Homemade gnocchi

I love gnocchi. Love it more than pasta because of the soft, dense but chewy texture. I found an easy enough looking recipe online, and I decided it would be a good place to begin my quest.

Homemade Gnocchi

1 or 2 medium baking potatoes
1 egg
1 to 1 1/2 cups flour (check the consistency of the dough, as more as needed)

Peel and boil potatoes until fork tender. Use mesh sieve or potato ricer to work potatoes through (I pushed mine through a mesh strainer). Mix well with egg. Add flour and mix. Once flour is incorporated, moved dough to well-floured surface and knead. Let dough stand for 15 minutes.











Take a section of dough, and roll out to an inch thickness, and cut 1/2 inch pieces. Press fork tongs into gnocchi pieces. Throw into salted boiling water for 2 minutes.

How did mine turn out? Pretty well, I think! I probably could have used a bit more flour in my dough, but I was pleased. Topping possibilites are endless. I topped mine with a tablespoon of butter, chopped fresh thyme and rosemary, squeeze of fresh lemon, and a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Tasted so clean and light despite the dense gnocchi. I served with roasted brussel sprouts. Yum!










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My Kitchen Wishlist

I got married in April, and my registry consisted mainly of kitchen goodies for me (and I suppose by default for my husband, since he gets to eat the fruits of my labor).  Unfortunately, we still don't have a lot of room for everything that we received, but I have taken a few of my favorite thing that I use frequently.  They include my Wusthof Chef's knife, wooden cutting board, nonstick skillet, and my Le Creuset dutch oven.  Love.  Love deeply. 

Somehow, though, my wishlist has continued to grow....



The king of all mixers



For all the bread I plan to make!



A real multi-tasker.



The Rolls Royce of steak knives.

A longer list could easily be made, but it's time to not be greedy.....  The top of my wishlist? 



I lust, I yearn, I burn.....

The beginning of my story

Why, hello, friend, fellow blogger, random happen-uponer of my ramblings. My name is K, and I am a 28 year old wife, nonprofit employee, and budding home cook. I love food, recipes, cookbooks, food blogs, magazines.... anything that I can get my hands on. Until I was 22 years old, my cooking skills were limited to Easy Mac, frozen pizza, and take out. After going to law school and getting my first apartment, I began to watch the Food Network, and I got excited about cooking. My mother, grandmother, and aunt were all terrific cooks, and I finally decided that I wanted to join their club. There have been many missteps along the way and a 1.5 year cooking hiatus while I moved back in with my mother and got treatment for cancer. After moving into my first apartment with my husband, I decided one of the things that I wanted to bring to our family was a strong tradition of home cooked meals. I began by following recipes to the T, and I have gradually become confident enough to begin inserting my own touches to recipes. I'm still no culinary master, but I think I've grown in my ability to cook intuitively.

However....

I'm still lazy on a lot of nights, and I turn to things like frozen pizza, take out, or restaurant cooking. Those things not only waste money, but they also waste my waistline. I also have a problem in the other direction of spending entirely too much at the grocery store on items that I only use once and discard. My goal is to not only eat the majority of the meals at home, but also to become budget wise by shopping seasonally, clipping coupons, reading the weekly circular for deals, buying ingredients with multiple uses, and purchasing more food locally. It is my goal to chronicle this journey in this blog, and hopefully inspire others to become home-cooking savvy and penny wise. I know there won't be perfection every step of the way, and I also plan to highlight any special restaurant meals that I eat. Emphasis on making restaurant meals "special" instead of ordinary.

Thank you for joining me along this journey!