Hay, Hay It's Donna Day Voting Time

Don't forget to cast your vote for your favorite gnocchi recipe! Voting will end on September 1 and the winner will be announced the same day.

Hay Hay It's Donna Day#14-The Roundup!

An incredible array of gnocchi dishes have been streaming in over the last few weeks and all are scrumptious looking with top notch photography. A host of talented cooks from all over the world took the gnocchi challenge and came up with some exciting salads, sides, main dishes and desserts. Some, like myself, had never made gnocchi before and some were seasoned professionals. As a few mentioned in their posts, gnocchi isn't particularly photogenic; nevertheless, everyone came up with beautiful ways to garnish their dishes to add color and eye-appeal. Thanks to everyone who submitted their creation. Well Done!

Now to the fun part-VOTING!! Send an e-mail with your vote to staranise.ld [at] gmail [dot] com by September 1, 2007. The lucky winner will have the opportunity of hosting the next Hay Hay It's Donna Day created by Barbara of winoandfoodies. I've had a blast reading all the posts.


The Roundup

















Up first from Trinidad is Sarina Nicole of trinigourmet whose foray into fresh pasta is just beginning with this lovely ethereal gnocchi pomodoro.



















Jerry from Austin is glad to have an excuse to make this tasty Gnocchi alla Romano. She uses Heidi Swanson's recipe from Super Natural Cooking.




















From Sidney, Steph bakes her potatoes in a salt crust for her colorful Potato Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables. She no longer has to be tortured by gnocchi-it looks great!


















Brilynn, a Canadian gives us her great looking version of a recipe for Pan-fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi she used from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen.
















Melinda, who hails from Melbourne, submits a very creamy and delicious Green Olive gnocchi with Green Olive Sauce.




















From sweetteaandsushi in San Francisco, Ashley not only uses goat cheese for her elegant Gnocchi and a Goat, but goat butter also.














Jadan, in Sarasota submits her original SteamyKitchen's Pan-fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi,submitted also by Brilynn and Pam , so it must be a great dish.




















In Switzerland, Eva's favorite color at the moment is fuchsia so added pureed beetroot to give her potato gnocchi a lovely pink hue and afterwards enjoyed a Crémant d'Alsace as a reward for her efforts.
















Michael in Seattle, presents us with playdough gnocchi. A perfect way to teach Mini-me and other budding young cooks culinary skills.













Gnocchi is comfort food for Annemarie, a Londoner, whose Potato Gnocchi with Pesto looks divine to me.














Another Londoner, Caroline whips up another beautiful Potato Dumpling with Pesto served with green beans and potatoes.



















Bacon definitely goes with this beautiful dish from Joey of 80Breakfasts in Manila. Joey uses rocket(arugula)for her pesto.
















Country Victoria,Australia has Pam from backyardpizzeria gnock-gnock-gnockin' on heavens door" with her Pan-fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi recipe based again on Jadan's.
















Franz from Dusseldorf displays a gnocchi with a melange of gorgeous colors in his Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Chili Pepper and Sage Butter















From New Zealand, Arfi in her HomeMadeS post makes a very yummy looking version of my Herb Gnocchi with Basil Oil.
















DJM's Isolatedfoodie's "cooking trials from nowhere" puts together a Smoked Salmon Gnocchi with panache.
















Our first dessert, Cinnamon Roll Gnocchi comes from kellytheculinarian in Tucson, Arizona who sweetens up her potato gnocchi with lovely cinnamon roll flavors.















Another decadent dessert is Chocolate Gnocchi filled with raspberry and then dipped in raspberry sauce from Dennis in the Netherlands. Yum!!



















A Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage Butter is beautifully photographed in a trio of spoons from kazari
in Canberra, Australia.














Lovely Barbara of winosandfoodies, the creator of the very popular Hay, Hay, It's Donna Day event begins with a Donna Hay gnocchi recipe and ends up with a tantalizing Gnudi Gnocchi.



















Tami of runningwithtweezers, a two time winner of Hay, Hay, It's Donna Day and another Georgian, like myself, definitely knows gnocchi with her Warm Goat Cheese Gnocchi with Tomato Carpaccio and Heirloom Tomato Salad.




















A luscious White Chocolate Gnocchi with Strawberry Sauce from Linda is beautifully presented.
















Another kid friendly culinary site is Biggie's lunchinabox whose bento lunches appeal not only to children, but adults. Biggie uses Marcella Hazan's potato gnocchi from The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.















In a two year old Delicious magazine, Ali-K of melbournefood tales located a great recipe for Gnocchetti with Tomatoes and Sweet Pecorino Cheese.











