gnocchi your socks off

Ahh...'tis been quite a while. For the past 2 weeks I've resorted to late-night order in shwarma and bagels bagels bagels for breakfast because well...I am a college student. And being a college student sometimes means 12 hours in the library and utter laziness to the point where you choose to watch Jersey Shore over making dinner. So this post hearkens back to the days where my ambition was high and my tummy was empty. Eh voila...I make gnocchi. But not just any gnocchi, brown butter and sage drenched gnocchi.

The "how-to": Take 3 large potatoes (Idaho because drier than other potatoes), puncture skin, 'nuke for 10 minutes, then peel. Mix with ¾ c. flour (add more if necessary), 1 egg. Want dough to be slightly sticky.

Mix nicely, the dough may feel like it's coming apart when you make it into a snake, but just roll it towards you. Take piece of dough and roll into snake (width of thumb), take sharp knife and cut off 1-2 inch sections, press fork into each one for line marks.

Snip on floured surface. Boil water, drop in a few at time (~10) as soon as rises to top, take out (1-2 min). drain in colander, take unsalted butter (1/2 stick), add fresh sage in a skillet on medium heat, as soon as it starts to brown throw gnocchi in and let brown a bit and flip to cook other side.

Salt and pepper to taste.

And special special thanks to my beautiful friend Nicole who so graciously helped me create these pillows of happiness in under an hour.

forks and knives are for dummies

Yeah that's right- I said it. I am going on 20 and still prefer finger food to the perfected choreography of fork and knife. And I found the greatest all-inclusive finger food that limits the use of an inordinate amount of napkins. Wait for it...no, not pigs in a blanket...close but no cigar (as my 5th grade teacher always said)...but, Stuffed Mushrooms! A meal that fits gently into the space between forefinger and thumb. The mixture of textures and flavors that you can fit into those small nooks is truly extraordinary. A little butter and garlic later and you have a toasty dose of heaven. My roommates can vouch for that, as a couple days later I made another batch and when I went back for more there were two left! I first served this at a potluck between friendlings. Didn't make it to the actual dinner so turned them into hor d'oeuvres! The second time I chomped down about ten myself. Makes for a nice light meal.

Neat Fact: Mushrooms sweat! (see step 3 for details)

Like my apron? Comes equipped with 2 ruffled pockets. Can't forget those.

Housewife-y enough? Je ne crois pas...

The "How to":

Yield: Makes 20 hors d'oeuvres
Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min

• 3 slices firm white (brown) sandwich bread
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 20 large (2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter) white mushrooms (1 lb)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano & Gruyere & Swiss (1/2 cup or more)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Tear bread into pieces and pulse to coarse crumbs in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and toss with oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Spread in a shallow baking pan and bake in middle of oven until golden, 6 to 8 minutes, then transfer to a bowl.
• Pull stems from mushroom caps (to create space for stuffing) and finely chop stems. Put mushroom caps, stemmed sides down, in a lightly oiled large shallow baking pan and bake in middle of oven until mushrooms exude liquid, about 10 minutes, then remove from oven. (This is called sweating)
• While mushroom caps are baking, melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté chopped stems, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, garlic, oregano, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Cool vegetables slightly, then add to bread crumbs along with cheese (and parsley) and toss well.
• Turn mushroom caps over, then mound mushroom filling in mushroom caps, pressing gently (there will be some filling left over). Bake in middle of oven until mushrooms are tender and stuffing is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

(Source: www.epicurious.com)

Okay, Okayyy. Here's the finished product-

it's chili in montreal

When your bones ache from breathing in the sub-zero temperatures, you know it's time for a hearty warm meal and to skip class. My favorite thing about one meal dishes is the lack of mess and the fact that you can transport that bowl of warm fuzzies anywhere you like with a blanket wrapped around you to warm the rest. I was inclined to make veggie chili for those veggies in my life, but then I realized I needed some more substance. TVP (textured vegetable protein- a staple in back-country camping) would have worked dandy, but unfortunately they do not supply such things in "Provigo." So I went the traditional route and filled my cauldron with steaming ground beef. I browsed some recipes on the internet, but they all made it too complicated with too many ingredients. Simplicity is key. I adapted my mother's version for the chili. Black beans have been a recent obsession of mine (as you can tell by the sante-fe inspired cobb salad ) so I dumped 2 cans of those in the pot of boiling goodness. Kidney beans and red beans (I don't know if they are the same thing, but you get the gist).

The "how-to": In large pot with reinforced bottom (option: pressure cooker), sautee chopped onions, when golden add chopped meat on low heat break it up and mix it until brown. Add 2 chopped garlic cloves. Slice a whole red or yellow pepper. Add 1 can red beans, 1 can of black beans, and 1 can of kidney beans. Cook until soft for 5 min. add 3 tbsp. tomato paste (option:1 can diced tomatoes) and 1 tbsp "pilpel tsuma" (6 cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp hot pepper powder, a touch of water in food processor). ½ glass water and mix well and add 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tsp. cumin, salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Let cook on low heat for 45 min. (10 min. in pressure cooker) and keep mixing it and add water if needed.

Recite: Wengardium Leviosa! and you're done. Let it stick to your bones and thank me later.