Gnocchi: Knee-O-Key

If you've never had freshly made gnocchi, you're in for a treat. Derived from an Italian word for "a knot in wood", these little potato dumplings are Italian comfort food at its simplest.

Sure, you can get pre-made gnocchi at the grocery store, but if you want them to taste like the delicate little potato pillows they can be I suggest you make them yourself. Like the frittata, gnocchi can be dressed many ways with your favorite sauces. Plus, they can easily be frozen for later use.

At first, I thought making gnocchi would be pretty difficult. I was anticipating a big sticky mess on my hands, literally. But actually, the whole task was quite simple- it took more time to boil the potatoes than it did to knead the dough and shape the dumplings!

Here's what you need for the gnocchi:

 Not a lot going on here, you'll notice. You do need one piece of equipment- a potato ricer. I got mine for around $20 at Bed Bath & Beyond.

To get started, cook the potatoes in salty water until fork tender- you want to keep the skin intact to lock in all those good starches we need. In the mean time, take your flour and make a nice little flour crater. Or well. Whatever.

While the potatoes are still warm we're going to play a little game of hot potato. Grab the potato with a kitchen towel or oven mitt and get to peeling. Just don't burn yourself! After they're peeled, put them through the ricer, one half at a time, right over your little crater.

My crater could have stood to be a little larger.

Next, while the potatoes are still hot, incorporate the flour and potatoes together until they're just combined. Don't over do it or they can get gummie! The pastry scraper I got for Christmas was wonderful for this task- highly recommended!

Shape the dough into a brick, cut into six even pieces and pretend your in preschool again and roll each section into a big snake, about 1/2 inch thick. Then get your pastry cutter again and cut the snake into 3/4 inch pieces. Flour generously as needed so it doesn't stick to everything!

Now, this is probably the most difficult part of the whole recipe. Each little pillow gets rolled down the back of a fork to give it the gnocchi look you may recognize. With practice you will gain more finesse!

Be careful to not let the dumplings touch one another or they will turn into one giant gnocchi!

Plop these little darlings into a raging pot of boiling water and skim off the top as soon as they pop to the water's surface. Toss them directly into your sauce of choice and you have dinner! Might I suggest a sage brown butter or a creamy Gorgonzola sauce? Maybe a tomato sauce, or a simple dusting of cheese on the lighter side.

If you wanted to save your gnocchi for later, you can arrange the uncooked, formed dumplings onto baking sheets lined with wax paper and dusted with flour and freeze until you're ready to use them. You can then pick up where you left off and toss them directly into the boiling water as before.

Check in tomorrow to see how I made the delicious tomato sauce in the photo!

Gnocchi
2lb Russet potatoes
2 c all-purpose flour
Salt
Potato ricer

1. Clean potatoes, leave skin intact. Cover potatoes with cold, salty water and bring to a boil. Cover pot and let cook 30-45 min until fork tender.
2. Dump the flour into a mound on the counter and circle your hand around in the middle to form a well.
3. While potatoes are still hot, peel them with a paring knife using a kitchen towel to hold the hot potato.
3. Press the potatoes, in halves, through the potato ricer into the middle of the flour well.
4. Incorporate the flour into the potatoes, a little at a time, until it is just combined using a pastry scraper as needed.
5. On a floured surface, form the dough into a brick and cut into 6 even segments with the pastry cutter.
6. Roll each segment into a long snake, 1/2" wide and cut into 3/4" pieces.
7. Roll each piece over the back of a fork to shape and place on floured kitchen towel.
8. Toss the dumplings into salted, boiling water.
9. Skim each gnocchi off as they float to the top of the pot. Toss directly into sauce.

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Brunch Time: Caz's Chowhouse

Oh brunch... the joyous pastime of any good weekend. This week,  Caz's Chowhouse was on my radar.

 Caz's, located in Tulsa's Brady Arts District downtown, offers delicious comfort food in a sophisticated atmosphere. Best of both worlds, no?

