Gotta love tortellini and spaghetti.
Great budget stretchers.
Another budget hero, gnocchi, is easy to make and is a great way to use up leftover boiled or baked potatoes.
Along with these recipes, they can also be pan-fried and served with tomato sauce or butter and cheese.
Just like tortellini, gnocchi can be found in most supermarkets, usually in the deli section.
Shelf-stable gnocchi, usually packaged in vacuum-sealed containers, can be found in the pasta aisle.
Ma never served homemade gnocchi. We had lots of potatoes - mashed, baked, boiled, pan-fried, and roasted. Ma never got really fancy with her potatoes. Interesting since Malta produces enough potatoes to export to Holland.
I would compare the gnocchi to Ma's ravioli - Ravjul in Maltese. They're both starchy. They're both filling. They both cook in boiling water.
Hints:
About Gnocchi with Sausages & Tomatoes…
Use any sausage you like. You can go spicy, as with jalapeño sausages, or mild with breakfast sausages, if that is what you have in your fridge.
Parmesan cheese also goes well with this dish.
Don’t use a non-stick skillet if you want the sausages to have a nice crisp surface.
Two cups of tomatoes, sliced, can be used instead of the cherry or grape tomatoes.
Don’t have fresh basil? Dried basil (about 2 Tablespoons) works well.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
About the Gnocchi with Peas & Pancetta…
No pancetta? No problem. Bacon is fine and will add a stronger, smoky flavour.
Canadian bacon, salt pork, prosciutto, smoked ham, or smoked sausage are also good.
About the Gnocchi…
The shaped gnocchi can be refrigerated overnight.
To freeze uncooked gnocchi place them in a single layer on a heavily floured parchment-lined baking sheet, letting them air dry at room temperature for 1 to 4 hours.
Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and freeze until solid, about 1 hour.
Transfer frozen gnocchi to freezer bags and seal.
Gnocchi can be frozen up to one month. Do not thaw before cooking.
Gnocchi is also delicious with tomato sauce, or bolognese sauce, or just some butter, with or without garlic and sage.
Gnocchi with Sausages & Tomatoes
Serves 4
In a large pot place
4 quarts water
salt to taste
Bring to a boil.
Add
1 pound frozen or shelf-stable gnocchi
Cook for 2 minutes or according to package directions.
Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil.
Place in a 10-inch or larger skillet
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Heat over medium heat and add
9 ounces cooked sausages, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick coins
Cook until the sausages begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
Push the sausages to the edge of the skillet and turn the heat up to high.
Add
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise, skin down
Cook 1 to 2 minutes then stir in the sausage and cook about 2 minutes more.
Stir in gnocchi and cook until all is combined, but the tomatoes are still firm.
Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in
1/2 to 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Gnocchi with Peas & Pancetta
Serves 4
Finely chop
2 Tablespoons onions
1 teaspoon garlic
In a large pot place
4 quarts water
salt to taste
Bring to a boil.
Add
1 pound frozen or shelf-stable gnocchi
Cook for 2 minutes or according to package directions.
Drain and set aside.
WHILE THE WATER IS BOILING:
Place in a skillet
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, diced
Lightly brown the pancetta over a low flame.
Add the chopped onion and garlic and fry 3 minutes.
Add
1 Cup frozen peas
1/2 Cup chicken broth
Cover and let simmer until peas are tender but not mushy.
Stir in
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 Cup cream or evaporated milk
Let simmer on low to form a thin sauce.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cooked gnocchi and let simmer on low heat to form a thin sauce.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Drain the gnocchi and add to the pan with the peas.
Add
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and stir on low heat 2 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Homemade Gnocchi
Serves 6
Preheat oven 400º F
Pierce with a fork
2 medium russet potatoes
Place potatoes on a baking sheet, place in oven and bake until tender, about 1 hour.
Let cool completely.
Cut in half, scoop the flesh into a medium bowl and mash.
Transfer to a large bowl and stir in
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Cup ricotta
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Divide dough into 6 equal pieces.
Working on a lightly floured surface and sprinkling with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking, roll each piece into an 18-inch long rope, about 1-inch in diameter.
Using a sharp knife, cut each rope into 3/4-inch bite-size pieces.
Transfer to a baking sheet.
In a large pot place
4 quarts water
salt to taste
Bring to a boil.
Working in 3 batches, cook gnocchi until tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 6 minutes.
Drain well and serve or use as an ingredient in the above recipes.
~~~
Another essay I wrote for the CKUW radio show ‘2000 & Counting' was about the sexuality of God. Okay… we were getting desperate. But some valid - and not so valid - points were brought up.
Here was my view on the issue, and a few of my female co-hosts agreed.
Whenever I wonder if God is a man - which I admit isn't often - all I have to do is remember the ho-ho-ho good time we women have during holidays.
