Gnocchi with Fontina Sauce

After having a lot of fun with the last Blogger's Choice swap, I was eager to join in for this round.  The blog I was assigned was The Cookaholic Wife.  There were so many yummy looking things on there, but after much deliberation I settled on trying my hand at homemade gnocchi,

I love gnocchi and if it's on the menu, 9 times out of 10 I will order it, but I had never made it myself.  ----- made it sound so simple that I knew this was the recipe to go with.  And it was definitely easy!  To save time I opted to heat my potatoes in the microwave, then while they were cooking I prepped the rest of the dish.  She said to use 1/2 - 3/4  cup flour.  I used 1/2 and thought the consistency was good but I think I'll use a bit more in the future, as the dough got sticky as I rolled it out.  I also was using a small cutting board to roll the dough, so I did it in a few batches and would toss each batch into the pot as I went along, removing them when they started to float..  Next time I will prep all of the gnocchi and put it in the pot all at the same time since I ended up with mostly cold gnocchi,  I don't know why I thought this way was  good idea!

The sauce was so rich and creamy.  I may, in the future, cut down a little on the butter and use skim milk instead of heavy cream just so it doesn't feel as heavy.  I think this was the first time I thought a sauce was too cheesy.  But I would totally try this sauce out on macaroni & cheese.  Maybe I'll make some homemade macaroni in a few weeks...hmm....

Honestly, if I knew how easy it was to make gnocchi I would have done it years ago.  Who knows what's in those prepackaged ones you buy at the store?  I think homemade is the way to go for this in the future!!  I have so many more dishes that use gnocchi that could benefit from this change.

And a big thank you to our trusty swap leader Sarah of A Taste of Home Cooking who does all the leg work for us so we can just cook and enjoy!

Gnocchi with Fontina Sauce (from The Cookaholic Wife)

Gnocchi  Slightly Adapted from Closet Cooking
Ingredients: 
1 lb. baking potatoes
1/2 - 3/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
 1 tbsp. milk  

Directions
- Scrub the potatoes well and prick with a fork. Use your desired method to bake the potatoes. (I cheat and use the microwave for the sake of time, but the oven is fine too.)
- Once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, scoop out the insides of the potatoes into a medium bowl and mash with the milk.
- Add the egg and salt and stir with a fork until combined. Start with the 1/2 cup of flour and use your hands to combine until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add additional flour.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Roll the dough into long 1/2 inch wide rolls.
- Cut the dough into 1/2" pieces and dip in remaining flour, shaking off the excess.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place a dish towel over a wire rack.
- Using a slotted spoon, drop batches of the gnocchi into the boiling water, making sure not to crowd the pot. Once the gnocchi float, about 2-3 minutes, remove with the spoon and transfer to the dish towel. Let drain before serving.
Fontina Cheese Sauce
Slightly Adapted from: Allrecipes.com
Ingredients 
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. shallots, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
7 oz. Fontina cheese, shredded
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
 
Directions
- Once the pot of water for the gnocchi is boiling, heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. - Add the butter and shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the butter is melted and the shallots are soft.
- Stir in the heavy cream and heat to an almost boil. Gradually mix in the Fontina cheese and Parmesan cheese, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
- Remove immediately from the heat.
- Serve the cheese sauce over the gnocchi. Garnish with oregano.