Gnocchi in White Wine Sauce

This is a recipe I get asked for a lot so I figured it was time to write it out! What I love best about it is that the base is the same but you can switch out for whatever you have on hand (protein and veggies included). As long as you have gnocchi, butter, white wine, vinegar and some kind of broth/stock, you can mix and match how you like! I also live that this dinner is (almost) one-pot. While I do boil the gnocchi in an additional pot the sauce and protein all cook in the same pan. I prefer cast iron but a large nonstick skillet would be fine as well. Finally, I like to use fresh homemade gnocchi when I can but when you don't have any on hand the frozen stuff from the store works perfectly well and it easy to work with! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound hot Italian sausage links (I used turkey but you can choose whatever you prefer)
• 1 pound gnocchi 
• 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced in rounds
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 ears corn, kernels shaved from the cob (or 1 cup frozen sweet corn)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups kale leaves, washed, stems removed and rough chopped
• 1/4 cup rough chopped parsley for garnish
• Shaved hard cheese (Pecorino Romano or Parmesan) for garnish

For the sauce:

• 1 cup white wine
• 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth 
• 2 tbsp light-colored vinegar (I prefer sherry but red wine or white wine vinegar will work as well)
• 2 tbsp honey
• red pepper flakes to taste for spice level
• 2 tbsp butter (for finishing)

Directions:

•  Heat your skillet over medium heat with a touch of oil. Add sausage in whole links and cook on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes (does not need to be cooked through at this point). 
• Remove sausage from pan and set aside in a bowl or plate to retain juices. 
• Add 1 tbsp olive oil and add corn and tomatoes to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes until corn is slightly browned in spots and tomatoes begin to wilt. 
• Add shallots and garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Do not allow garlic or shallots to burn. 
• Add white wine to the pan and allow to cook out for 2-3 minutes until reduced by about half. Add in broth, vinegar, honey and pepper flakes. Slice sausage into 1/2 in rounds and add back into sauce (with any juices left on your plate) to finish cooking. Continue to allow sauce to cook until fully reduced by about half. 
• While sauce is cooking boil salted water to cook your gnocchi. Once water is boiling, reduce down to low boil and add gnocchi in batches to avoid lowering the temperature too much. Cook gnocchi until it floats (meaning it's done). Fresh gnocchi will only take 45 seconds-1 minute. Frozen may take 2-3 depending on your water temperature. Add gnocchi floats transfer to sauce pan using a slotted spoon. Continue this until all gnocchi is cooked and transferred to sauce pan.
• Add kale and butter to your pan and stir to combine. Allow to sit in the pan but off the heat for 5-7 minutes until kale is soft. 
• Serve in shallow bowls garnished with parsley and shaved cheese.

One-Pot Curry

One-Pot (or slow-cooker) Curry

Curry is one of those things that people get intimidated to cook when in reality it's one of the most simple things to make and can be totally customized to you likes. I started dabbling in the Thai food realm about seven years ago. I discovered how much I liked curry after trying a local Thai restaurant but as a poor recent graduate preferred to spend the same amount of money to buy ingredients for about 6 servings of curry as I would to purchase one plate at said restaurant. So I started doing some research and after countless batches and about 25 different techniques I can tell you this: THIS ONE IS THE EASIEST AND THE BEST ONE OUT THERE. 

If you aren't familiar with curry then you should know that all curry has some level of spice (when you are buying paste ready-made and not making it yourself - bc girlfriend ain't got time for that). In general Yellow or Massaman curry are the most mild, Red and Panang are in the middle and Green or Kang Kua are the hottest. My favorite brand of curry paste is Maesri which I pick up at the Asia Supermarket (yes, this is what it's actually called) in Chinatown in Philly but you can get it on Amazon or other online retailers. Here are my three favorites:

These pastes have amazing flavor on their own but I find a tiny bit of tweaking really brings them to the next level. I prefer my curry on the sweeter side so I add in some brown sugar while it's cooking but that's a personal preference. I also like LOTS of ginger so I add in about 1/2 cup of chopped ginger to one batch of curry. Curry can also be customized in terms of protein and vegetables. My husband and I prefer to use cubed brisket in curry but you can use chicken, shrimp or leave it vegetarian and it will still be delicious. You will obviously adjust the cooking time and this one slow simmers for at least 5 hours to allow the beef to get nice and tender. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 - 2 pounds brisket, cubed and fat layer removed
• 1 can curry paste of choice
• 4 cans coconut milk (I prefer regular but you can get reduced fat)
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1.2 cup small diced fresh ginger (if using prepared pureed ginger from a jar use 1/4 cup)
• 2 medium leeks, halved, small diced and cleaned
• 1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 zucchini, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• Rice, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

1. Heat a heavy bottom soup pot over medium-high heat and add spray with cooking spray or add 1 tbsp oil. Add beef in single-layer batches and brown on all sides, removing from pot when finished. Repeat until all beef is browned on all sides.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add in ginger to saute for several minutes until fragrant. 
3. Add in curry paste, coconut milk, soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir to combine all ingredients and taste for adjustments. 
4. Add beef back into curry (along with juice collected in the holding bowl) and bring to a simmer. Once curry is simmering reduce heat to low and cook with lid vented for 4-5 hours until beef is tender, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot every 30ish minutes. 
5. 30 minutes before you are ready to serve add in leeks, pepper and zucchini and turn heat up to medium, stir every few minutes. Make rice according to package directions. 
6. Serve with rice on the side or in the middle of a wide but shallow soup bowl. Enjoy!

