Cream Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Parmesan Cream Sauce

Since I may be away a while I might as well leave you with my Cream Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Parmesan Cream Sauce, and a few pic of my Christmas decorations.

I wanted to try and come up with my own gnocchi and played around with this one.
This gnocchi came out a bit heavier than others because of the cream cheese, but hubby and I like it.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours. Ho Ho Ho and have a great holiday.

Cream Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Parmesan Cream Sauce

4 each potatoes — peeled and diced
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons chopped chives
salt and pepper — to taste
— SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper — to taste
— GARNISH
chopped chives

Serves 6

Cook the diced potato in salted boiling water to tender.

Drain well and mash with the cream cheese, butter and chives. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add flour a small amount at a time to make a workable dough. You may not use all flour but save it for your work surface. You want to use as little flour as possible yet still maintain a workable dough.

Cut dough into 4 parts and roll into ropes on a floured workspace. Cut ropes in 1″ sections and roll under the tines of a fork to make a decorative surface.

Bring a large pot of water to boiling and add the sections in the water, boil 5 minutes or until the gnocchi begin to float. Remove from water draining well.

For Sauce- Melt butter in a saucepan then add flour, cream and milk to make a white sauce. When thickened add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and pour over warm gnocchi. Garnish with chives. Serve immediately.

Long Time No Blog

Sorry I have been absent from the blogging scene, but I am so busy.

I am only on now to search for Chiarello’s Chocolate Tiramisu.

I made it last year and it was such a hit, but I have lost the recipe. I must make it again because everyone scoffed it down.

I love Chiarello. He is my favorite Food Network star.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and, if I don’t see you soon… which I might, have a Happy Holiday!

Thanksgiving Experiment “Butter Crescent Rolls”

I have been experimenting with recipes for Thanksgiving.
One I am going to use comes from the November 1995 issue of Southern Living for “Butter Crescent Rolls”.


This issue has a beautiful pastry cornucopia on the cover that I might try to stuff these lovely crescents within with some fresh oregano for garnish. It should make a lovely centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table.

They turned out so good, but I did make them larger than the recipe called.

It should have made three dozen and I only got two dozen, but as you can see they cover the whole palm of my hand. They still cooked in the recipe time allotted.

I was afraid the 1/2 cup sugar was excessive, but I followed the ingredients and they were really a great roll.

“Butter Crescent Rolls”

2- 1/4 ounce envelopes active dry yeast
3/4 C warm water
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C Butter, melted
2 eggs beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 C all purpose flour
1/2 C butter softened

Proof Yeast and water in a cup for 5 minutes

Combine the yeast with the next 4 ingredients then add 2 C flour.

Stir well then gradually add the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out and knead 4 times then place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top of dough.

Cover and allow to rise 1 hour in a warm area.

Punch dough down and divide into 3 equal parts.

Roll each part into a 12″ circle the brush with remaining butter. Cut circles into 12 wedges and roll like you do crescents.

Place on greased sheets point side down, allow to rise about 20 minutes, bake 12 minutes in 375 degrees until puffed and brown.

Happy Birthday to Me Almost

It is almost my birthday.

I have always wanted to try sugar coating my violet blooms

so I thought it was a great opportunity to make a cake with the sugared blooms.

It is just a basic white cake with white icing and I put homemade cherry preserves between the layers.

I split the recipe in half because I wanted a smaller cake and not three layers.

To sugar the violets you just brush them with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. You should use fine sugar, but I didn’t have any so I processed regular in a blender. They might have turned out better if I had fine sugar.

White Cake

1 cup unsalted butter — (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
8 egg whites

cream butter & sugar till fluffy, sift together bkg pwdr and salt and flour, combine milk and vanilla, alternate ingreds while mixing, whip egg whites till peaks form, carefully blend into batter, bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes (in three 9 inch pans that are buttered & floured). Frost however you like.

Best Vanilla Icing

1/4 cup solid Crisco shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups confectioners’ sugar — sift if lumpy
1/4 cup milk

Put all in a mixer and whip for 5 minutes until light and spreadable