18 replies to this topic

[Comfort Me]

OK -- the wierd part first. For Shabbas dinner I am making an Italian menu in honor of St. Joseph's Day. My wife has always wanted to go to a SJD banquet, but, for one reason or another, we never have. (I went to some awesome spreads in NY while in college.) This year SJD is on Shabbas, so I decided to make her a traditional SJD Shabbat dinner.

The menu:

A vegetarian vegetable soup, light, tomatoey broth with peas , carrots, lovage, a bit of shredded cabbage, diced tomato, haricot vert, and a little cress dropped into the bowl just before serving.

Caesar salad. The last of the really wonderful anchovies I brought back from New Orleans.

Fettucine tossed in a bowl with mascarpone until it melts, then drizzeled with pesto.

Gnocchi baked with a mushroom marinara, lots of grated parmesan grata on top.

Grean beans sauted with garlic, then braised with tomato, oregano and white wine.

Zeppole.

Cappachino -- I have a manual frother for the milk, which I will keep warm in a metal pitcher in the low oven.


OK -- so you are wondering what I need help with. It all seems so straightforward. But a question shot into my mind on the way to work today, and it won't go away.

Because of the strictures pertaining to cooking for the Sabbath, I want to have the gnocchi in a warm oven before Shabbat begins. I made the gnocchi a few weeks ago and froze them. (They are really outstanding gnocchi. The best I've ever made.) Do I boil the gnocchi, remove them to a gratin, cover with marinara and cheese, then put in the oven? Or do I put the gnocchi directly into the gratin and preceed without boiling them? Help!

[slkinsey]

Adian, are these potato gnocchi? Have you frozen them successfully before?

Also, how long do you plan to have them in the oven? Potato gnocchi are very delicate and temperamental. I wouldn't think that they'd hold up well to extended baking, and would likely turn into mush (especially given the disturbance of being frozen).

Have you thought of maybe making gnocchi di semolina? This is a traditional Abruzzese dish, and is always baked. I would think that the semolina gnocchi would hold up quite well to freezing, and you could easily just toss the frozen gnocchi into a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, etc. and throw it into the oven.

[Stone]

I can't help with your problem. But can you educate a Jew on what St. Josephs Day is? (I assume you're not spending the day popping little orange pills in your mouth.)

[bleudauvergne]

I think you'd be alright giving them a dunk before baking. But I'd try a test version first, since it's just in theory that I'm thinking it will work.

[slkinsey]

Saint Joseph's day, also known as San Giuseppe is the traditonal day of Saint Joseph, just like Saint Patrick and Saint Andrew and all those other guys have their own day. It is quite traditional in Italy to have more of a celebration on your name day (i.e., St. Joseph's day if your name is Joe) than your birthday. San Giuseppe is a very big deal in Southern Italy, and especially in Sicily. I'm going to be making sfinci this weekend as my nod to the tradition (deep fried dough lumps filled with sweetened ricotta, etc.).

[Comfort Me]

Sam:

I have frozen them before. They are potato with a small amount of semolina for stability.

They won't be in for long -- about 45 minutes. And I made the sauce quite thick so it won't waterlog the dumplings.

I thought about dropping the frozen gnocchi into boiling water for one minute, just to take the chill off of them, and then transferring them to the gratin. Sorta bar-boiling them. What do you think of that?

[slkinsey]

I thought about dropping the frozen gnocchi into boiling water for one minute, just to take the chill off of them, and then transferring them to the gratin. Sorta bar-boiling them. What do you think of that?

Were the gnocchi cooked before you froze them?

[Boris_A]

In my experience, "gnocchi di patate" require the right potatoes and need to be fresh to get truly convincing results. Of course, they are heavenly, but I've eaten them too many times in Italy, thus my consuming standards are higher than my cooking abilities.

I think the suggestion of Samuel with gnocchi di semolino (or alla romana) are the best choice if you plan a gnocchi gratin. They offer an excellent ReturnOnInvestment and are a sort of convenience food. I usually pre-prepare them in the morning.

I admire you courage, though.

[agnolottigirl]

Saute them! This is the method Thomas Keller recommends, and it's worked great for us. When we make gnocchi, we make a zillion, boil them all, freeze them (cookie sheet, etc.), then crank up the FoodSaver. To reheat, you saute the little darlings in a bit of olive oil with whatever else. Gnocchi with garlic, little cherry tomatoes, and basil were what I ate all last summer. I know that browned gnocchi aren't strictly traditional, but they're delicious. And I think if you saute them first, you won't end up with a pan of mush (as you might if you just baked them frozen.)