Close to me near Atlanta, Chris from mele cotte dishes up the second delectable recipe in this event- Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage and Brown Butter Sauce. Looks marvelouse, too.
















CookingNinja's, Pamela from France uses gorgonzola or roquefort cheese and creme fraiche as a sauce for her silky gnocchi and suggests using older potatoes.

















And last, but not least,Edward over at winosapiens serves us another delicate pale pink Beetroot Gnocchi beautifully garnished with a combination of olive oil, pesto and crumbled goats cheese.

Mocha Brownies With Sour Cream Frosting

Lately, I haven't been inspired to cook and photograph, but while perusing "Is My Blog Burning", I saw that onceuponatart was hosting Browniebabe of the Month and had a really cool apron as the prize. My malaise suddenly disappeared! Time isn't on my side since the deadline is today, August 17, but I managed to get them made and photographed.

I don't make chocolate desserts very often, but these Mocha Brownies with Sour Cream Frosting looked luscious and had two of my very favorite ingredients, coffee and sour cream.



Mocha Brownies with Sour Cream Frosting

Ingredients

2 oz. butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons strong coffee, cooled
1/2 cup flour, generous
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Frosting

4 oz. semisweet chocolate
2/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square pan with butter and line with parchment paper. Place chocolate and butter in a double boiler with simmering water in the bottom pan until melted. Remove from heat and let cool.

Beat eggs and sugar until light and thick. Fold in the chocolate mixture and coffee. Mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the cake batter and fold in. Fold in the walnuts. Pour cake batter into the pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until set. Let cool in pan.

To make the frosting, melt the chocolate by the same method as for the brownie batter. Stir in the sour cream and beat until evenly blended. Spoon the topping over the brownies and make a swirling pattern with a spatula. Let set in a cool place. Cut into squares, the remove from the pan and serve.

If you like, you can omit the frosting and serve the brownies warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 9 large brownies.

Recipe from: The Best Ever Chocolate from Paragon Publishing, United Kingdom.

Pear and Walnut Chutney

Although our temperatures soared over the 100 degree mark this second week in August, I see orange, red and browns, the colors of Fall and think of the crisp days when I can make comfort foods like soups and stews. Every year, I make different chutneys and savory jellies to serve with Thanksgiving dinner. Last Fall, I tried my hand at brandied figs which I served with a good Greek yogurt for a light dessert. Since then I have made brandied cherries, jalapeno jelly and lemongrass ginger jelly. Much of my inspiration comes from a book I bought on the bargain shelf at one of the many bookstores I frequent. "The Complete Book of Preserves & Pickles, Jam, Jellies, Chutneys and Relishes" by Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew not only has very detailed recipes, but also touches on the history of preserving, plus basic equipment needed for preserving and lovely photographs. Amazon UK as well as Amazon.com has this book in stock. I highly recommend it for those of you who enjoy preserving your fresh fruits and vegetables.



Chunky Pear and Walnut Chutney

Ingredients

1.2kg/2 1/2lb firm pears
225gm/8oz tart cooking apples
225gm/8oz onions
450ml/1 3/4 pint/scant 2 cups cider vinegar
175gm/6oz generous 1 cup sultanas (golden raisins)
finely grated rind and juice of one orange
400gm/14oz/2 cups granulated sugar
115gm/4oz/1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2.5ml/1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Peel and core the fruit, then chop into 2.5cm/1in. chunks. Peel and quarter onions, then chop into pieces the same size. Place in a preserving pan with the vinegar.
Slowly bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes, until the apples, pears and onions are tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile put the sultanas in a small bowl, pour over the orange juice and leave to soak. Add the sugar, sultanas, and orange rind and juice to the pan. Gently heat until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the chutney is thick and no excess liquid remains. Stir frequently towards the end of cooking to prevent the chutney from sticking to the pan.

Toast the walnuts in a 350 degree F. oven until lightly colored,about 5 minutes. Stir the nuts into the chutney with the cinnamon.

Spoon the chutney into warmed sterilized jars, cover and seal. Store in a cool dark place and leave to mature for at least 1 month. Use within a year.

For more information on canning chutneys, look here.

Hay, Hay, It's Donna Day #14 Prize

Just a few words to update you on the prize for the winner of HHDD#14 will be Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong. Kylie is fourth generation Chinese in Australia and the brilliant head chef at her restaurant, Billy Kwong.

BTW, recipes for the gnocchi can come from any source, not necessarily Donna Hay. Read original post here.

Cinnamon Ice Cream with Roasted Fig Sauce

My entry into Waiter, There's Something in My--Sauce hosted by Andy of SpittoonExtra. Thanks, Andy for extending the deadline.


