Just felt like doing a little dinner with a nod to the flavors of Piedmont, Italy. A simple rustic meal ... grilled steak, a reduced Nebbiolo wine sauce in the style of bordelaise, homemade gnocchi tossed in butter and parmigiano reggiano. For the gnocchi, boil 1 1/2 pound of russet potatoes in their skins. Start in cool water and bring to a boil for about 30 minutes, then start testing. You're looking for a little more resistance than when you're boiling to make mashed potatoes. Use a paring knife to test and drain when the knife goes in with just a bit of a push. Drain and let rest for about 5 minutes to slightly cool. Peel the potatoes while still hot, the carryover temperature should cook the potatoes sufficiently, but you're looking to retain a bit of gumminess to allow the gnocchi to hold together. Light gnocchi is ideal, and results are supposed to be best with waxy potatoes according to some of the traditional italian recipes, but I've found good results with russets. Mash coursely and add a cup of all purpose flour, combine in a food processor. The resultant mixture will be really tacky. Work the mixture on a floured surface and knead in flour to form a dough that is still slightly tacky. Form a few 1 inch logs, slice down the middle and slice 1/3 inche slices. Take the piece and press one finger into a piece into a fork held perpendicular to your work surface, and flick the piece along the teeth of the fork. The pieces should have a little indentation in the back and ridges about 1/16 - 1/8 of inch from being slightly pressed through the gaps in the fork teeth. To prepare the gnocchi, add to nearly boiling salted water a handful or two at a time. Bring to a boil and remove the gnocchi after 10-20 seconds after they have risen to the top. It may take as long as 30 seconds at high altitudes like here in Denver. For best results, test a couple gnocchi at first and taste. There should be no flour taste, and they shouldn't be flimsy to the point of falling apart when you bite into one. Take the gnocchi right from the water with a spider or strainer and into a pan with hot melted butter, not smoking or browned but hot (medium to medium low gas heat for a couple minutes in a copper pan worked for me). As you add the gnocchi, shake the pan to avoid sticking, and coat the gnocchi in butter, flipping them repeatedly in the pan with a quick wrist motion (don't burn yourself by splashing the butter, you'll just need a tablespoon or two per batch). Plate and sprinkle on freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and black pepper.
For the sauce, sweat a couple minced shallots and one minced clove of garlic in a very small amount of butter and olive oil, lightly salt. Add a cup of nebbiolo wine (don't waste that precious barbaresco, just something around $10-12 will work fine) and reduce by 1/2. Thicken with a couple pats of butter. A little sea salt and pepper for the steak, and plate the sauce on the side for dipping. This is a hearty meal that dresses up your average meat and potatoes meal. The girls and I couldn't get enough gnocchi, simple, homemade, way better than the frozen stuff, just no comparison.
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