Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Cafe Johnsonia has recently taken a break for her blog and decided to spend more time with her family. I commend her. She is a wise women for choosing family. I love her recipes. This as a great recipe.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage, Walnuts, and Brown Butter
Cafe Johnsonia

Serves 6-8

Active time:1 1/4 hr
Start to finish:2 1/4 hr

1 1/4 lb russet (baking potatoes)
1 (3/4-lb) sweet potato
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sage leaves (from 1 bunch)
1/2 to 3/4 cup whole walnuts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Make gnocchi:

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Pierce russet and sweet potatoes in several places with a fork, then bake in a 4-sided sheet pan until just tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Cool potatoes slightly, then peel and force through ricer into sheet pan, spreading in an even layer. Cool potatoes completely.

Lightly flour 2 or 3 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper. Beat together egg, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl. Gather potatoes into a mound in sheet pan, using a pastry scraper if you have one, and form a well in center.


Pour egg mixture into well, then knead into potatoes. (Or just crack the egg into the center, sprinkle the salt, pepper, and nutmeg over the top, and use a fork to break it up and mix in the riced potatoes.)

Knead in cheese and 1 1/2 cups flour, then knead, adding more flour as necessary, until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Dust top lightly with some of flour.

Cut dough into 6 pieces. Form 1 piece of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut rope into 1/2-inch pieces. Gently roll each piece into a ball and lightly dust with flour.

Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.

Turn a fork over and hold at a 45-degree angle, with tips of tines touching work surface. Working with 1 at a time, roll gnocchi down fork tines, pressing with your thumb, to make ridges on 1 side. Transfer gnocchi as formed to baking sheets. (Kind of flick them off the fork and let them fall to the baking sheet. Once you get going, it goes quickly. Dust your fingers with flour and wipe off the fork tines if the gnocchi are sticking.)

Fry sage leaves and walnuts:

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry sage leaves in 3 batches, stirring, until they turn just a shade lighter and crisp (they will continue to crisp as they cool), about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt.

Fry the walnuts in the remaining oil until toasted and golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt. Pour off the remaining oil and wipe out the skillet.

Make sauce:

Add butter to skillet and cook until golden-brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook gnocchi:

Add some of the gnocchi to a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water and stir. Cook until they float to surface, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large serving bowl. Cook remaining gnocchi in same manner, transferring to the bowl.

When all of the gnocchi have been cooked, drizzle with brown butter and gently stir to coat them. Sprinkle with fried sage, walnuts and grated cheese.

Cooks’ notes:

* Uncooked gnocchi can be frozen (first in 1 layer on a baking sheet, then transferred to a sealable bag) up to 1 month. Do not thaw before cooking. Chestnuts can be sliced 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at cool room temperature.
* Sauce and topping can be halved; make full recipe of gnocchi and freeze half of it.

Chicken Jalapeno Rollups

Ooooh what a tasty surprise this was. I started eating the chicken plain it was daaaaang good. Add it inside a warm crescent roll ... Heaven.


Chicken Jalapeno Rollups
From: A Recipe A Day

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 - 3 Tbs chopped sliced jalapenos
2 Tbs chopped green onions
1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls

I added some garlic salt too and some chopped fresh spinach.

Heat oven to 375º.

Mix all ingredients, except the dough, in a bowl until well blended.

Unroll the crescent dough and separate into 2 long rectangles on cutting board, pressing perforations to seal.

Spread half of cream cheese mixture on one rectangle to within 1/2 an inch of edge. Repeat on other rectangle of dough.

Starting with one long side, roll up rectangle and press seam to seal. Cut roll into 16 slices. Place slices on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with other dough rectangle.

Bake 14-16 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from sheet immediately and serve warm.

Makes 32 appetizers

On The Menu This Week...

MONDAY
Irish Cheddar and Chive Smashed Potatoes
http://www.cooking.com/Recipes-and-More/recipes/Irish-Cheddar-and-Chive-Smashed-Potatoes-recipe-8141.aspx

salad

TUESDAY
Smoked Gouda Potato Gratin
http://www.cooking.com/Recipes-and-More/recipes/Smoked-Gouda-Potato-Gratin-recipe-8138.aspx

Chicken Jalapeno Roll-ups
http://nancysrecipes.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/chicken-jalapeno-rollups/

WEDNESDAY
Perogies

THURSDAY
Hearty Chicken Soup with Shells, Tomato & Zucchini
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=5928

FRIDAY
Pizza & Party Night ... Happy 6th Ian.

