A Day Full of Homemade Goodness

Today, I spent quite a bit of time in my kitchen. After "springing forward" in time this morning, I decided it would also be a good idea to start some spring-cleaning, and the kitchen and the bathroom are always the most time-consuming, so I try and attack them first. I did the bathroom yesterday, so today called for a good kitchen-scrubbin'! And scrub I did - it's so sparkly and clean now!

While I was cleaning, I poured the ingredients into my Breadman TR2700 for a loaf of Italian Parmesan Herb bread, too. Multi-tasking at its finest! The loaf came out wonderfully - fluffy, herby and delicious!

After the hours spent in the kitchen during the day today, I had to venture back in to make dinner, and as I looked at the things left on my current menu, I decided to make some gnocchi tonight. The recipe that I'm making, Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas, actually calls for store-bought gnocchi, which would make this one of the quickest recipes ever, I think...so if you are looking for a quick, week-night meal, this would be it! However, if you've been reading this blog, you'd already have guessed that I don't take the easy way out...so I'm making some fresh gnocchi tonight while my husband is at his hockey game.

First things first, you need to boil about 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes. When you boil potatoes, you want to put them in an empty pot, large enough for the potatoes to lay in a single layer on the bottom, and deep enough that water will be able to cover the potatoes and then some. Once the potatoes are in the pot, then fill it with water, covering the potatoes. Add some salt and stir around a bit. Now you can place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil. Once it arrives at a rolling boil, turn the temperature down a little bit, so the water stays at a simmer, and cook the potatoes for 30 - 40 minutes, or until they are easily pierced with a fork.

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and peel them while still hot. I use a towel or pot holder to protect my sensitive finger skin from burning! :) Once they are peeled, you'll want to run the potatoes through a ricer immediately. I don't own a ricer...yet...so I decided to use the small-holed side of a grater to get a similar effect. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, since the potatoes just kind of fell apart in my hands, but I got the majority of the potatoes grated before using a masher to finish the job...and I might have burned off a few fingerprints...not sure though.

You have to allow the potatoes to cool completely before moving on to the next step in the process. Once cooled, sprinkle the potatoes with 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour and 2 teaspoons of salt. Top all that with one large beaten egg.

Knead the mixture until it turns into a smooth but not elastic dough. Dust the concoction with flour if it becomes sticky, but don't overwork the dough.

At this point, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each portion into a rope, about 24-inches long. Cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces.

As you cut the pieces, roll each little pillow against the tines of a small fork to make ridges and then arrange them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and lightly floured.

When you go to cook your homemade gnocchi, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add a few handfuls at a time. Cook them until they have floated to the top, about 2 - 3 minutes, and transfer them directly to whatever sauce you are using. You can also freeze the gnocchi by placing it in the freezer on baking sheets until firm; then transfer them to freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw them at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking them.

Mmm, this is delicious, and once the gnocchi is made, this recipe takes about 7 minutes, total. If that's not a quick dinner, I don't know what is.