First I put the potatoes on to boil, since they take at least 20 minutes to soften. I kept the peel on, because once cooked, the peels just slide right off. Side note, never put cold potatoes in already boiled water because the skin will crack; cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil together.

Once the potatoes were in, I started on my sauce. I sliced up a package of button mushrooms and sauteed them in about 3 tablespoons or so of butter. Let them get nice and brown, about 5-7 minutes.

Next comes the white wine (I had Pinot Grigio). One cup for the pan, one cup for me. Make that two cups for me. (Yes, I measured it out in my lovely new Sur La Tabla red measuring cup).

The one needs to reduce down to about half the amount, give or take another five minutes. After that, I added half and half (whole cream probably works better but I didn’t have).

While the shroom sauce was cooking down, the potatoes got soft enough, so I drained, peeled, and started mashing them up for the gnocchi.

Make sure you mash up the potatoes really well so there are no lumps – remember, this will be a dough. I added to the potatoes about a cup of flour (which I realized later was not nearly enough), an egg, a bunch of grated Parmesan, salt & pepper, some thyme (had it) and about half a tsp of nutmeg. It was lots of fun grating the whole nutmeg; I love the smell of fresh nutmeg (I keep my nutmeg in the freezer and they keep for a loooooong time).

The next step – and here’s the huge pain in my arse, which took a lot of time, used a lot of flour, and made a huge mess: knead the potato “dough”, roll them between your hands, and cut them up into bite size pieces.

Next, you gotta cook those little suckers in boiling water for a couple minutes – you will know they are done because they will float. And I promise you they WILL float (I was nervous that they would all stick together to the bottom of the pot, but alas).

And last but not least, I removed them from the water and added them to my mushroom sauce.

And an hour and half later….

They were very delicious, I have to say. Don’t let my sloppy gloopy presentation fool you; these came out very tasty and the gnocchi were surprisingly light.  However, the moral of the story kids: next time Chef Monsta tells you that cooking something is not worth the time, and to buy it pre-made, you LISTEN. Do not be stubborn like me. 1.5 hours cooking + .5 hours cleaning + 10 minutes eating = NOT WORTH IT.

Hence, my blog post, dear sister, so I don’t feel like I completely wasted my time tonight. Love you. All hail the great Chef Monsta.

]]> http://www.chefmonsta.com/2010/02/home-made-gnocchi-with-mushroom-cream-sauce/feed/ 3 http://www.chefmonsta.com/2010/01/pennette-harrys-bar/ http://www.chefmonsta.com/2010/01/pennette-harrys-bar/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:57:19 +0000 Chef Monsta http://www.chefmonsta.com/?p=1453 Happy New Year! For my first official post of 2010, I wanted to recreate a delicious dish I ate while on vacation in Miami, Florida this past week. Every time I hit up the MIA, I always spend an evening window shopping at the luxurious Shops at Bal Harbour. I ogle at the window displays of Dior, YSL, and their other fancy counterparts while I wait for a table at Carpaccio, an Italian eatery in the mall. Carpaccio is always packed, has a great outdoor seating area, and a hearty wine list. I have probably eaten almost every pasta on the menu, but my favorite is the Pennette Harry’s Bar, a dish based on Harry Cipriani’s famed restaurant in Venice, Italy. Harry’s Bar takes the credit for the invention of the Bellini and carpaccio! If you can’t make it to Venice or Miami, then please try this recipe for Harry’s Bar Penne. It combines some amazing ingredients, and is filling yet surprisingly light.

Ingredients:

Penne or Pennette pasta
5 cloves garlic
16 oz of crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
2 handfuls of fresh spinach
1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup of pine nuts
Parmesan

In a sauce pan, saute garlic in olive oil. Add crushed tomatoes and sugar. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes (instant Pomodoro sauce).

Dice up sun-dried tomatoes.

Make sure to wash your spinach thoroughly! Chop spinach, add sun-dried tomatoes, and saute in 1 tbsp olive oil for about 2 minutes. The spinach will wilt/shrink instantly.

In another hot pan, toast pine nuts for 2 minutes until they slightly brown (do NOT use oil, the pine nuts have their own natural oils).

Combine Pomodoro sauce, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts with your cooked penne.

Toss all ingredients together, top with Parm, and enjoy!

Yes, I know truffle mac and cheese is sooo trendy but its also so delicious. It is a lot more time consuming than regular ole mac n cheese but it is worth it!!! This would be a show-stopper at Thanksgiving, and works as a great vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 pound oyster mushrooms
1/2 pound shitake mushrooms
1 pound cavatappi pasta
3 ounces black truffle butter
1/2 c flour
1 quart whole milk
8 oz Gruyere cheese, grated (2 cups)
8 oz Dubliner (or cheddar), grated (2 cups)
2 garlic cloves
bunch of basil
3 slices of stale bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

You can use any vegetables you like (tomatoes, peppers). Heat olive oil and butter, saute until brown, 5 minutes. Set aside.

Heat up truffle butter until melted. Add flour and stir, forming a roux. When the mixture has thickened, add milk slowly, whisking until solid. Heat mixture for a few more minutes. Set aside.

Add grated cheese to the truffle cream. Pour cream mixture and mushrooms over the pasta. The final step is breadcrumbs (fresh, of course).

In a food processor, pulse 2 cloves of garlic and basil. Add a few slices of stale bread and pulse into crumbs.

Spread breadcrumbs over pasta and bake for 40-45 minutes.

YUM.

Ingredients:

Gnocchi
Can of crushed tomatoes
Sweet peppers (red/yellow/orange)
1/4 c milk or cream
2 cloves of garlic
Salt, pepper, and sugar to taste
Basil, for garnish
Fresh Parmesan

Saute garlic in olive oil, add can of crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp sugar.

I took a bunch of mini sweet bell peppers, drizzled them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted in the oven for 10 minutes on 450 degrees (or broil/grill). Put them through the food processor and add to the tomato sauce.

Add 1/4 cream or milk to sauce, continue cooking on low flame for 5 minutes.

Boil hot water in a pot. When water boils, add gnocchi. They only need to cook for about 2-3 minutes, and when ready will float to the top of the water.

Pour sauce over gnocchi, grate some parm, add some basil, and have a good time.

Ingredients:
pasta
1/4 c butter
2 c milk
1/4 c goat cheese
2 tbsp flour
handful of mushrooms
truffle oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh Parmesan (optional)

Saute butter and flour in a pan. Add milk and stir. Babysit the sauce so that the milk doesn’t get lumpy when it boils. Add salt and pepper. Leave on low flame for about five minutes.

In another pan, saute mushrooms, salt and pepper in truffle oil. (If you don’t have truffle oil, butter works)

Add the goat cheese to the cream sauce, stir.

When the pasta is cooked, spoon the cream sauce, top with mushrooms, and grate parm over it.