SATURDAY
Breakfast Strata with Spinach and Gruyere
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/menu_detail.asp?docid=1926&parentdocid=5125#2

SUNDAY
Turkey and Squash Thanksgiving Risotto
http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2008/10/thanksgiving-risotto.html

Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Mmmmm. Something about PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps that gets my mouth watering. So I figured it was time to make them at home. These are wonderful and too easy. Thank you RecipeZaar.

Ingredients
* 3 Tbs oil
* 2 chicken breasts
* 1 cup water chestnuts
* 2/3 cup mushrooms
* 3 Tbs chopped onions
* 1 tsp minced garlic
* 4-5 leaves of Boston lettuce

Special Sauce
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup water
* 2 Tbs soy sauce
* 2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
* 1 Tbs lemon juice
* 1/8 tsp sesame oil
* 1 Tbs hot mustard
* 2 tsp water
* 1-2 tsp garlic & red chili paste

Stir Fry Sauce
* 4 Tbs soy sauce
* 4 Tbs brown sugar
* 1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Special Sauce
* Dissolve the sugar and water in a small bowl
* Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
* Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve
* Combine hot water with hot mustard and set aside as well. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done. Remove chicken from the pan and cool. Keep oil in the pan, keep hot. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.

Stir Fry Sauce
* Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts & mushrooms to pan. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes. You may want to double or triple the sauce. Then serve it in the lettuce"cups".

Top with"Special Sauce".

Short Cut Collard Greens

Oh My Goodness. I LOVE collard greens ... when they are prepared this way. Thanks to Abundant Harvest again.

Short Cut Collard Greens

• 1 bunch collard greens
• 1 Tbsp water
• 2 slices Canadian bacon or Adele's gruyere & garlic sausage
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• 1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes
• Salt to taste
  

Remove the stems and center ribs from the collard greens and discard. Cut the leaves into ½ inch strips. Place the greens into a large bowl with water and cover tightly. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, or boil on stovetop. Preheat a large skillet and cook the bacon to desired doneness. Remove the bacon from the pan, chop and set aside. Add the oil and onion to the pan and cook until onions have softened. Add the collard greens and stir in the vinegar, maple syrup, broth and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered for 30 minutes. Add the chopped bacon to the pan, and season with salt.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime & Cilantro

A GREAT new twist on the sweet potato side dish. Just don't forget that you should NEVER put them in the blender. I knew better. Blending them releases all the starches and gives you potato glue which makes you gag with the consistency.

This recipe came from Abundant Harvest. This is my new organic weekly vegetable shipment. Love it!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro

• 3 sweet potatoes or yams, unpeeled
• Kosher salt
• 2 tsp finely grated lime zest
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Freshly ground pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Par-cook the potatoes by placing them in a pot of water and boiling until fork tender. Mix 1 Tbsp salt, the lime zest and cayenne in a small bowl. Transfer to a bowl, immediately season with the salt mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.

Zucchini Breakfast Casserole

I was so hopeful this year when my 8 zucchini plants were growing wildly right from the start. Sadly, none of them bloomed. I think I need to spend more time on my soil and get it ready for next year.

Anyway, I love Zucchini when it's done right. My husband swore when we were married that Vegetables were of the devil. So I have since made it my life's quest to sneak zucchini into all kinds of things. THIS was a big hit. Thanks to Simply Recipes, I think my husband and I have a new favorite brunch dish.

Zucchini Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• 6-8 eggs
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce or other hot chili sauce or red pepper flakes
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups grated zucchini (2-3 fresh zucchinis)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes
  
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh basil
  
• 4 cups cubed day-old bread (about 4 slices)
• Olive oil

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add the ricotta and beat until smooth. Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper, salt and pepper.

2 Prepare the vegetables and bread. Once you chop the tomatoes, squeeze excess moisture out of them by pressing them in a sieve, or wrapping in paper towels and squeezing. Add the tomatoes, basil, and zucchini to the egg mixture. Moisten the bread cubes with a little water then squeeze out any excess moisture using paper towels. Mix the bread cubes into the egg mixture.

3 Coat the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish generously with olive oil. Pour the egg vegetable mixture into the baking pan and even it out in the pan. Place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. The casserole should puff up and brown lightly. If it hasn't after 30 minutes at 350, increase the heat to 425° and cook for 5-10 minutes further. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

Makes 6-8 portions.