Candies and Flowers? Not For This Girly

Most women swoon when their husbands/boyfriends/lovers get them candies, jewelry or flowers. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a beautiful bouquet of tulips or something blingy. But, just as much as either of those things ... I love new kitchen goodies.

My new marble pastry board.
**Swoon**

Late last month, when I took a business trip to Texas, my husband surprised me with a "welcome home present" of all kinds of little kitchen gadgets. None of the gifts were over the top, but they really showed me how supportive he is about this little homemade happiness experiment. An experiment that is turning into a new way of living in our little household. From new measuring cups to individual pizza stones, each little present I unwrapped made my mind buzz with all kinds of new ideas.

But, that's not all he had up his sleeves ...

Earlier this week, my adoring husband brought me home a present -- a thank you for doing something special for him that day. When he presented me with the gift, tears sprung into my eyes: a marble pastry board! 

Something so simple, but something so wonderful. This was the only thing on my Christmas list this year, so to have him surprise me with this now melted my heart.

I'm so excited thinking of all the things I'll get to make on the board, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner. Now, I just need to think of something new to add to my Christmas list.

Oh the possibilities! (If only I'd had this last week when I rolled six pounds of gnocchi and made three batches of pie dough!)

... hmmmm ... and as I write this blog post, I'm wondering ...

How much of the gift was "Oh, Elizabeth would love this" and how much of the gift was driven by his grumbling tummy? 

Regardless of the motivation, the gifts (and the hubby) are pretty awesome.

Sunday's dinner:
Pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter

* * *

Pumpkin Gnocchi (recipe adapted from Simply Recipes)

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup parmesan or romano cheese
3-4 cups all purpose flour

Mix the pumpkin puree, ricotta, parmesan, eggs and salt together in a large bowl. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix well with your hands. The dough should be very sticky, impossible to work. Add another half cup of flour and mix that in — you want the dough to still be pretty sticky, but pliable enough to shape into a large log. If it's not, keep adding a little flour at a time until you can get a soft dough that will be rollable. It should never require more than 4 cups of flour. 

To make the gnocchi, spread some flour on a large work surface and have more flour ready. Cut the dough log into four equal pieces. Take one piece and cut it in half. Roll the piece of dough into a snake about 1/2 inch thick, then cut it into pieces about the thickness of a fork.

Once the gnocchi are made, you can add them to boiling water or freeze. If you cook them, add to boiling water and remove once they float to the top. 

To freeze ahead -- as you shape the gnocchi, lay them (single layer) on a cookie sheet. Add parchment paper in between layers. Once you complete, freeze overnight. Move the gnocchi to an air tight container and freeze up to four months. To cook, add to boiling water. The gnocchi are cooked once they float to the top.

For the sage/butter -- Melt 1/4 cup butter, add 2-3 tsp fresh sliced sage. Add gnocchi. Cook through 1-2 minutes. Add salt/pepper to taste. Top with additional fresh grated cheese.