W is for Winter Squash Gnocci

This is one of our winter favorites as a main course or as a side dish to accompany chicken, pork or even fish. We grew Delicata squash this year and had a bumper crop, but any winter squash will work!

Winter Squash Gnocci
Ingredients
1 Butternut, Acorn or Delicata squash (about 1-1/2pounds)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Sage Butter Sauce
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
12 fresh sage leaves
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
Salt, to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 F.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise, through the stem end, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Roast until tender, about 35 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, scoop out and discard the seeds. Remove squash flesh (pulp) and place in a sieve. Set the sieve over a bowl to catch liquid and allow squash to drain in a refrigerator overnight. NOTE: Some squash does not need this step-not all are watery after baking.
The next day, puree the squash in a food processor. Transfer puree to a bowl and add the eggs and salt, stirring to combine. Add the flour and blend thoroughly. The dough should feel sticky and soft.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Using a teaspoon, form walnut-sized pieces of dough and push them off the spoon and into the water with your fingers. Alternately, use a pastry bag and a small knife.NOTE: don't worry about being precise about the shape of the gnocci. I just take a tablespoon and scoop up some squash and slide it off into the boiling water.

Cook the gnocchi in small batches, 10 to 15 pieces. Once the gnocchi have risen to the surface, poach for exactly 2 minutes. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
Sage Butter Sauce Prep
Place butter in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until the foam subsides and the butter begins to lightly brown. Add the sage leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Add the gnocchi to the butter, brown each side slightly turning over to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan ( and freshly chopped Italian parsley if available) and serve immediately.
Partner this with a salad and bread and you have a wonderful meal fit for Royalty!

Linguine Carbonara with Asparagus

Photo of our dinner last night-

Linguine Carbonara with Asparagus and

Steamed Garlic Scapes

Nope-this isn't one of the ABC Recipes...

merely a recipe I found while working at the library

(my twice a week volunteering-one great way to find good books!)

The book is Blue Eggs and Orange Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley.

It's a beautiful cookbook; gorgeous photos and (so far)

delicious and easy recipes.

The original recipe called for some ingredients that I didn't use

as I substituted for what I had or preferred to use.

Here's the original recipe with noted changes I made- bon appetit!

Linguine Carbonara with Zucchini

4 servings

4 ounces applewood-smoked bacon

(I used Capacolla-similar to Pancetta but spicy)

1/2 onion thinly sliced

3 medium Zucchini sliced into 1/4" rounds

(I used about 1/2# asparagus diagonally sliced in 1" pieces)

1/2# linguine or more depending on appetites

(for 2 people I use 1/3 a pound)

2 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese-plus more for serving

Salt and pepper

( I only used salt in the pasta water)

2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley-optional

Cut the bacon into 1/2" pieces and fry in a heavy ,large skillet over

medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon remove bacon to drain on paper towel.

Remove all but 2 Tablespoons of bacon fat-save for another use. Add onion to pan and saute til golden brown, about 6 minutes add the zucchini (or what ever vegetable you choose) and saute til just tender about 4 more minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta in large pot of boiling salted water til tender but still firm about 9-10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of hot pasta water. Whisk the eggs together with the 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper-gradually whisk in half of the reserved pasta water. Add the hot pasta to the pan with the vegetables and heat briefly.

Remove pan from heat, and slowly pour in eggmixture stirring constantly-until the pasta is creamy-not wet nor dry-about 2 minutes-add some more of the pasta water if it isn't creamy enough. Stir in bacon and parsley and serve immediately!

Serve in pasta bowls -passing the additonal Parmesan cheese.

First recipe for 2010-Asparagus Ravioli !

Asparagus Raviolis
So- this is the recipe I decided on - from http://www.epicurious.com/

Ingredients:
Pasta dough -or buy ready made pasta sheets -I did!
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
5 cups rich chicken stock
1 (3-inch) rind from a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup mascarpone-I had ricotta in the fridege-so used it
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Optional Equipment: a pasta machine ...oh hahah right...

Preparation:

Make broth and filling while dough stands:Cut off asparagus tips, then halve each tip lengthwise and reserve.
Bring stock, cheese rind, and bay leaf to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then add asparagus stems and cook, uncovered, until stems are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer stems to paper towels and cool slightly. Reserve broth.
Purée asparagus stems in a food processor with grated parmesan, mascarpone, bread crumbs, zest, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Make Ravioli:
Cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Cover 3 pieces with plastic wrap, then pat out remaining piece into a flat rectangle and generously dust with flour.
Set rollers of pasta machine on widest setting. Feed rectangle, a short side first, through rollers. Fold rectangle in thirds, like a letter, and feed it, a short side first, through rollers. Repeat 6 or 7 more times, folding dough in thirds and feeding it through rollers, a short side first each time, dusting with flour to prevent sticking.
Turn dial to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through rollers without folding, a short side first. Continue to feed dough through without folding, making space between rollers narrower each time, until the second- or third-narrowest setting is used. (Do not roll too thin or pasta will tear when filled.)
Start here if you buy pre-made pasta sheets:
Put pasta sheet on a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth) with a long side nearest you. Drop 6 rounded teaspoon-size mounds of filling 10 inches apart in a row down center of right half of sheet. Brush pasta around mounds of filling lightly with water, then lift left half of sheet and drape over mounds.
Press down firmly but gently around each mound, forcing out air. (Air pockets increase the chance that ravioli will break during cooking.) Cut pasta (between mounds) with a sharp knife into roughly 2-inch squares. Line a large shallow baking pan with a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth), then arrange ravioli in 1 layer in it. Make more ravioli with remaining pieces of dough and remaining filling, transferring to lined pan.


Cooking ravioli and Asparagus tips:
Bring a pasta pot of salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a gentle boil.
Bring reserved broth to a simmer, then simmer asparagus tips, uncovered, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Season broth with salt, then divide broth and asparagus tips among 6 preheated shallow bowls, discarding cheese rind and bay leaf.
Add half of ravioli to gently boiling water, carefully stirring to separate, and cook, adjusting heat to keep at a gentle boil, until pasta is just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Lift cooked ravioli with a slotted spoon, draining well over pot, then transfer to bowls with broth. Repeat with remaining ravioli. Enjoy!

We both really liked this and really couldn't find anything we would change about it-especially not making our own pasta! Let me know what you think!