Spicy California Sushi Roll Bowl

Spicy California Sushi Roll Bowl

This has quickly become one of my favorite lunches. First, it's quick. I can throw it together in less than 5 minutes. Second, it's delicious and hits that sushi craving for me without me having to shell out the big bucks for delivery or take out. Third, it's versatile and allows for lots of changes based on what you have, what you like or what you feel like eating that day. While I make mine with crab stick (you know, the imitation kind...judgement free zone, please!), you could totally make this with shrimp, seared tuna or even salmon. I have a very weird issue with cold and reheated protein so this works well for me. 

The star of this dish is most definitely the Furikake. It's available on Amazon and really adds that "sushi" flavor to the bowl. For those unfamiliar (like I was until recently) it's a blend of light and dark sesame seeds and ground nori. IT. IS. THE. BOMB. Totally worth the $10 price tag. So if you are anything like me and have a regular sushi craving and no great way to fix it, this is your ticket! 

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup brown rice (or other starch of your choosing, this would also be good with quinoa)
• 1 Persian cucumber (or 1/2 cup regular cucumber, seeded and skin removed)
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1/3 cup imitation crab (or 3 oz seafood protein of your choice)
• 1 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped
• 1 tbsp spicy mayo (I mix light mayo with Sriracha for this)
• 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• Sprinkle of furikake 

Directions:

• Place rice in the bottom of your bowl and microwave for 30 seconds with a touch of water to "wake it up" from being in the fridge. 
• Add cucumbers, avocado, crab, ginger, spicy sauce, soy and Furikake on top. 
• Take a picture for instagram and tag @_beagoaldigger_  ;) 
• Mix all together and enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs

I have been thinking about attempting this dish for a while but every time I came close I would feel too guilty deserting my Italian roots and giving up the red sauce. That said, I'm glad I finally took the leap because this were legen...wait for it...dary! Shout out to all my Barney Stinson fans who got my HIMYM reference ;) (Balled like a baby during the finale, BTW, that was so cruel!) But I digress...

This dinner was perfect because it was warm for a cold March night and was hearty while still feeling light since the sauce is more of a broth then a heavy gravy. This reminded me a lot of the Salisbury Steak recipe I made except it took a lot less time and it's inherently served with pasta instead of mashed potatoes. The flavor profile is similar, though with the beef stock/mustard/Worcestershire base but is taken a different direction with the additional of the sour cream and parsley. Overall we both really enjoyed it which is saying a lot since I'm married to the king of "I hate pasta" and he went back for seconds.  I served this with roasted brussel sprouts but I think it would be even better with a refreshing salad such as the fennel and apple one I make.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients: 

For the Meatballs: 

• 1.5 pounds 80/20 ground beef (VBP would be good, also)  
• 1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup cup shaved hard cheese (Pecorino, Parmesan, etc)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp cream or whole milk
• Pinch of salt and pepper

For the Sauce:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 cups unsalted beef stock
• 2 tbsp smooth dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream *optional, if you want it extra creamy - I did not use this

Additional:

• 2 cups egg noodles, cooked al dente
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup chopped flat Italian parsley leaves 
• 2 tbsp cooking oil (canola, corn, vegetable, etc)

Directions:

1.  Prepare meatballs by mixing all ingredients together and forming into 1.5-2 inch balls (should make between 12-14)
2. Heat cooking oil in a heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Once up to temp, add meatballs and cook on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes. Work in batches without crowding the meatballs so they don't steam. 
3. Once meatballs are browned remove from pot and set aside. Add butter to rendered meatball fat. Once melted add flour and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes - stir regularly scraping the bottom as you do so. 
4. Once roux has browned slowly whisk in beef broth in a slow, steady stream. Add in remaining ingredients and stir until combined. *I buzzed mine with my immersion blender for about 30 seconds just to incorporate everything quickly and that worked well. If you don't have one a whisk will work fine, it will just take some time. 
5. Bring sauce to a simmer (medium-low heat) and then add meatballs back in. Cook partially covered until meatballs are cooked through, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they don't stick to the bottom. 
6. While meatballs simmer make egg noodles according to package directions and wash and chop your parsley leaves. 
7. Once paste is cooked, strain and add remaining 2 tbsp butter to your pasta pot. Return pasta and toss 1/2 the copped parsley and a sprinkle of salt. 
8. Serve immediately by spooning meatballs and sauce directly over your noodles Top each plate with a sprinkle of parsley.