Yep… God is a man.
He sits and expects a holiday to happen. It happened last year, right? No problem. He just sat and wallah! A holiday complete with a big dinner, a fancy dessert and gifts.
Okay, ladies, we know holidays take a ton of work. Remember the commercial in which we heard Nat King Cole singing about Mrs. Santa Claus? We saw a woman throwing toys into a cart with one hand, keeping a toddler from jumping out of the cart with another hand and clutching a preschooler with another hand.
Of course she had three hands. She was a Mom.
Admit it. We don't have holidays because we like them. They're part of our culture, our civilization. Yeah... So is cleaning the toilet.
But women are tradition keepers, so we keep responding like Pavlov's dogs when we read stuff like:
While winds howled, we gathered around the fire and sorted recipes.
At the oak table the children chopped fruit and raisins,
while Papa happily crushed nuts and spices in the grinder.
Let's think about that little scene... Sorting recipes? We now have mixes.
Children chopping raisins? Sure. Yank a gameboy out of a kid's hands, give him a big sharp knife and some raisins and you'll both end up on the 6 o'clock news.
Papa crushing his nuts in a what? No, thank you.
Remember how we thought technology would give us loads of leisure?
Uh huh. Technology means that in a public washroom, you and a dozen other women can hear your cellphone playing Up a Lazy River. Oh, for the days when we could pee in peace.
Think you can rest when you're retired? Surprise! You've unloaded your youngest, just to be begged by your oldest - the one with the Masters degree you worked to pay for - to babysit her kids while she and her partner hold down a couple of Macjobs apiece.
Oh, and your Mom could now use some help.
And now the holidays are back.
Okay, grab a pen and paper and sit down. Why are you doing this?
For some Jesus is the reason for the season. Okay, that's a start.
God became human. Humans can't become God.
So get rid of the crap that's crept into the creche.
What's important to you and your family?
Not to the neighbours, not to the in-laws and not to the stores. Set your own priorities.
Don't let the urgent, like making fancy decorations, keep you from the important, like spending time together.
If anyone tries to talk you into doing something extra, just say NO.
Back to the old time Christmas. Maybe chopping and crushing was their idea of a crackerjack good time. But, if your kids just want Oreoes, why stay up till midnight making weird sugar cookies that can't fit into a glass of milk?
I know. It's tradition.
Delegate the cookies. Bang open a tube of cookie dough and let the kids get creative while you take pictures. They'll actually eat those cookies.
Did you invite someone who thinks store bought is not fit for the holidays?
Stock up now, destroy the wrappings, toss your cookies into bread bags and freeze them.
Remember how in the 60s we distressed furniture?
When it's Show Time, pop the cookies into the oven for nice burnt edges.
And muck up the fruitcake's icing.
The snob will praise you and wolf down anything that doesn't look like it was made by a professional.
Speaking of professional, avoid The Stewart.
If you do watch Martha, remember: It's TV. Look at the credits. She has an army helping her. They bake 30 cakes and she shows the best one. She doesn't do all that work when she's bone tired after putting in a 12 hour day.
Martha is human, too.
You've seen blooper shows. Trust me. Martha bloopers.
Do you have a friend who thinks she's Martha?
Whoopee for her.
Like your Mama done told you, If your friend jumped off a bridge would you do it, too?
There has to be something your pal hates to do. Swap your expertise for hers.
Yes, you are good at something. She bakes, you wrap. See?
Ever feel that if you don't do everything the family's been doing since the Stone Age, the holidays will be ruined forever, it will be all your fault and the family will never recover?
That's Mama Guilt.
According to a psychologist, Guilt feelings are a messy mixture of insecurity, self-doubt, self-condemnation, self-judgment, anxiety and fear.
Dump the guilt.
Make a list of the things you think you have to do, including making that relish that's been in the family since the Black Death.
After dinner, before everyone runs off, read the list.
If something gets big smiles, it's a keeper.
If you say relish and people make barfing sounds, cross it out.
If your family's polite, think about last year.
If you were serving leftover Christmas relish with the Easter ham, lose the recipe.
Office and Organization Parties were once a fun way for spouses to meet the other important people in their mate’s life.
Now both spouses have been invited to parties - and guess what, they're always on the same night - and The Wives and The Husbands can't face another plate of appetizers.
Stay home. Your pals will save you a copy of the secretary's xeroxed butt.
Cards used to be nice and simple, with pretty pictures and cheery messages.
Just sign and send. Then some fool started printing up long bragging letters.
Don't write The Letter. Your friends will love you.
Back to the three-handed Mom pulling toys off the shelves like they were free samples.
There are four weeks left until Christmas.
Think that's a long time?
How many New Year's resolutions have you done in the last eleven months?
Neither have I.
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