As for the gnocchi, which I made on the same night as the Chocolate Cookies with Grapefruit and Star Anise, I would recommend them to anyone, with a couple notes. The gnocchi turned out surprisingly well and the recipe was very easy to follow releasing us with hundreds of pillowy gnocchi which we sprinkled with parmesan cheese. But, as Micah pointed out, it was missing something. Meat. Usually, I eat pasta by itself, but for some reason I felt as though this dish did need some meat and the duck confit they suggested as one of the alternative ways to make it, sounded pretty amazing. Unfortunately, I don't think duck confit will be appearing to me any time soon so the next time I make these gnocchi I think I'll make them either as a side dish or with some chicken or pork. That being said, though not traditional gnocchi since we didn't make them with potatoes, these gnocchi were delicious and not too hard to make.
Gnocchi Parisienne
(recipe found in Robert Sinskey Vineyards Book) apparently goes well with Pinot Noir (oh the perks of working for a winery)
Serves 4-6
Ingredients1 ¼ cup water
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter; pluss additonal for serving
2 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan plus additional for serving
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Directions
1) Bring the water, butter and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2) Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour
3) Return the pan to medium high heat and stir until batter pulls away from the side of the pan. Scrape into the bowl of a standing mixer. Turn the mixer on and allow the paddle to cool the dough slightly for about a minute
4) On low speed, add the eggs one by one. After each egg is added increase the speed to medium and beat until the egg is incorporated. The eggs may also be beaten in by hand. Beat well after all eggs have been added. (We, or Dan rather, beat it by hand and it worked fine)
5) Add the grated cheese and herbs. Beat until well incorporated.
6) Spoon the batter into a large piping bag fitted with a ½ inch wide tip. Place a rubber band tightly around the open end of the bag to prevent the batter from squishing out the back end. (This part is critical for squeezing the gnocchi out quickly and evenly)
7) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Squeeze the bag 6-inches from the top until about ½ inch length of batter is exposed. Dip the tip of a small knife into the boiling water and using the flat edge of the piping tip as a guide, cut the small nub of batter off the tip. Repeat rapidly until the pot is filled with gnocchi. The dough will rise quickly to the top of the pan. Let them cook for 30 seconds then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and move them to a large plate. Continue until all of the batter is used up.
8) Serve gnocchi with a generous amount of butter and finely grated Parmesan.
Variations
Brown Butter Gnocchi Parisienne:
Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and brown lightly. Add the gnocchi and sauté until golden and crisp. Serve as a side for roasted meats and chicken
Gnocchi Parisienne with Wild Mushroom and Duck Confit
Saute gnocchi as for the brown butter gnocchi. Add 1 cup sauteed wild mushrooms and 1 cup shredded duck confit at the end and heat throughly
Gnocchi Parisienne with Fried Sage and Sausage
Heat 16 large sage leaves with the butter until the butter starts to brown. Add the gnocchi and sauté until golden. Add 1 cup of crumbled cooked sweet sausage and heat throughly.
