Sweetie Pillows

That day when couples buy obnoxious gifts for one another, chocolates, flowers, big fluffy animals is only 2 days away; I think that's all a load of crap compared to a home cooked meal.  Honestly ladies, when was the last time your man cooked for you, I mean the whole meal without any help?! Probably not in a while.  And even for all you single ladies out there, when was the last time you made a fun girls night cooking in, drinking too much wine, and gossiping?! Probably the same amount of time.  Well here's a dish that both parties will love... sweet potato gnocchi with maple cinnamon sage brown butter sauce (adopted from Giada de Laurentiis).

First thing you should know about gnocchi, it isn't that hard to make, in fact it's easier than making pasta; but just like making pasta, you have to have a little patients and not be afraid to get a bit messy.  Also, this was my first time making gnocchi by myself.  When I was at school, every Thursday night my best friend Jenny and I would make dinner together, while doing homework and watching our girly shows on TV. We made gnocchi with each other a couple times, but I actually never made the "batter" myself.  So here I was, in my little apartment kitchen, attempting to make gnocchi with not enough flour to dust and roll it (Florida weather molded my bag of flour, ew) and not really knowing what I was doing.  Long story short, they actually turned out light and delicious, but next time, here's what I would change about Giada's recipe:

**At the end of this post is the original full recipe.

Corrections:
1) Giada uses whole milk Ricotta but if you want to cut back on the calories, I used part-skim ricotta by Polly-O brand.  Another hint, when mashing the sweet potatoes, use your old-fashion potato masher or a potato ricer, not a fork; it will get all the lumps out more evenly.

2) More FLOUR!! The recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups flour but I would probably add close to another 1/4 cup of flour in the batter itself.

 My gnocchi batter, which was a bit tacky as you can see on my hands and I only had enough flour to coat the ball but not enough to keep dusting the cutting board as you cut and roll it into 6 logs. Flour is the key!

3) After I realized I did not have the key, well lets just say it was totally useless of me to attempt making logs out of my gnocchi batter so instead I pinched pieces off.  The original recipe says to roll the sectioned batter into logs and then cut into small pieces. Without the key this is nearly impossible because the batter is so sticky and sticks to everything but itself.  If you are lacking in flour, get yourself a glass filled with hot water and dip your fingers into the water to pinch off pieces making gnocchi. Put them on a plate to separate and then into your boiling salted water to cook. They will float when they're done.

 These are my tester gnocchi's. I know how strange they look, but trust me, after a bath in some brown butter maple cinnamon deliciousness, you won't care what they look like.

4) Making the sauce is the easy part. Hot pan, check. A stick of butter? Yes please.  Savory sage, spicy cinnamon and sweet maple syrup, you can stop drooling now, it will be in your belly soon enough.

A saute pan with rounded edges is perfect so you can impressed your honeybun or your girlfriends when you do a saute flip to perfectly coat each one of those luscious gnocchis in brown butter goodness.  Oh yea!

 Saucy.

There you have it.  Sweet potato gnocchi.  Simple, yet good enough for your girlfriends and even that silly Hallmark holiday, Valentines Day.  If you love or don't love this holiday, either way, this recipe is a must!

I ate mine with a side of garlic sauteed spinach. Advised to serve with a big glass of a buttery, clean Chardonnay.

Giada de Laurentiis' recipe (found on foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

For the Gnocchi:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 2/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

For the Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the Gnocchi: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender and fully cooked, between 40 to 55 minutes depending on size. Cool slightly. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes and transfer to a large measuring cup to make sure the sweet potatoes measure about 2 cups. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and blend until well mixed. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi in 3 batches and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the gnocchi using a slotted spoon onto a baking sheet. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue with the remaining gnocchi.

For the Brown Butter sauce: While the gnocchi are cooking melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves. Continue to cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids begin to brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Careful, the mixture will bubble up. Gently stir the mixture. When the bubbles subside, toss the cooked gnocchi in the brown butter. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving dish and serve immediately.