Keeper: Easy Ricotta Gnocchi

I was super excited about this. For me, gnocchi is one of those recipes that is reserved for people who cook like magicians or professionals. Turns out, that couldn't be more wrong. Working with the dough was hard, because I don't know that I've done it since I was a little kid, but it was tons of fun. I ended up using way too much flour and it wasn't that pillowy, but it was still plenty good enough to eat.

So,

I used this recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/easy-ricotta-gnocchi/

but, next time, I want to try this one: http://www.deliciousdays.com/archives/2009/05/19/15-minutes-to-fame-gnocchi-for-beginners-and-braggarts/

Cost: Surprisingly cheap. I rarely get gnocchi because the store bought stuff is expensive, but with this recipe, it's totally doable.
Convenience: All the recipes say that it's SUPER fast. It wasn't for me, it took more than an hour to prep, but I believe the recipes that other people can be that fast. If I practice... I could knock out home made gnocchi in no time. So, this is still a project, but maybe soon....
Delicious: Gnocchi is amazing. The first attempt was like a 6/10, so still delicious, but nothing to write home about. My guess it was problems with trying something new rather than the recipe.
Freeze: Oh my god. The recipe says this is easy to freeze. I COULD HAVE MY OWN FROZEN GNOCCHI IN THE FREEZER. Someone call Martha Stewart so I can use my snooty voice.
Uses: I don't know. It's pasta. If I got good at this, it would be super fast and easy to make for other people and would be totally fake-fancy, but not yet.
Notes: So, the parchment paper WILL rip and get all over you. Should have put more flour on it. You should flour your hands too. It will help a lot. Don't whisk the dough. You'll be sorry. Use a spoon. Smaller is better for the pillows. Use less flour next time! It'd prob be faster to do them in one batch instead of multiples. Playing with the dough was a crazy amount of fun. I think I need an apron.... Had it with store bought Newman's Sockarooni and it was awesome, but looks like nearly any sauce goes good on it.


By round two, I bet this one will be a keeper. Just not quite there yet.

Round Two! So, what I did was whisk up the dough very good, added about a cup and a half of flour slowly whisking that in. Then I put it on a cooking board coated with flour (coated my hands too) and then started kneading it, adding bits more as I went(just have the measuring cup full of flour and grab and pinch). I'm still very slow, but it gets better all of the time. It was delicious!

I still need an apron.