sink or swim with nunnee!

nicole and i were bestest friends growing up. i even have the 'best friends' necklace to prove it! we did so much together, we figured that we were sisters.

except she can sing and dance. me...well, im cute.

and somedays that is all i had going for me.

one of nicole's favorite things that her nunnee (grandma) made was/is sinkers. aka gnocchi. our home rarely got them, but nunnee must have loved making them. i remember eating them at nicole's home after her first communion. (ok-why do i remember that??) nunnee made them more in a soup, while the few times we had them i remember them with gravy. my italian blogging friend sandi had them with a meat sauce. i read that some people sprinkle sugar on top or just add butter. so i guess any of these ways would work.

i asked nicole to get nunnee's reciepe and here it is-straight from the gnocchi making queen herself-nunnee.
(yes that cute photo is of nicole!)

10 cups flour
and

2 cups instant mashed potatoes (follow the box and make as directed)
or*
3 lbs. of Ricotta

*Nunnee says they are both good, easier with the mashed pots because usually available in your cupboard.

2 eggs
cold water (mix all of the above ingredients and add water to mix and handle as though you are making bread, but a little dryer.)
After mixing, you need to make long strips and roll in your hands about pencil thickness. Cut about one inch lengths and take your first and second finger and roll dough toward you to get that little indentation. Use a little flour to make it easier. While you are cutting the others, sprinkle a little flour on your counter for a base. If you are going to freeze them, use a cookie sheet (no flour on bottom) and place gnocchi in single layer to flash freeze. When gnocchi is firm, you can put them in ziploc freezer bags and freeze!
when cooking gnocchis, you put a small batch in boiling, salted water. they will sink. when they are done (you may have to stir them to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom), they will float to the top. you can scoop them out with a slotted spoon.

let me know if you tried these. i will be sure to pass onto nunnee that her sinkers arent a stinker!

ps-i made these gnocchi's friday night (3.12.10). that is them drying a bit before i cooked them. the wood thing in the left hand corner is an actual gnocchi roller. im not sure how i scored that one, but once i started rolling with it, i totally had a flash back to my great grandmother. i could see hands flying over the dough with this, popping out gnocchis. im more of a slow motion version of her.