"Love Infused" Gnocchi

I hadn't yet told her that I loved her and I wanted the first meal I prepared for her to show her my true feelings. I wanted her to taste the love I had for her. I wanted something that her heart would respond to the moment she tasted it. I wanted to create love in food form that she might know my feelings before I put them into words.

I chose a dish would take all of my passion to create. My hands would knead the dough as they longed to touch her skin. My labor would infuse love into each gnocchi as I curled it with my thumb. And each time she put the pasta in her mouth would be a tiny kiss from me.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. russet potatoes
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup ground parmesan cheese
• 1/2-1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Preparation

1. Bake potatoes until cooked in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes.
2. Pass potatoes through a ricer or small china cap into a bowl.
3. Add the egg yolks, cheese, salt, white pepper and nutmeg.
4. Mix with hands. Do not over mix.
5. Add flour and fold as if kneading biscuits. If dough is too dry, add a little water (1/2 tsp) at a time. Fold and press a few times.
6. Cut dough into 4 pieces.
7. Roll each into a rope about 1-2 inch in diameter.
8. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
9. Take dough and press it against gnocchi board or the tines of a large fork.
10. Press it lightly with your thumb simultaneously pushing it away from you. It will roll away and around your thumb. Dust them with flour as you go.
11. Dry for 1 hour in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Turn after a half hour.
12. To cook, drop into boiling water. They are done when they rise to the top.
13. Serve with your favorite sauce.

© 2011, T. Formaro