Sneak Peek: Gnocchi Mac 'n Cheese Girls Night!

I'm going to get real with you for a second, this whole "no pasta" thing that I inflicted on myself for Lent is really started to get to me. I've been around pizza several times and can manage - okay, I slipped once at the bachelorette weekend when that is what we had at the house for dinner Friday night. I mean really, I had no choice, a girl's gotta eat! I took the rule that I think I once heard about being able to indulge in what you give up and have it on Sundays, and just applied it to that particular Friday night. That works - right?!? Let's just all agree, "yes".

Pasta, however.... ooooo I am missing you, my stomach yearns for you, mainly macaroni and cheese. I didn't realize how much it tempts me until now when I can't have it. Well, I found a loop hole.

My friend Meredith sent me a recipe for a mac and cheese gnocchi, and she instantly became my favorite person on the planet. Gnocchi is not pasta, it is a potato dumpling. Since Greer and I just took the gnocchi class at Central Market, what had started as a girl's happy hour turned into a full blown fun night in the kitchen sipping some wine, snacking on some "hummi" (we decided we needed to make a distinction between singular and plural use since we had 3 different kinds), and making dinner together. I give you three awesome fellow foodie guest bloggers with me tonight as we make gnocchi from scratch and into a non-pasta macaroni and cheese. Welcome to the ladies! Say (gnocchi mac and...) CHEESE!

(Meredith, Myself, Amy, Greer)

This was attempt 6/6 on self-timer with the camera that was set on a shelf. I debated adding the whole

"photo shoot" but realized only the 4 of us would find it truly humorous.

This was a pretty big cooking spree so it will take me a little bit to sort through the step-by-step photos and type out both recipes, but I wanted to leave a little teaser for what is to come!

   

Greer's Garlic, Regular and Roasted Red Pepper "Hummi"

Meredith's delicious roasted asparagus with Gruyere

Starting the potato-ricing process



Combining the egg mixture with the riced potatoes

Kneading the dough

Cut the dough, rolling them out to then cut off the individual gnocchi

Rolling the gnocchi on the board to create grooves

Making the cheese sauce with fontina, Parm and gruyere

Fresh baked Gnocchi Mac and Cheese!