family day dinner

Family day is kind of an insane holiday, but I am obviously into holidays and was determined to celebrate even though my family lives far, ish, away. So, my lovely friends and I had a pretty amazing family dinner, featuring amazing and relatively light (especially considering that it was paired with a blue cheese sauce) gnocchi and a Brussels sprout hash. I love making a sort-of labour-intensive meal with many friends, especially my friends. (cheesy! also, true!)

Ashley’s “world’s lightest gnocchi”

• 6 medium baking potatoes
• olive oil
• nutmeg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 or 2 handfuls of flour

Coat the potatoes in oil, with the skin on, and puncture them with a fork. Bake them at 400 for an hour. I think that baking, rather than boiling, the potatoes is key. When the potatoes are cooked, peel the skin off, and mash the potatoes. Add in the egg yolk and as much nutmeg as you want. Once the potatoes are well mashed, add in the flour. Do a test run to make sure the consistency is right by dropping a ball of the dough into boiling water until it floats, which takes about 4 minutes. If it doesn’t fall apart, and tastes good, it’s ready. If not, add more flour. Roll the dough into a long tube and cut into chunks. Then, press a fork into the pieces, and leave them to sit for about twenty minutes, so they harden.

To make the gorgonzola sauce, melt the following ingredients in a saucepan, and throw in some sautéed shiitake mushrooms (because blue cheese and mushrooms are the best combo ever!)

• 2 tablespoons gorgonzola
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream

Top with chopped marjoram and fresh parmesan cheese. This is the “heavy” part of the gnocchi, which is maybe a bit insane, given that gnocchi is potato pasta.

We also made a Brussels sprouts hash. I have to say that I was skeptical of this, since I absolutely love Brussels sprouts, just boiled and eaten plain. This was a different Brussels sprout experience, still good, but I think I’ll stick with the straight up boil for everyday eating.

• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
• olive oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, cut into slices
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese

Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, then add in the Brussels sprouts and sauté for about 15 minutes. Gradually add the soup stock, stirring constantly. When the soup stock has boiled off, toss in the cheese and the walnuts. Add pepper to taste, but unless you are using zero-sodium stock you probably won’t need to add salt.

Mid-February isn’t really the best time for Brussels sprouts, but I still support family day!