Wednesday, November 7, 2012

New Discoveries

Fall comes and so does comfort food!  Warm, cozy comfort food! 

My comfort food tends to be mashed potatoes and warm biscuits.  Chowders can do the trick if they're not too complicated in flavors - a good creamy potato chowder can definitely make that slow easy smile come across my face!

With my daughters, Mac n' Cheese tends to be the go-to comfort food.  Bad day at school?  Warm Mac n' Cheese after school brings that slow smile to their faces.  Boyfriend problems?  Mac n' Cheese makes them disappear for just a moment while they smile through the cheesy goodness.  For me, that's not the case.  I could never eat Mac n' Cheese again and be completely content - until now!

I found an alternative that meets all the criteria of comfort food for me (and maybe you too)!

Gnocchi Mac n' Cheese (serves 6)
1 recipe French Gnocchi
http://choppedstar2be.blogspot.com/2012/11/bucket-list.html
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp spicy mustard
1/4 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375F.  Coat a shallow baking dish with non-stick spray.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and add mustard.  Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Combine Gruyere and Gouda then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful.  Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.  Arrange gnocchi in prepared baking dish in one layer.  Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle Parmesan over top.  Bake gnocchi until they puff and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes.  Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.

The flavors are subtle and smooth while the texture of the gnocchi gives it a melt-in-your-mouth warm goodness!  Although this may not replace the girls' mac n' cheese fixer-upper, it's definitely been added to the Comfort Food section of the cookbook!

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