First Official Culinary Drift Challenge: Potato Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

So now that I've moved into an actual apartment, with an actual kitchen, the challenges can begin! I'm throwing out the first challenge based on mom and my recent trip to Italy where we ate, unsurprisingly, some fantastic food, this dish included:

Potato Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce:

For the Gnocchi:

2 lbs. baking potatoes, cleaned and pierced with a fork

2 egg yolks, beaten

1 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place baking potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for approximately 1 hour, until potatoes have softened.

Once finished baking, cut potatoes in half to slightly cool. Scoop out flesh and run through a potato ricer, or mash by hand-make sure it is not lumpy. Add the egg,thyme, salt and pepper, stirring with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Add the flour 1/2 c. at a time, and knead together with your hands. The dough will be somewhat sticky, but will come together after a while.

On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a log. Cut the log into three equal pieces, then cut those pieces into three equal pieces. Taking one piece at a time, roll out dough to create a rope about a 1/2 inch in diameter. I like to go from the middle outwards. Cut the roll into equal pieces, about 1/2 inch intervals. Roll each piece on the back of a fork to create indentations(this helps it to hold the sauce better.) Place cut gnocchi on a floured baking sheet. Once finished cutting and rolling, let gnocchi set for about 20 minutes to dry out a bit.

In a large saucepan, boil 6 or so quarts of salted water. Add gnocchi in batches of a dozen at a time. Scoop out using a slotted spoon trying to get most of the water off of them, and put on a warm dish. Salt and pepper, to taste.

Heavy Gorgonzola Sauce:

1/2 c. heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/4 c. milk

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. gorgonzola cheese

1/4 c. mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

In a small saucepan, bring the cream and garlic to a simmer. Turn off heat and let infuse for 1/2 hour. Strain cream and discard garlic cloves. Place cream, milk, salt and pepper over medium heat just until bubbles form around side of pan. Remove from heat and add the gorgonzola and mozzarella, stirring with a wooden spoon. If you prefer a thinner sauce, you can add more milk.

Place cooked gnocchi on a plate and drizzle with the gorgonzola cream sauce.

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The recipe comes from absolutelyappetizing.wordpress.com, and I have no idea if it, or more likely I, can duplicate the pillow-y perfection mom and I discovered in Milan, but it's worth a try, or 10. We also have a family history of homemade pastas (shout out to Ravioli Day!), and have always steered clear of these little dumplings, because of their supposed difficulty. Just like the Italians to create something so simple it's difficult!

So bring it on Simone! Let's see how we fair.

Official post date: Sunday, October 18th. 11:59 pm.