We’re each uniquely a walking paradox, darlings, and what we feast on is no exception. I’d like to tell you that I feast on ramps, truffle oil and gold dust all day-every day, but it’d be a lie. Sometimes, my taste buds want to slum it a bit and indulge in a guilty dalliance of the frozen variety. Stouffer’s has a bevy of these treats that beckon me when I’m too tired to cook. Yes, I can make far more comforting versions of mac and cheese, stuffed peppers, swedish meatballs and veggie lasagne. And yes, my grabbing one of those little red boxes is incongruous with my love of all things wholesome and lovingly prepped with ingredients that I can select and choose. So how does an evolved home chef tow the line and make peace with her guilty pleasures? She figures out a copy cat recipe that gets the job done.
Recipe for The Daring Kitchen
When I first learned about The Daring Kitchen, I was excited to join a group that would provide me with monthly culinary inspiration. This month’s assignment (and my very first with TDK) was created by Steph from Stephfood, our Daring Cooks’ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with! Steph also encouraged us to make noodles that celebrated our culinary heritage. See Full Gnocchi Feast Menu
Shortcuts in the kitchen vary rarely lead to splendid results. Garbage in, garbage out, and no glory in between. It was with this sentiment and a whole lot of skepticism that I approached the idea of a pillowy, toothsome gnocchi made of instant potatoes. How could that be?
Given that this recipe was to become a part of a cluster of gnocchi recipe all undertaken together for The Daring Kitchen, I decided to approach the recipe as just that – a dare. How could I turn fake-me-out mashed potatoes into gourmet glory. The base recipe was fairly simple, reconstituting the dried flakes and then adding the traditional gnocchi add-ins of flour and egg. I then swaped out the boiling water for the soaking liquid from some dried chanterelle mushroom, adding a gloriously nutty flavor to plain old potato dumplings. I then dressed the little treasures in one of my favorite sauces of prosciutto, peas and cream. Perfection! Continue reading Instant Potato Gnocchi with Prosciutto, Peas and Chanterelle Mushrooms→
You should be ashamed of yourself. I saw you eyeing the pasta on that Olive Garden commercial with hungry eyes. You know it’s not delicious. You know it wasn’t actually created in a Tuscan cooking school with Michelin star winning chefs. Most importantly, you know you can’t trust any place that thinks variety in ingredients is a simple choice between chicken in cream sauce or sausage in tomato cream sauce. For shame, OG, for shame! Continue reading Pasta with Camembert, Asparagus and Peas→
