I have never been to Italy...but Tavo has. And this is a post about his favorite food: Gnocchi with Pesto.
I love to cook! I'm a huge fan of Italian food! I worked at an authentic Italian restaurant (complete with Sicilian owner/boss screaming at me most of the time) for four years! Granted, I was a waitress. Regardless of these facts, my gnocchi attempts, thus far, have been absolutely abysmal. Seriously--to the point of others being terrified. Here was our conversation this morning.
Me: Hey babe!! Guess what? Basil was on sale at the store!
Tavo: yeah? cool. (curious, puzzled look)
Me: I was thinking of making pesto!
Tavo: ...I like pesto (encouraging, but still slightly bewildered)
Me: And some gnocchi!!
Tavo: (look of apprehension) ... um...
Me: It'll be GREAT!
Tavo: (trying to be kind) ...remember last time?
Me: I'll do it RIGHT this time!
So--being the kind and agreeable Tavo he is, we're trying the gnocchi again.
Tavo worked on painting the trim on the house...
Meanwhile, I pursued fantastic culinary feats! Such as substituting cashews for the pine nuts I forgot to grab at the grocery.
cover with olive oil and refrigerate
Verdict?? "Wow!! This is MUCH better than last time!"I had mine with red sauce.
and a combo!
16 comments:
were they pillowy and soft? the last photo looks great!
yes!! Last time, I didn't cook the potatoes long enough, so there were hard pieces of potato mixed in. Ugh!!
I made that stuff once and decided I'd rather eat a Tater Tot... :) I do like pesto, though!
You're so much braver than I am. I would have made spegetti, American style. That's how good I am.
Looks great. I have some frozen asiago stuffed gnocchi at home...I'm thinking this would go good with that!
-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
That does look so good! Have you ever grown your own basil? It is remarkably easy.
Pesto freezes well too. I freeze it in ice cube tray. Once it is frozen, I store them in ziplock bags. THen I can use them all year long. It really is better thawed than the store bought stuff.
Buffalo--while I am a fan of tater tots (they're very popular bar food here) I have to say I am a fan of gnocchi, too. You ever visit the thumb of MI? Lots of Italians--I can point you to some superb restaurants!
Blonde Duck--Me too, about 99% of the time :)
Darius--oooh--Asiago sounds perfectly salty and cheesy!
Tommie--we have pure evil birds/squirrels/rats/who knows?!. They eat EVERY food plant I put outside. I've sacrificed tomato plants, squash, basil, peppers--you name it. I don't know what eats it, but they eat them all. (except for regular houseplants, which are just nibbled)
Even the stems of my tomato plants were eaten! (of course it could be bums and not animals at all...)
I do like the freezing idea, though! Very smart--and anything that speeds up the dinner process is appreciated :)
duh....put wire mesh over the young plants next time....once they get big the 'whatevers' will leave them alone...
plus who wouldnt pass up free green food.....
Mmmm gnocchi...
Haha the red-and-green gnocchi looks like the Italian flag!
Doggy--sheeze, I've always been a city kid. Don't know the farm kid tricks. (then again, you are in NYC..) And seriously--these weren't seedlings. Woody tomato plants were gnawed to the dirt! Basil never gets woody, though.
CCV-it does! I hadn't thought of that :)
Tavo...the renaissance man; Gnocchi and Miller...I love it!
Looks great!
WOW, girl, you are SO good with both cooking and the food porn!
I don't know where it is, but I had a disastrous episode with some pesto once... Note to self: Fresh Basil, not dried. And in my own defense, the recipe NEVER said. It just assumed I knew. Which I didn't.
I know how to make it now though! :)
--snow
Hoorah!!!
You've made it! Congratulations! :-) Those gnocchis look good to me. Cooking the potatoes thoroughly helps, doesn't it? hehe. I'm sure with your new found confidence you'll be cooking gnocchis every week at least. :-)
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