Gnocchi a la Parisienne

First up, Gnocchi a la Parisienne. That, for the record, was the last bit of French you're going to get here. This is mostly because it's one of the few in the book that I could actually say. From now on you get the English names, in this case it's herb gnocchi. See, who knew that a la Parisienne really mean herb? Hint: it doesn't.

I chose this first mostly for reasons of convenience. I'm lacking somewhat in the pots and pans department, and my new dutch oven won't get here for a few weeks. That left me trying to find a recipe that does not use stocks or stock-based sauces. That's harder than it may seem in this book, but gnocchi will work just fine.

The ingredients here are pretty simple; some pate a choux (think profiterole dough and hence the a la Parisienne), mustard, herbs, cheese. That's it. Sound boring? It kind of is, and I probably should have already pointed out that these gnocchi are the base of another recipe. Everything looked like this before I had my way with it:


I'll be making Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Butternut Squash out of it. That brings me to the next point. I'll be making Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Butternut Squash out of half of it. And then the two of us will eat about 10% of that. It makes a lot. Like 240. Next time I'll be adjusting. In the meantime, the rest are nice and frozen.

The recipe takes a fair amount of time to make, but it's by no means hard. Putting the dough together took maybe half an hour, but the actually poaching took a long time. Not just a boring long time either. A long time during which you consistently splash 200 degree water on your arms. Fun stuff! Seriously though, between the mostly active cooking time and the waiting, it took a touch under three hours.

Anyway, you cook the little dough balls for a couple of minutes (remember that they get cooked again later), drain them, and put them in the fridge or freezer. Couldn't get any easier. How were they, you ask? Well, if you've been playing along, you've probably caught on that this recipe is just the base for another. Translation, I have no real idea yet, but they sure look like they have potential. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, so you'll have to wait for the follow on recipe to get a look.

Rules of Engagement

Rule #1: These rules will probably never stop changing.

Rule #2: Some decisions will have to be made about modifications to the recipes. This can be due to ingredients that are impossible to find or expensive, time constraints, or lack of equipment. Occasionally I may get lazy and decide it's not worth cooking a stock, turning it into a sauce, and the preparing it in order to add a tablespoon on top of a steak. It might be good, but see Rule #3. My goal is to keep these at a minimum, and I'll be clear about when they occur.

Rule #3: My goal is to make at least one meal a week. That could be just one recipe, or three. It comes with the territory of not being a professional cook and having to go to work during the day.

Rule #4: Most of the recipes will probably be reduced to make 2 servings. Why? Because I live in a house of two. Things that are easily stored for long periods of time may be an exception to this rule.

Rule #5: I won't be divulging any recipes here, so go buy the book if you want to make any of this. It's great to read, look at, learn from, and hopefully eat the results of.