This chowhouse is a perfect place for a casual brunch, an after church get together, or even a nice dinner before one of Tulsa's numerous downtown performances. Work downtown? They're open for lunch Sunday through Friday- just don't show up Saturday afternoon, due to less traffic they don't open until 5pm!

Caz's only recently started serving brunch on Sundays along side their full menu. Both menus offer the best in comfort food dishes, such as meatloaf, chicken and biscuit (yes only one- it's five inches wide!), chicken fried steak, and chicken and waffles. They also offer a wide array of burgers, salads and sandwiches and many familiar side dishes such as okra, black eyed peas, and their spicy slaw. 

What drew me to this restaurant initially was the fried green tomatoes. I hadn't tried them until this past year's fair and I was glad I didn't have to wait until next fall to get my fix! Such a delicious little treat... crispy corn meal breading... a tart and firm tomato... yum, yum, yum! And Caz's serves theirs with ranch and avocado dipping sauces.

The brunch menu offered up Belgian waffles, breakfast casserole, and chicken fried steak complete with eggs, breakfast potatoes and sausage gravy. But I couldn't get past The Hot Mess. 

Behold: a 5 inch buttermilk biscuit topped with cheese fries (!!!), two eggs cooked to order, sausage gravy, and chicken fried bacon. I could not resist a dish that offered up cheese fries in such an unexpected location. And chicken fried bacon? My curiosity was killing me.

While I may need my coronaries cleaned after devouring barely a third of this dish, it was so worth it. Each part was delicious on its own, but pile them all together and you have a comfort food masterpiece. And chicken fried bacon? Incredible! Paula Deen would be proud. But let me suggest- share this puppy with a friend!

If you want to add a little frill to your brunch, try one of their sparkling fruit cocktails with such flavors as blueberry and pomegranate for only $2.50. Even better- enjoy it on their outdoor patio. They also offer Bloody Marys for $5.25 and their beers rang from $2.50-$4.25. Not bad for downtown!

To check out the rest of the menu or their nightly specials, such as $5 burger Mondays, visit their website. And the next time you're craving some down home cooking- you know where to go!

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Travel Lust: Amazon Rainforest

Out of all of the places in the world, I cannot imagine anywhere more incredible to visit than the Amazon Rainforest.

 

With the majority of the forest residing within the borders of Brazil, this natural wonder is home to the second largest river in the world, the Amazon.

The lush climate of the rainforest lends itself to the millions of species of plants, animals, and insects found there.

I can only imagine what it would be like to trek through the jungle and see the amazing flora and fauna that I only see on the Discovery Channel- like this jaguar. 

It's almost hard to believe that this frog was not painted!

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Along with being the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is home to the largest flower in the world- the Rafflesia flower.

 

Could you imagine seeing this up close in real life?

It would be amazing to see monkeys swinging from the tree tops above- as long as they're nice monkeys!

There's a reason people are always talking about saving the rainforest...

What a stunning a fascinating place! Isn't nature incredible?

Photos from: destination360.com, scienceclarified.com, exoticanimallover.com, rainforestfauna.com, gooddeedaday.wordpress.com, columbia.travel, carlzjsoda.wordpress.com

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Yann Martel: A Book Signing

Book Smart Tulsa brought another great author to town- Yann Martel, author of the beloved Life of Pi and his most recent Beatrice and Virgil. Now, don't be mad at me- I forgot my camera. But this is pretty much what it looked like:

This book signing had a very different feel than that with Elizabeth Gilbert- largely due to the difference in genres I suppose. Martel, unlike Gilbert, did not read an excerpt from his latest book but rather talked on the intentions he had for Life of Pi and his inspiration for writing Beatrice and Virgil.

It was interesting to hear exactly what the Martel's intentions were with Life of Pi. Though the book is still up to interpretation by its readers, the book signing brought a rare chance to hear from the author what he was really thinking when he wrote it. Being a very black and white person, I much appreciated this!

