home made gnocchi

Some days are special. I knew when the mister was flipping through the Rao's cookbook yesterday it was indeed going to be one of those days. I don't know many husbands who say, "I think I'm going to make gnocchi today."  My excitement for the dish was far greater than my fear of what the kitchen would look like after he was finished. Gnocchi is one of my favorites. He went off to the market to gather his ingredients. He wasn't stopping at home made gnocchi, oh no, that was a mere appetizer to his orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage. Sunday supper with the mister. Sounds like a cooking show.

The recipe he used was for Gnocchi alla Romana. A semolina dumpling prepared Roman style. This required him to stir the semolina, milk, butter, salt and pepper constantly for about fifteen minutes or until the batter pulled away from the sides of the pan. There might have been some complaints about hand cramping, but I was busy with the little miss fingerpainting!

The batter was transferred to a pan and spread out evenly with a spatula.

Then it was time to let it cool. In between prepping his main dish, the mister took a few spins with the little miss to a few of her favorite songs while I washed some dishes.

Using a one-inch round cookie cutter, he cut out his little dumplings and put them on a greased cookie sheet where they were baked for about fifteen minutes. Once cooked and golden brown, he transferred them over to a baking dish and topped them with fresh mozzarella, put them in the broiler to melt, and then poured on some red sauce all while clementine and I "practiced" finding easter eggs.

Yum.

Our appetizer is served.

The gnocchi dumplings were so light and the flavor was amazing!

The rest of our dinner was equally delicious.

Besides being able to eat such a great meal, it was so fun to spend our Sunday afternoon together in the kitchen as a family.