Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce

I’ve mentioned once or twice (or a dozen) times before that while I didn’t grow up in an Italian family, I did grow up in an Italian neighborhood. And that was almost as good because I got all of the delicious food and the guilt was amply covered by my family. I’ve found that Jewish guilt and Italian guilt are practically interchangeable.

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola

It was a long time before I realized that pasta came in a box: my family never boiled pasta and my friends families made their own – at least on Sunday’s when I was around.  Gnocchi were one of the things that I didn’t even know existed on supermarket shelves until I started doing my own food shopping in college. Then I understood why they’re such a treat to make yourself at home.

I love making gnocchi with the kids, especially when they have friends over. It’s so hard to mess up and kids think that they’re playing with play-doh… it’s fun to be able to play with your food in the same way! Messy too (I have to control my OCD issues), but the entertainment value far surpasses the clean-up effort!

Enjoy!

Peel, boil & drain russet potatoes

Mash the boiled potatoes

Measure out 4 cups of AP flour onto a large, clean surface

Add cooled potatoes to the flour

Add eggs, salt and nutmeg to the potatoes and flour

Knead!

Knead I say

Roll into rope and cut into 1″ pieces (small hands help out!)

Potato Pillows of Happiness

Floating gnocchi

Gnocchi for everyone!

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola

Makes 8 large entree portions

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

4 pounds russet potatoes

3 medium eggs (or two large eggs)

2 cups AP flour (or GF AP flour)

2 teaspoons salt

pinch of ground nutmeg

.

.

1 cup heavy cream

16 ounce as crumbled gorgonzola

.

Optional

Chives

Parmesan

 

Gnocchi Directions

1. Peel potatoes and roughly cut them.

2. Put them into a large pot and cover with water. Cook until fork tender.

3. Drain potatoes.

4. Mash potatoes and let cool.

5. On a clean working surface, combine flour, mashed potatoes, eggs, salt and nutmeg.

6. Gently knead.

7. Break off piece and make a rope with it, about 1/2″-3/4″ thick. Using a knife, cut the rope into 1″ pieces. They should look like little pillows.

8. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

9. Working in batches (about 20-30 pieces at MOST), put the gnocchi pieces into the boiling water. The gnocchi will rise to the top when cooked. Remove with a large slotted spoon.

You can serve the gnocchi with a drizzle of (good!!!!) olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan… or you can take 4 minutes to make the easy gorgonzola sauce!

Gorgonzola Sauce Directions

1. In a small sauce pan, heat heavy cream on medium heat to a simmer. Add gorgonzola and remove from heat. Whisk until melted.

Serve over gnocchi. Garnish with optional chives and sprinkle grated parmesan.

Enjoy!

. 

Eat, Drink & Be Yummy!

Thai Curry Butternut Squash Soup

I love that butternut squash is readily available all year long. Butternut squash soup is a traditional dish at Thanksgiving for my family, topped with a small dollop of sour cream and sprinkled with bacon. Thanksgiving tradition is not something that I’m willing to tamper with!

Thai Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Outside of Thanksgiving traditions, variations for butternut squash soup are fantastic! This recipe, adapted from Cooking Light, is an easy, one pot dish that everyone will love.

Enjoy!

Thai Curry Butternut Squash Soup (prior to the immersion blender)

TJ’s Thai Red Curry Sauce

Thai Curry Butternut Squash Soup

 

Makes 16-20 servings

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large sweet onions, chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 bottle Trader Joe’s Thai Red Curry Sauce

8 cups Trader Joe’s Organic Vegetable Broth

3 packages 32 ounce fresh cubed butternut squash (6 pounds total)

1 (14 ounce) can Trader Joe’s coconut cream

Kosher Salt, to taste

Optional

chopped dry roasted peanuts

cilantro leaves

lime wedges

Directions

1. In a large pot (I used a 7 1/4 quart dutch oven), heat olive oil.

2. Add onion and saute for a 4-5 minutes, until softened.

3. Add ginger and saute for another minute.

4. Add Red Thai Curry Sauce and heat through.

5. Add butternut squash and broth and bring to a boil.

6. Reduce heat to a simmer and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until butternut squash has softened and cooked through.

7. Remove from heat.

8. Using an immersion blender, puree the onions and butternut squash. (Or, working in batches, use a standard blender to puree the mixture.)

9. Add the coconut cream and stir to combine.

10. Taste and add salt, if needed.

11. Optional: Serve with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts, cilantro and wedge of lime.

.

Enjoy!

.

Eat, Drink & Be Yummy!

.

Pulled Pork & Crispy Pork Rinds (Optional)

Pulled pork is one of my favorite and easiest crowd pleasing proteins! It requires about 5 minutes of hands-on time but a long cooking time. One pork shoulder can easily feed a crowd of 15, but it’s not just great for parties. It’s an easy protein to make when you have to cook for week of family meals. There are so many options for pulled pork: pulled pork with coleslaw, pulled pork sandwiches, quesadillas, tacos, mixed into tomato sauce… really, go nuts with it.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

My personal reward for such an easy protein are the Crispy Pork Rinds that follow. I’m fully aware that this is not the healthiest thing to eat, but my goodness, they’re delicious! I’m not even kidding myself that baking is healthier than deep frying them, it’s still a devilish treat!

Enjoy!

Pork Shoulder, lightly dusted with seasoning mix

Cover the shoulders with aluminum foil, put them into the oven and walk away. Overnight magic!!

Baked and beautiful pork shoulder

Remove the layer of fat

Remove the shoulder bone

On a layer of foil, place the cut pieces of skin, fat side down

Spread them out evenly

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until desired crispness is achieved

Sprinkle with a touch of kosher salt as soon as they come out of the oven

 

 

 

Crispy Pork Rinds

Pulled Pork with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Pulled Pork with Carrot, Pea Shoot & Broccoli Slaw

Pulled Pork Tacos with Avocado & Crema

Pulled Pork & Crispy Pork Rinds (Optional)

Feeds a small army

Ingredients

Bone In Pork Shoulder

Spice mixture:

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Paprika

1 Tablespoon Coriander

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder (Not the chili mix, straight chili powder)

2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper

(Based on this proportion, I make large batches and keep the mix in the pantry, in an airtight container)

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees

1. Spread the spice mixture all over the pork shoulder. (Thin layer of the spice mixture will do. No need to over-season the meat)

2. Place the pork shoulder in a deep baking vessel and cover tightly with foil.

3. Bake for 8-10 hours. (I bake mine overnight)

4. Remove from the oven and let cool.

5. Remove the skin. Set aside if you’re going to make pork rinds or discard.

6. Shred the pork shoulder into a bowl. Add some of the rendered juice, from the pan, to the shredded pork shoulder. Add the rendered juice in small increments.  For one shoulder, I usually add about a cup of the rendered liquid… you might like your meat juicier!

Optional:

7. Cut the skin into pieces, about 2″ x 2″.

8. Place the pieces, fat side down, on a foil lined baking sheet.

9. Bake at 350 until crispy, about 30-45 minutes.

10. Sprinkle with kosher salt as soon as they come out of the oven.

Enjoy!

.

Eat, Drink & Be Yummy!

.