Home Made Potato Gnocchi

This will be the second time I have been brave
enough to try and make Potato Gnocchi. The
first time was with my friend Christina.
This time my husband and I are going to
give it a try using the recommendations from
Cook's Illustrated.

Gnocchi:
2 lbs. russet potatoes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup flour plus 1 tbs. flour
1 tsp. salt

**1/4 cup ground hazelnuts (our addition)

Wash the potatoes. Poke them with a fork several times
and microwave them for about 7-10 minutes. Set your
oven to 450 degrees. Move the potatoes to the oven
and cook them for about 18 minutes. They are done
cooking when a fork slides into them easily.

Peel the potatoes while they are hot using a
potholder and pairing knife.

Then place the potatoes in a ricer and push
them out onto a baking dish to cool for
about 5 minutes.




Place 3 cups of the potatoes into a bowl.
Gently stir in 1 (lightly beaten) egg
until combined. Add the flour and tsp.
of salt to the mixture.**Add the ground
hazelnuts. Gently combine
these ingredients. Press mixture into
a ball and place it on a lightly floured
counter top. Knead the mixture until
it is smooth for about 1 minute. You can
add flour if the mixture becomes too sticky.

Place the ball on a cutting board and cut
the dough into 8 pieces.



Dust the counter
with flour and roll a piece of the dough
into 1/2 inch thick rope. Place the rope
back on the cutting board and cut it into
3/4 in. lengths. Roll the little pieces
down the tines of a fork to make the ridges.
Place the gnocchi on a baking sheet with
wax paper while you finish rolling the rest.



To cook the gnocchi you will boil a pot of water.
Add about a tablespoon of salt. Pour the gnocchi
in the water. the gnocchi will cook for about
1-2 minutes or until ir floats to the surface.

Add the gnocchi to your favorite sauce.


Browned Butter, Shallots and Sage Sauce

For our sauce I sauted shallots in a few
tablespoons of butter (3-4). I added some
chopped hazelnuts and sauted the mixture
for a few more minutes. Next, I poured in
about 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 tbs honey,a
pinch of nutmeg,1 tbs. of chopped sage,
salt and pepper to taste. Stir the ingredients
on medium high for about 3-4 minutes.
Toss the already cooked gnocchi in the sauce
and gently mix them around so they are coated
in the sauce.

Serve.

This is a great recipe because the gnocchi turn
out very light and yummy. I think our addition
of the hazelnuts was also very good and paired
nicely with the sauce we made.

Pasta with Asparagus, Corn and Tomato

What a great first week of school ~ busy ~ but GREAT!!
My husband has been getting home from work before
me and so he has graciously done the cooking this week.

This pasta recipe is very good and easy to make.
Most of the time, when I am planning meals for the week,
I try to find 3-4 new recipes because there are so many
good recipes out there still to be made.
However,this recipe is a repeat dinner for us which means
we both really liked it.


Pasta with Asparagus, Corn and Tomato
1 box Fusilli
1 bunch of asparagus
3/4 cup sweet corn (frozen or fresh)
cherry tomatoes

Cut the asparagus into thirds. Saute the asparagus in a pan with a a little butter and salt for about 4-5 minutes leaving it a little bit crunchy. Place the asparagus in a bowl. Then cook the corn for 2-3 minutes in the same pan. Pour the corn into the bowl with the asparagus. Dice the tomatoes into fourths and add them to the bowl.
Then boil the noodles in a large pot with a pinch of salt.

While the noodles are boiling make the dressing.

Creamy Parmesan Dressing1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon of garlic, finely grated
3/4 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
a pinch or two of dried oregano or basil
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients together.

Drain the noodles and pour them into the bowl with the vegetables. Pour half of the dressing over the pasta and mix it all together. Then pour the remaining dressing over the noodles so that they all have a nice coat of dressing. You can serve this pasta warm or cold. Top the pasta with a little more parmesan and black pepper.

This makes a nice, light pasta dinner and the leftovers are good too!

Peach Salsa

Did you know that each year Georgia
produces over 130 million pounds of peaches?


Did you know that 40 different varieties
of peaches are grown in Georgia?
There are Starlite, Flavorich, Georgiabelle,
Juneprince and Redskin just to name a few.

Today we bought a few Elberta peaches at the
local Farmer's Market and they were delicious.

I used them to make Peach Salsa which turned
out to be quite a treat.


Peach Salsa

4-5 peaches, chopped
2-3 Tbsp of chopped shallots
1-2 jalapenos, chopped (depends on how hot you want the salsa)
Juice of a lemon
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1-2 Tbsp grated ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon agave nectar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Finely chop the peaches, shallots and jalapenos and place in a bowl. Wash and chop the mint and add to the mixture. Peel and grate fresh ginger and it to the bowl. Add the sugar, agave nectar, lemon jucie, salt and pepper. Taste the salsa and see if any of the flavors need to be adjusted. Don't be afraid to add more of one of the ingredients.



This is a sweet salsa with a kick at the end.
We really liked it!!




You can serve this salsa with chips but it would also taste good over fish or chicken.

Beautiful Peppers and Tomatoes

There is a small Farmer's Market that sets up
behind our house on Saturdays for most of the summer.

About 7 -10 vendors come to sell local produce, soaps
and meats.

Today most of the venders were selling amazing
tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and peach.

I purchased a few of the peppers, tomatoes and corn.
We also bought some spicy sausage.

Look how beautiful my vegetables look.