Gnocchi, a food that I can not pronounce.

Well it all started at 4:30 when I decided that I wanted to make dinner. But what shall I make? I offered to make soup, but my family has this thing, where they don't consider soup to be a meal, which I totally don't get because soup fills me up just fine. So the quest was on to find something that would be deemed suitable for dinner. About a year ago I remember wanting to make Gnocchi, just because I like to work with dough. So I found the recipe and started! Of course, when i told my mom what I was going to make, she had no clue what it was, and we both didn't know how to pronounce it lol. That gives me the advantage of surprise ; ) So I began by baking my potatoes, two pounds of them. I am always baffled when a recipe calls for pounds because, I don't have a weigher in my kitchen. So I weighed myself of a scale then put a bunch of potatoes in my arms and weighed myself until my original weight had two pounds added to it lol. So wile the taters were baking, I made some basil pesto to go with it.Then I got out my extra shiny grater!Now I must tell you that using a grater, food mill, or food ricer is completely essential!! I have learned from Smitten Kitchen, that Potatoes are 85% water! Yes! I know, impossible! But it isn't. So if you puree the potatoes, you will end up with tater soup, and we all know that there is nothing worse than a broken potato. So, since I don't have a food mill, I used a grater. I peeled my baked potatoes, then grated them on the side with the largest holes.Then I dumped out the potato contents, and prepared my lightly beaten egg.Then I mixed it all together with a cup and a half of flour and formed it into a dough.Yeah, this is a messy project, yet strangely satisfying! So i cut the dough into 6 pieces, then rolled the piece until the rope was 3/4 " thick, then I cut pieces 1" wide.Then if you want, you can make little ridges in them, but they are yummy either way. So you take your pieces and lay them out on a sheet, then cook them.I decided to cook them in a pan, then add my basil pesto.It was really yummy! Next time I make these I will try boiling them, then having spaghetti sauce and maybe meatballs or sausage. Or I could pan cook them again, but add veggies! The possibilities are endless.

Gnocchi
From Smitten Kitchen

2 pounds Russet potatoes
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, and bake them on a baking sheet for 45 minutes to one hour, or until tender. For best results, turn the potatoes over halfway through the baking time. Let the potatoes cool slightly.
2. Peel the potatoes, and then pass them through a potato ricer, food mill or grate them over the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl. Add the lightly beaten egg and the salt to the potatoes and mix well with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the flour to the potatoes a little at a time, using only as much as you need so that the dough will not stick to your hands. When the flour has been incorporated, bring the dough together with your fingertips.
4. Dump the dough and any remaining floury bits onto a slightly floured surface. Knead the dough as you would bread dough. Press down and away with the heel of your hand, fold the dough over, make a quarter turn, and repeat the process. Knead for about three or four minutes.
5. Form the dough into a ball and then divide it into 6 smaller balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the six pieces using your fingertips into a long rope about ¾ inch thick. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces.
6. You can cook the gnocchi as it is now, but traditional gnocchi has ridges. To create the ridges, press each piece of dough against the tines of a fork. With your finger, gently roll the pressed dough back off the fork. This takes a little practice. If you find the dough sticking to the fork, dip the fork in flour before you press the dough against it.
7. Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a lightly floured or parchment-lined dish. If you’d like to freeze them for later use, do so on this tray and once they are frozen, drop them into a freezer bag. This ensures that you won’t have one enormous gnocchi mass when you are ready to cook them.
8. To cook the gnocchi, place them into a pot of boiling and well-salted water. After a few minutes the gnocchi will float to the top. Continue to cook for one minute then remove and set aside. You can also pan cook them by adding a little oil to the pan, and letting brown over low heat.