Let us know how it turns out!

[JPW]

Saint Joseph's day, also known as San Giuseppe is the traditonal day of Saint Joseph, just like Saint Patrick and Saint Andrew and all those other guys have their own day.  It is quite traditional in Italy to have more of a celebration on your name day (i.e., St. Joseph's day if your name is Joe) than your birthday.  San Giuseppe is a very big deal in Southern Italy, and especially in Sicily.  I'm going to be making sfinci this weekend as my nod to the tradition (deep fried dough lumps filled with sweetened ricotta, etc.).

Just one last bit of clarification.

We are talking about Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary.
Joseph of Arimathea (the guy in whose tomb Jesus was buried following the crucifixion) is forced to share his day with Saint Patrick.

Happy Saint's Day to me!!!
JoePW


edit for fat fingers

Edited by JPW, 19 March 2004 - 12:12 PM.

[slkinsey]

Today is the day when we all learn that Italian for "Joe" is "Beppe." You should sign BeppePW today.

[lamington]

I have used batches of frozen uncooked gnocchi --- take un-boiled frozen gnocchi from the freezer, boil until they have just started floating, remove and coat in a little butter or oil, add sauce/cheese/etc and bake.

Best to use a sauce that is not too wet. I have never had my light fluffy gnocchi dissolve to mush during baking (though I haven't tried baking beyond about 25mins). The recipe I use includes some egg and a little flour. The egg helps the gnocchi hold their shape better, without necessarily compromising texture.

[divina]

FYI the big deal about Saint Joseph's day in Italy.. is that it is FATHER'S DAY!

We all eat fried rice fritters, had to sample several yesterday, from several pastry shops, the best I had were from Ivana's Forno on via del ariento in Florence, filled after frying with a light lemon infused pastry cream!

I also suggest just reheating the gnocchi in a skillet in a little of the sauce.

But is the whole SAbbath thing that you can't actually cook.. but reheating is ok

[Comfort Me]

Thank you all for your help.

Dinner was an unqualified success. Even the gnocchi, which I was threally worried about. Especially when our dinner guests were 30 minutes late!

I boiled them just until they started floating, then drained them and transferred them to a warmed gratin. I didn't add more oil. I covered them with my saice -- very thick and rich -- dosed them with cheese, then popped them into a 250 oven.

When we dug into them, I thought they were a loss -- but they were these airy, light, magnificent pillows which had absorbed the flavors of the tomato, olive oil, garlic, and mushrooms. We were all quite pleased with them.

Thank you all again for your assistance.

I think we'll make St. Joseph's Shabbat a regular on our calendar@

[itch22]

Adian, are these potato gnocchi?

I don't mean to get off topic, but what is the definition of "gnocchi"? I've seen recipies entitles "gnocchi" that include neither flour nor potato.

[lamington]

I don't mean to get off topic, but what is the definition of "gnocchi"?  I've seen recipies entitles "gnocchi" that include neither flour nor potato.

"Gnocchi" is essentially an umbrella term for a wide range of small (and not so small) dumplings. Most of these also have a local or more specific name. Those made of potato are the default form of gnocchi for non-Italians, but varieties include ones made of pumpkin/squash, ricotta, bread, semolina, or chestnut flour. It's worth noting, too, that the potato gnocchi are a more recent dish than some of the others, especially those made with root vegetables such as pumpkin/squash.

Duncan

Edited by lamington, 20 March 2004 - 08:02 PM.

[slkinsey]

Adian, are these potato gnocchi?

I don't mean to get off topic, but what is the definition of "gnocchi"? I've seen recipies entitles "gnocchi" that include neither flour nor potato.

Gnocchi is the plural of gnocco, which means "lump" -- so any food that is in lump form may be described as "gnocchi" (as in gnocchi di patata) or "gnocco" (as in gnocco fritto).

[Boris_A]

gnocco, which means "lump" --

Gnoccho is also reflected in Austria's famous "Salzburger Nocken", which litterally translates to "cam".

[typo]

Edited by Boris_A, 21 March 2004 - 01:19 PM.

[Sentiamo]

Another type of Gnocchi is 'al cucchiaio' where a bowl of soft gnocchi mixture ( we most often used spinach, nutmeg, cheese and flour) is held over a pot of boiling water and the Gnocchi are teaspooned into boiling salted water. Someone else retrieves the little darlin's as they rise to meet their makers.
Into a warm dish, and sauced with Piera's leftover from last night's Veal Sauce....sublime.
And, why the heck dont they taste just like that when I make them??!!!