Taste of Tuscany...maybe.

So, there's this great Italian restaurant just around the corner from my apartment called Trattoria Toscana. Last time we went with my family, we all agreed that their gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce was wonderful. Rather than continuing to go back for the slightly pricey dish, I decided to try and replicate it at home (for much cheaper, of course). Here goes:

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce:

1 lb Gnocchi
8 oz Gorgonzola (crumbled or chopped)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup dry Vermouth
1 medium onion (chopped)*
4-5 button or baby portabella mushrooms (halved and sliced thin)*
EVOO to saute onions and mushrooms with*

1. cook gnocchi according to package directions
2. sweat onions, add mushrooms and sautee
3. add vermouth and simmer until it is half the original volume
4. add cream and bring to boil
5. reduce to simmer and melt in cheese
6. once melted, add cooked gnocchi and simmer for 5-7 minutes to absorb sauce
7. serve with some good bread and enjoy!

*Note: the onions and mushrooms are completely optional and I'm not sure I would use them if I made this again. They add a nice taste, but I think they disrupt the texture of the sauce and inhibit sauce soakage if dipping bread. Instead you could substitute 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (as this is how the restaurant does it) and add them after the cheese is melted.

Kitchen Cowboy Makes a Pretty Nice Sauce

So last semester, I took a cooking class with the illustrious Mr. Norkus. He had a certain disdain for people who jumped into the kitchen and just started mixing things together without any idea where they were headed or any recipe to lead them on their way. He called these people "kitchen cowboys". And generally I agree with him. We have a wonderful history of cooks who have made all the mistakes for us, and since Carême and his famous sauces in the early 1800s, people have been regularly writing down recipes, tips, and instruction for those that come after. It is in this tradition that this blog was created.

However, every once in awhile, we all like to be kitchen cowboys (or cowgirls if you prefer). We like to test our knowledge, push our skills, and fly forth into a dish using only what we have in our kitchen as our constraints. It was in this mindset, that I created the meal I am about to describe.

I had some frozen ravioli from Mama Rosie that I had just tried. I know frozen ravioli is normally pretty awful, but the Mama does all right and it's nice to have something other than angel hair for a change (without a significant increase in time).

The sauce? Red? Please something different! White? Too much with the cheese ravioli. Something citrus-y that is relatively good for me? Great! How do I make it?

Well lets try:

Extra-virgin olive oil (I used the good stuff someone bought as a gift=real olive oil (thanks Lisa!))
Orange juice would be best, but I only had limes
Garlic (of course)
Fresh dill? (Fresh parsley would have been better, but guess which one was in my refrigerator.)
Red pepper flakes (I refuse to make any Italian dish without these)
Parmesan

Put the oil in a pan, cook the garlic a bit, add the lime juice (I used one lime), a couple tablespoons of dill and taste. Not bad. Over the ravioli, a dash of red pepper, a bit of Parmesan and violà! Wonderful.

I finished with some fresh poached green beans from the local farmers' market with a little butter on them.

If I had only remembered to chill some white wine, this would have been the perfect summer meal.

Well, a kitchen cowboy can't be expected to remember everything. Beer is nice as well.