Girlfriends and Gnocchi

Every year or so three of my home town girlfriends and I get together for a girls weekend. The last time we were able to meet was in January 2014 (recap here). During that getaway we made homemade ravioli.  We had so much fun that I thought it would be equally fun to take a cooking class together.  So we booked a gnocchi cooking class at Sur la Table in San Francisco and made all the necessary arrangements to spend the weekend together. What fun we had!

I had previously attempted making gnocchi for dinner one time while my children still lived at home.  They weren't impressed with the dense, hockey-puck consistency, Italian potato dumplings that I presented them. I've since been intimidated to try again.  No one else in our group had made gnocchi before and Jody had never even tasted gnocchi.  So we all entered this class pretty much as newbies. The Chef and her staff had things very organized.  We had work stations fully equipped with the necessary tools as well as the food necessities. We made two types of gnocchi, the traditional potato gnocchi as well as a beet version. They weren't difficult to make at all.  

Using a potato ricer to make small, almost rice-like, pieces of cooked potato.

 

Rolling out the gnocchi.

We made two sauces for the gnocchi.  The plain gnocchi was

mixed with a corn, pancetta and sage sauce.  We all loved this, it was so fresh and earthy.  We added beet puree to the next batch of gnocchi which was topped with a cream sauce made with gorgonzola and wilted greens (we used spinach, chard and kale).  We were all in agreement that this dish was too rich for us, it would maybe be better as an appetizer.  I know I'll never make the sauce as my husband hates anything with blue cheese! I will make the beet gnocchi again, using a much simpler sauce.

We loved this gnocchi version the best!

The beet gnocchi simmering in the gorgonzola sauce.

We had a blast at the class, taking turns chopping, mixing the gnocchi dough, rolling them out, and cooking the sauces, laughing throughout the two hour session. We were definitely the most lively group in the class and we aren't ashamed of that! Probably the only thing that would've made the class better was some wine to drink, not just to cook with!

We're tossing around plans for our next gathering.  No matter where we go, what we do, I know we will have a good time. We often go awhile with no contact but when we meet up again it's as if we were never apart. We all realize how fortunate we are to maintain friendships started many years ago.

Pasta Making and Old Friends

Three of my high school girlfriends and I have been getting together for a girls' weekend for over 20 years now.  We've had back-to-back years and, when life has gotten in the way, we've gone 3-4 years between our trips. We've gone to the Monterey/Carmel area and San Francisco on many occasions. For the second time we recently went to a friend's house in Cayucos, which is located between Cambria and Morro Bay along California's scenic Highway 1.

We all had a desire this trip to stay close to the house, none of us were really interested in doing much shopping or sightseeing.  We wanted to relax and reconnect. We packed more pajamas than any other type of clothing, this was to be a comfy weekend! We watched movies, read, browsed cookbooks and Pinterest, caught up on our lives, talked about the "old" days.  We found an "oldies" radio station (I find it quite depressing that my high school era music is now considered an oldie!) and sang and danced. Two even tried to recreate an old songleading routine. Wine can make you think you are still 18! We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. We go back many years, two of the girls were in diapers together. Though our visits are few and far between, we pick right back up when we're together.  I love these women and am so blessed to call them friends.

I've been practicing my beginning pasta-making skills a lot lately.  On New Year's Eve I made fettucini. A few weeks ago I made a beef-spinach ravioli.

When the girls and I were discussing what our meals would be they expressed an interest in learning how to make pasta.  I loaded my car down with my food processor, KitchenAid mixer, pasta attachment, and ravioli press.  Pasta Making 101 was about to take place! . My pasta-making skills are improving each time I do it and I was able to show the girls the process.  I'm confident that pasta will soon be produced in their own kitchens.  We had a very efficient assembly line going.  One worked on the filling, I made the pasta dough and rolled it out, the others filled up the ravioli tray and we all tinkered with the sauce. 

It was during this time that the music was blaring and the wine flowing so we did have to stop for some dancing and singing when a favorite song came on.  We had a blast!  And, oh my goodness, the ravioli were amazing!

Shrimp Ravioli with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

1 recipe of fresh pasta ( I rolled to setting 4)

Shrimp Filling:

8 ounces shrimp
8 ounces ricotta
1 egg
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons minced parsley

In a medium saucepan, simmer shrimp until they curl and turn pink, about 3 minutes.  Let cool and peel.

Transfer the cooked shrimp to a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Pulse until minced.  Combine the shrimp with the ricotta, egg, parmesan and parsley.

Make ravioli according to the instructions with the ravioli press.  Or, place a rounded teaspoon of filling every 3 inches along the length of a pasta sheet.  Using a pastry brush or your fingers, wet the pasta along the edges and in between the rounds of filling. Lay a second pasta sheet over the filling.  Press around each ball of filling to seal the two layers of pasta together.  Use a pasta roller to cut between the filling to form squares of ravioli (or use a ravioli stamp).  Transfer the formed ravioli to a flour-dusted baking sheet until ready to cook.

Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook until the butter starts to bubble.  Add the white wine. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.  Whisk in the heavy cream and cook, stirring constantly, until well combined, about 2 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese and remove from the heat.

Cook 8-10 ravioli at a time in boiling, salted water, about 4 minutes per batch.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked ravioli to a serving platter and top with sauce.

Note:  We had extra shrimp filling and added it to the sauce. I would definitely do that again!

I am linking up at A Stroll Thru Life's Inspire Me Tuesday!

Class of '75

We graduated in June of 1975. We were all so happy for that long-anticipated event to arrive. Once it was over we quickly scattered in our own directions with nary a thought to the fact that we were seeing some of our classmates for the last time. We had no way of knowing that in a few short years several of our classmates would be gone or that by the 38th anniversary of our graduation, over a dozen of our classmates would no longer be living.

I grew up in a small farming community in the central California valley.  At the time I graduated high school the population was in the 4,000-range. The Patterson High School Class of 1975 consisted of approximately 125. I like to tell people we grew up in Mayberry.  No one locked their house doors, kids roamed the streets, if you got in any sort of trouble your parents knew about it before you got back home.

Our class always had a close-knit bond. Most of us attended school together from grammar school to graduation.  Many were children of parents who also attended Patterson High School.  Once we graduated we all began to go our own ways, forming our paths in life. But we have always managed to stay in touch and have had numerous reunions. Facebook and other online places have enabled us to keep in even closer touch. When a classmate is having a crisis or a family member dies, we always rally around. And when we do it's like time has never passed.  This closeness, this camaraderie has never been more evident than it has been this year.  One of our classmates is enduring a very serious health issue and the odds are stacked against him.  Twice this year the Class of 1975 has gathered to celebrate with this class member, to cheer him on, to remind him how much we are pulling for him. Last night there were over 85 of us sharing pictures, memories, laughs, tears and generally catching up on our lives. To our spouses we may have looked like a bunch of men and women in our mid-50's.  To us we were all still 18.

These classmates helped form who I am today. Like siblings, we laughed, fought, played, cried, traveled together, agonized over homework, loved and lost, and, by doing so, forged ties that are pretty strong.  No matter where I go, what I do, my memories of this group of people will always be fond ones. I think the older we get the more we cherish these meetings. We've been through enough adversity in our lives to know that nothing lasts forever, that each reunion we attend there is one more classmate who is no longer with us. We are getting classmates showing up now who we haven't seen in years.  I think they are getting it that the amount of time we have to gather together is decreasing. This sobering thought makes our gatherings even more special.

Thank you for a wonderful evening friends and thanks for the memories. May God continue to bless you and yours. "Here's to dear old high school, for Patterson, hooray! Go Tigers!"