Gnocchi!

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The people staying here last month left a bag of potatoes, so of course we must make gnocchi! My grandmother made this for us before I ever saw gnocchi on a menu. The first time I ordered it in a restaurant, I was surprised to see it and said, just like she did, “Gnawkey” — she was from Memphis (although her parents were both Italian immigrants). Now I know how to say it correctly, and I was pleased to find that I can make them just as well as she did! I found a recipe on epicurious. I don’t remember my grandmother putting parmesan in her dough, but maybe she did. I figured it certainly couldn’t hurt!

3 large (or several small) potatoes: boil until soft, then mash lightly. I started to peel mine before boiling them, then thought, why? I like the skin. So boiled them with their skin. When I started to mash them, the skin started coming off, so I removed the large pieces (and ate them). I added a little olive oil to the boiling water as well.

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Beat together:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Add the egg to the potato and mix well. Then stir in
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Knead in another cup of flour until you have soft dough. Don’t knead for more that 3 minutes.

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Divide into six pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope. Cute the rope into smallish 1″ pieces, then roll the small piece with your thumb to shape it.
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Use lots of flour to keep stuff from sticking! I boiled a pot of water with a half of a chicken bullion cube. Cook the gnocchi until they float to the top. They should be tender but firm (and tasty)!
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Unfortunately, my assistant didn’t chop enough tomatoes for the sauce, so it was mostly meat, which is ok, but it wasn’t as flavorful as last night’s. I had also added fresh basil and the remains of last night’s wine, along with the usual onion, garlic and balsamic vinegar.

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While eating I added more basil, and the secret ingredient, obtained from the balsamic vinegar factory we visited last summer.

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After dinner, I chopped up the remaining six tomatoes and cooked them with a little water and salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. Added the left over meat and now it’s resting on the stove, and looking a lot more like spaghetti sauce!

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