Fried Gnocchi

A while back I tried making some sweet potato gnocchi. I had some sweet potatoes that were going to go bad, and while making normal gnocchi I mixed some mashed sweet potatoes into half of the mix. I also decided to try freezing the dumplings for the first time.

Unfortunately, this first attempt failed. When I tried to boil my sweet potato gnocchi they lost their shape and clumped together. I still had some dumplings in the freezer, so I needed to try something else.

I thought that the dumplings would keep their shape better if I fried them. I heated up some canola oil on the stove in a frying pan. I didn't want to use a ton of oil, so the oil was just deep enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

I let the gnocchi brown on one side (5-6 min) before flipping them over. This was careful work because there was a lot of oil splattering. Next time I am going to use a deeper pan! Thank goodness I had a splatter shield to protect me.

The gnocchi come out looking like mini tater tots.

The next big question was an important one... how do I serve fried gnocchi? I thought that I would turn this into a kiddy dinner by serving it with a side of manara sauce. (Well, salad isn't very kiddy, but I wanted to counteract all of that starch and oil!)

Keith had some other ideas, and while I was trying to not get burned (or to set the house on fire) he was setting up our table with candles!

Gnocchi is one of Keith's favorite meals. I will need to try something else next time I try sweet potato gnocchi, but I now know that frying them is a decent save.

Chicken Shrimp Coconut Curry

Sometimes you have a bunch of ingredients laying around, and have no idea what you can make with them. I had some potatoes, carrots and onions laying around that needed to be used up quickly. (I didn't feel like making gnocchi again!) I found a can of coconut milk in my pantry and the idea of curry started forming.

Ingredients

• 1, 13.5 oz can coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• some chopped baby carrots, chopped
  
• 2 russet potatoes (pealed and chopped)
• 1/3 sweet onion, diced
• 1 chicken breaste, cubed
• 8 shrimp
• +3 Tblsp brown sugar
• 20oz can of pineapple (drained)
• 8 tsp curry powder.
  

Instructions

• Combine milk, water and spices with potatos, carrots and bring to a summer. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the veggies soften. (covered)
  
  
  
• Add onions, chicken, shrimp and pineapple chunks and simmer covered, stirring occasionally until the meats are cooked
  
  
• remove from heat, serve over rice.
  
  
  
  

Initially when I tasted the curry, I felt there was something missing. There was something different from what I've had in similar curries at restaurants . I finally realized... SUGAR! The little bit of brown sugar listed in the ingredients brought this curry from ordinary to extraordinary!

Matzah ball soup

I have a huge backlog of pictures and recipes that I need to write up and post. For now, I thought I would share a delicious picture of some matzah ball soup.

I made the chicken soup from scratch. I don't know what normally possesses me to make two chicken soups, but I like to have a lot to put in the freezer. I added some rosemary and thyme to the soup base and it gave a nice fragrant twist.

Hopefully I will be able to be back with regular ChemEats posts in the near future.