Gnocchi Doughky

I had never made gnocchi before and I was a bit daunted. I poured over online recipes and fretted over boiling, steaming, or baking the potatoes to make the dough. I chose to bake them which actually turned out to be one of those 'kill two birds with one stone' decisions because we ate the potato skins smothered in melted cheese for our Christmas eve dinner. Christmas eve is a low key thing for us: appetizers, cookies, a bottle of wine, wrapping Christmas gifts in front of a fire and watching It's A Wondeful Life together. Actually we all had a hand in making the gnocchi because Chris riced the potatoes for me (My left elbow is bothering me yet again and it hurt to squeeze the handles of the ricer.) This is the recipe I adhered to for the most part. It is a lengthy process and I was glad we had baked and riced the potatoes ahead of time. Honey Girl was a big help in forming the little dumplings. After the gnocchi popped to the top of their boiling water bath I scooped them out with a slotted spoon and spread them in a casserole dish, topping them with sauteed garlic and melted butter, a scattering of sundried tomatoes and a liberal dusting of fresh parmesan. Ten minutes under the broiler melted the cheese to a thin crust. The gnocchi was wonderful and accompanied the delicious teriyaki tri-tips from B & E Meats perfectly.



The table was set with my grandma's china and silver. I love the ivy pattern and not a single piece of the 12 piece place setting is missing. Yes, that is snow you see falling outside, and the red and white scarf on the chair is one of my Christmas gifts from Tunisia.



This is Christmas #24, give or take one or two, spent with our dear friends (really more like family) the Kornowskes.



We did play dominoes, much to my delight. To appease those who are less enthusiastic about the game we only played 12 down to 6. Joe won with a generous margin.



Triffle for dessert made by Valerie. It was incredibly rich and delicious and WE got the left overs. I think it is time for breakfast....well it does have fruit!