Gnocchi di zucca

I had planned to make these earlier this week but was waylaid by a mysterious illness that caused me to curl up in bed instead. Too bad, because this is one of the best things that can happen to a winter squash. My mother made it a couple years ago when I was lucky enough to be around to watch her do it and I have made it countless times since then. It is really easy but seems difficult when you are eating it because it is so ridiculously delicious. It really helps to watch someone else do it first because then you say to yourself "That's it? That's all there is to it?"

Halved, seeded and roasted one Golden Nugget squash at 350 degrees until soft and well-cooked. I scooped the squash out of the rind and put it through a food mill, into a large mixing bowl. Added 1 egg, salt and pepper, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Mixed well. Began adding handfuls of flour, incorporating it into the dough, adding more flour, incorporating it into the dough, etc. (At this point, I realized that Golden Nugget squash is not the best choice for this recipe--it is rather watery and causes the dough to accept quite a lot of flour but still remains on the sticky side. Kabocha or other more starchy winter squashes are a better choice.) Added flour ad nauseam. Eventually it formed a sticky dough. Melanie and I pinched off small pieces, rolled them on a floured cutting board (like making Play-doh snakes), and cut them into 1/2" pieces. Then we pressed the pieces with floured fork tines and set them aside on a sheet of waxed paper. For quite some time. Brought a large pot of salted water to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, heated 1/4 cup of butter, and fried in it 1 cup of chopped, fresh sage leaves. Added a little more butter. Put all the gnocchi into the boiling pot of water. There were quite a few so I stirred the pot a few times; when they had all surfaced, I drained them, put into a serving dish, and poured the fried sage leaves and melted butter over the top. Added a bit of salt and pepper and tossed everything together.

I made red cabbage and prosciutto again because I still had a lot of red cabbage and prosciutto in the fridge.

Jeremy joined us, following his rotation with family practice/GA 400. More Valdivieso merlot, then Bogle Petite Syrah ("the best wine you can buy within 50 ft of the apartment!"). Clearly, I am feeling better.