"Pliny contributated tremensely"

... to our knowledge of ancient culinary trends...

Alex and I made potato gnocchi today, a dish that I LOVE and that I've never attempted myself. The store-bought gnocchi always turn out mushy and blah and David doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. When we were in Cortona, at the wonderful tavern Fufluns, I had the special of the day, "brutti e buoni Fufluns," which were tri-colored gnocchi made with beet, spinach and potatoes in a white cream sauce; they were obviously handmade and irregular and about 1-1/2" long and as big around as penne noodles, with pointy ends. Oh man.

I really want to try my friend Simona's gnocchi technique, but I didn't dare deviate today from Chef Alain's instructions. I baked the potatoes, then peeled them while they were still hot; then ran them through a ricer. Then kneaded them with flour, adding salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Then we added four egg yolks and kneaded some more, but with a light hand. According to the Chef, the dough must not be overworked or allowed to cool, so that the gluten does not begin to develop. Then we rolled them and sliced them into lumps, and rolled them over a fork so that they'd get some nooks and crannies to hold the sauce.



Alex made sauces: fresh pesto lightened with cream, and spicy tomato and sausage.



Andrea made a nice calamari dish: she started by making a fresh tomato sauce and a beurre blanc. Then, right before service, she sautéed calamari rings briefly in hot olive oil, then added the sauces. Chef didn't follow his own instructions (to pour out the liquid created by the sautéing calamari...) so the mixture ended up soupier than it should have been. But the calamari was tender and delicious.



Andy finished the osso bucco that he started on Friday, and it was tremendous.



Derrick was absent on Friday and today, he offered no excuse other than "I don't really like this class very much." Of course, he didn't say that to the Chef.