This years fig crop is very short due to no rain and then too much rain. I bought my figs from a small farm stand whose owner buys his figs from two little old ladies who who have a small pension from the government. I was told they were Brown turkey figs, but with the exception of the black Mission figs, they all look pretty much the same to me. I remember as a child that everyone seemed to have a fig tree and we were always being given fig preserves which I couldn't bear to eat. I guess my palate has gotten more sophisticated.

The recipe for the Roasted Figs comes from the August issue of Martha Stewart Living. I have substituted the Brown Turkey figs for the Mission figs.

Roasted Figs


1 cup ruby port
3 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 strips orange zest (3 inches long and 1 inch wide)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 pounds fresh Mission figs (about 24), halved lengthwise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine port, anise, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, zest, granulated sugar and honey in a roasting pan. Use the tip of a knife to scrape vanilla seeds into port mixture, then add pods. Add figs and turn to coat. Roast, basting once, until figs are soft and liquid is syrupy, about 45 minutes. Let cool. figs and syrup can be refrigerated up to one week.


Cinnamon Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar(if making ice cream on its own, increase sugar to 3/4 cup. The Roasted Figs are quite sweet.

Place the milk, cream, cinnamon sticks, and ground cinnamon in a medium pot. Bring to boil over medium heat. Turn off heat, cover and let stand for 30 minutes to steep.

Bring mixture back to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally;turn off heat.
Whisk eggs with sugar until light yellow. To temper the custard, whisk a few tablespoon warm cream into the eggs. Add another few tablespoon warm milk, then incorporate the remaining eggs into the warm milk mixture. Place pot on stove over medium low heat and cook for 6-8 minutes over medium low heat, stirring until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat;strain and and place container in a bowl of ice, stirring until cooled. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.Makes 1 quart.

To serve, place ice cream in dish; top with roasted figs and a little syrup poured over.

Hay, Hay It's Donna Day #14 - Gnocchi

First of all, I want to thank Barbara of winosandfoodies, for creating the very popular Hay, Hay, It's Donna Day blog event.Also, thanks to Laura of eatdrinklive for her excellent hosting of the previous HHDD #13.
For those of you reading about this event for the first time,Donna Hay is a food stylist and cook from Australia who has a superb magazine with the same name and loads of cookbooks with easy recipes and gorgeous photographs.

Issue 28, Winter 2006 of Donna Hay's magazine had an article on making homemade ricotta gnocchi which looked fantastic and not very difficult. After all, they were just dumplings and had only a few ingredients with simple directions. But it seemed a daunting task, especially when pre-packaged potato gnocchi was so convenient for a quick main or side dish. Ricotta gnocchi was totally new to me. Well, time went by and I got busy with other things.

Now that I have the privilege of hosting HHDD #14, it's a perfect time to pull out the magazine again to tackle Ricotta Gnocchi. Now that I have made the gnocchi, I feel confidant that you too can make it. It will be a challenge if you have never made gnocchi from scratch, but all of you are savvy food bloggers, so I'm sure you will be up for the task.


Here are the details:

* The gnocchi should be homemade and can be a main dish, salad, side or dessert. You can use any ingredient, such as cheese, potato or any other vegetable or fruit to make the gnocchi.

*Post your recipe no later than August 18, 2007. When you post, send an email with the HHDD #14 in the subject line to staranise.ld[at}gmail[dot]com. Include your name, the name of your recipe, your location, the name of your blog and the permalink to your post.

*Round-up posted and voting begins on August 25, 2007.

*Voting closed and winner announced on September 1, 2007.

Here's Donna's recipe from Issue 28, page 56.

Herb Gnocchi with Basil Oil

1 quantity basic gnocchi(recipe follows)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
sea salt and cracked black pepper
Parmesan cheese to serve

Basil Oil
1 cup chopped basil leaves, extra
1/2 cup (4 fl oz) olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
sea salt and cracked black pepper

To make the basil oil, place the extra basil, oil, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Set aside.

Follow the basic gnocchi recipe, adding the lemon zest, mint, parsley, basil, salt and pepper to the mixture. Spoon the basil oil over the cooked gnocchi and toss to coat. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Serves 4

Basic Gnocchi

500 grams(1 lb) fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain all-purpose flour
sea salt and cracked black pepper

Place the ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine. Turn out the mixture on a lightly floured surface and roll into 4 15cm (6 in)long ropes. Cut into 2cm (3/4 in) lengths and press lightly with the back of a fork.

Place in a large saucepan of salted water over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook the gnocchi in batches for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove with slotted spoon and place in serving bowls. Serves 4.















See prize for winner here.