Monday, May 21, 2012

Homemade Italian Dinner

Dinner was heavenly last night.
I made gnocchi with marinara sauce and french bread. All homemade.

First, the french bread. I've been on this kick recently of trying to make my own rolls, breads, etc. I haven't done french bread before. I just searched for french bread recipes, clicked on the first one with a good looking picture and went with it.

This bread is amazing.
 The crust was golden and slightly chewy while the inside was fluffy and soft. This was as good as or better than store bought french bread. And it made 3 huge loaves. One is in the freezer and one will be consumed later in the week. The recipe can be found here. It was pretty easy to make.

Next, the Gnocchi.
 We've had Gnocchi a few times before at restaurants and loved it, but I've never tried to make it myself. It never even occurred to me to make it myself until Mckay suggested it Saturday night. I figured it can't be that hard, right? (I think I've been watching too much Food Network again.)
It actually wasn't that hard to make. I had a few struggles, mostly because I was using an awesome little pasta maker we picked up last summer. I didn't add enough flour and it was a very hot, humid day which only made the dough stickier. I think it would be a little easier for me to do by hand. Time consuming, but easier.
The gnocchi were oddly shaped and non-uniform, but they tasted delicious. I used this recipe for the gnocchi.

For my marinara, I use Giada's Marinara recipe. I usually make up a big batch and then freeze smaller containers of it so I have it on hand for occasions like this.

And there is my tasty, inexpensive Italian dinner, all made from scratch.
Except for the asparagus.

2 comments:

Katie said...

Good job! That dinner looks delicious. Ryan loves gnocchi so I should try this sometime. I might have to try the french bread too.

John said...

That looks like a delicious meal. We tried making Gnocchi one time, and it was okay. Maybe we should try your recipe and see if it turns out better.