes or until just becoming translucent.  While it is doing its thing, chop up about 4 cups of your favorite mushroom(s).  I used white button and portabellas.  Add those to your large skillet and saute for about another 5-7 minutes or until just getting soft (everything in the pan might just be a dark blackish-brown at this point from your mushrooms--this is okay!).  Now add your rice (1 and 1/2 cup) and saute it for about 3-4 minutes.  Finally, deglaze your pan with about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of white wine.  As you add the wine, add in 1 tsp of marjoram, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste (you can add more later if you need to).

Alright, the deal is the same as last time from here.  As your are fixing up your veggies/rice, have 6-8 cups of chicken broth (you can substitute part of the liquid for plain water here if you want) in a large pot on medium heat so it is hot, but not boiling.  After you have deglazed your pan, add a ladle of broth at a time until it is soaked up.  Keep adding until your rice is al dente and saucey but not soupy.

Serve alone or with a nice juicy piece of chicken and enjoy!