What most interested me was Martel speaking about Beatrice and Virgil. Arriving at the book signing, I had no idea what his latest book was about but I knew there was a donkey and a monkey on the cover. Once again, Martel uses animals as protagonists to tell his story- a fact I very much like. What will catch you off guard is that the story is an animal allegory for the Holocaust.

I know- intriguing, right?

Martel describes the fascination for the Holocaust he has had since a child in school. He understood World War II and the concepts behind war, but that a country would extinguish millions of its own citizens was puzzling to him. Having no family ties to Europe or Judaism, Martel did not feel it appropriate for him to write a fictional book on the Holocaust using factual people and events. Instead, the author uses an animal allegory to, as he puts it, provide an undercurrent of truth about the Holocaust. It sounds incredible and I can't wait to read it!

Martel describes himself being an intricate planner when it comes to his writing style. Before he sits down to write the first paragraph, he knows how his book is going to end. An audience member asked if he ever changes the path of the story based off where his character is leading him. The author replied no- he tells the characters what to do.

Another project, of sorts, that Martel has is What is Stephen Harper Reading?. For as long as Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister of Canada, Yann Martel will send a new book to him every two weeks with a letter detailing why it was chosen. The website features the book choices and letters sent as well as replies received. So far, Martel has sent 100 books and received seven replies, none from the Prime Minister himself. And no, I don't think he sends them because he's a big fan. The website is quite funny and provides a great reading list!

Keep a look out- Life of Pi is currently being made into a major motion picture and will be released December 2012! Can't wait!

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At the Opera: Don Giovanni

When I was studying abroad in Rome, I had on my bucket list to see an opera in the country of its origin. But, alas, when it came down to how I was going to spend my Euros, weekend trips around the continent sounded much more appealing. 

I believe I saw an opera once when I was in second grade. The fact that I can't remember must say something to an eight year old's attention span, especially when a foreign language is involved. So, when I saw that Tulsa Opera would be putting on Don Giovanni (hey, that sounds familiar!), I convinced my darling boyfriend to go with me. I was able to get tickets for $10- so hey, why not?

When I think of going to the opera, images of opera glasses, ladies with fancy dresses and high society sitting in their box seats are conjured. Yes, I know what century it is, but this is all that Hollywood has provided me! Some of that luxury and glamour are retained- even at a Sunday matinee. I saw many people in their Saturday night best and plenty at the bar ordering a flute of champagne.

For being $10 and in the balcony, our seats were pretty great. We were right behind the railing- the sole thing keeping us from plunging to our deaths. Or so it seemed. After turning down the house lights, the orchestra began to play the national anthem. While the piece was spectacular, D and I spent the time clinging to one another- with our left hands of course- so that we wouldn't tumble over the edge into the laps below us.

Don Giovanni portrays the famous womanizer, Don Juan, and his attempts to bed anything with two X chromosomes. He's been quite successful in the past, as his pal Leporello recounts- taking up an entire aria.  As one can imagine, he upsets a few people along the way. In the end, the three ladies pursuing retribution get their wish when the philanderer is pulled down into the depths of hell. Quite a way to go, no?

I didn't know whether or not I'd like the opera and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I have to admit, my favorite part is trying to pick out all of the Italian words that I know- it's very gratifying. I'm also amazed by how the vocalists can project their voices all the way to the balcony. If you don't enjoy the singing itself- you can at least appreciate this fact!

In the middle of the second act of the opera, the English subtitles for the lyrics stopped working. Yet, the performers managed to make the audience laugh- I think that says a lot about the production!

D managed to make it through his first opera awake, though he requests I find another accomplice next time. What a good sport!

Tulsa Opera still has one performance left for their 2010-2011 season- Norma- April 30, May 6, and May 8. They have also just announced their 2011-2012 season with season tickets available.

With great seats at only $10, why not do something different and go see an opera?

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