White Bread: BBAC#40

soft, fluffy, and yummy dinner rolls

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #40: White Bread Variation 3

There are 3 variations of the White Bread recipe and I chose variation 3 which uses a sponge although still a one-day bread. In making the sponge I discovered there's a typo. For the milk, I used the volume measurement, 1¼ cups which was not enough for the amount of bread flour because the sponge was a bit dry and stiff and clearly needed more liquid. I checked the weight measurement which is 12 ounces, or 1½ cups. You might want to correct your books if you haven't done so already.

This is an enriched white bread recipe with one egg yolk, a quarter cup of butter or vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and milk (I used buttermilk). This is one of the simplest and I think foolproof recipes to make into feather-light, soft, milky, tight-crumbed, and utterly delicious loaves and rolls. If you have family members who are stuck in white Wonder Bread in its bright red, white, blue, and yellow packages, and won't eat anything else, this recipe might win them over to home baked white bread.

I divided the dough in half, one half was shaped into 18 mini dinner rolls, each one weighed 1 ounce, and baked in a 7 x 11 x 2 inch pan. The other half of the dough was misshaped into 6 New England-style hot dog buns which I will fill  later with breaded deep fried oysters or seafood salad, yum.

7 x 11 x 2-inch pan is the perfect size for small dinner rolls

New England-style hot dog buns

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

Chewy Peanut-Caramel Bars

If you love Snickers® bar, this cookie is for you. What's not to love? It has chewy caramel, loads of peanuts, and chocolate plus crunchy buttery cookie as a bonus. I baked half a recipe adapted from THE ALL-AMERICAN DESSERT BOOK by Nancy Baggett. I changed 2 things: I used bittersweet instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips and did not top the cookies with chopped peanuts. The cooled uncut slab looked like a giant flat-ish Snickers bar.

Chewy Peanut-Caramel Bars
adapted from THE ALL-AMERICAN DESSERT BOOK by Nancy Baggett
crust
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2½ tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
5 tablespoons heavy (whipping) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

topping
1½ cups light brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped unsalted peanuts
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

•  Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375° F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil and coat the foil with nonstick spray.
• TO MAKE THE CRUST:  In a food processor, process the flour, sugar, and salt to blend. Add the butter. Process in pulses until the butter is cut in and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the cream and vanilla extract over the flour mixture. Process in pulses until the dough holds together, being careful not to overprocess. Very firmly press the mixture into the baking dish in an even layer. Prick the crust all over with fork. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tinged with brown all over and slightly darker at the edges. Transfer to a wire rack.
• TO MAKE THE TOPPING: In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, corn syrup, cream, butter, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Stir in 2½ cups of the peanuts. Adjust the heat so that the mixture boils briskly. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 and a half minutes. Immediately remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.
• Pour the topping over the crust, drizzling to cover the entire surface as evenly as possible. Spread out with a greased offset spatula, if necessary. Let cool and firm up for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate morsels. Let stand for a few minutes longer, or until the chocolate is partially melted. Using an offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate over the topping. Sprinkle the top with the remaining ½ cup peanuts.

• Let cool completely. Remove the slab from the pan and transfer into a cutting board. Carefully peel off the foil. Cut into desired size (squares or rectangles).

Vienna Bread: BBAC #39

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #39: Vienna Bread

Vienna bread is a semi-enriched bread with just an egg and very small amounts of sugar and butter and can be categorized somewhere in between Italian and Portuguese (sans citrus flavor) breads because of its soft and slightly chewy texture. It uses a large amount of preferment which makes it so flavorful. It looks handsome too with its golden brown soft crust that becomes crunchy when toasted. Just like Italian bread it is perfect with both sweet and savory fillings/toppings. This is my kind of bread and it has already been added to my top 10 favorite breads in this challenge.

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

This is the first of the 5 last recipes in this challenge; 4 more to get to the finish line. Yay! Next up is basic white bread which I'm baking today. I will try to shape the dough into New England-style hot dog buns. Wish me luck with the shaping! ^__^

Pinky, Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?

tapioca flour donuts

Remember Pinky and the Brain cartoons? Brain always asks "Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" and Pinky would answer something that is completely irrelevant to the question and he'll be bonked on the head by Brain. The quote kept appearing while I was searching for the recipe for the Asian donuts called Pon De Ring which I read about here. Sorry if I seem to be channeling Pinky myself.:)

Unfortunately I couldn't find the recipe anywhere but some sites say the donuts are based on the Brazilian cheese rolls Pão de Queijo. I made half a recipe which is too much for a donut experiment. I also didn't bother to glaze them. I love the texture of the donuts, the crumb is chewylicious similar to fried mochi and the crust is so crunchy. Since I have not eaten the donuts from Asia I can't recommend the recipe 100%. If you are crazy adventurous like me here is the recipe, it's somewhere in the middle of the post, add maybe a third to half a cup of sugar and omit the cheese.

I ♥ the slightly sweet chewy crumb

Tuscan Bread: BBAC #38

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #38: Tuscan Bread

Making this saltless bread was not the real challenge, but looking for ways to enjoy the bread or the reasons to justify its existence was. I actually liked its natural sweet flavor but after eating 2 slices plain, I was craving for something savory to eat it with. According to Peter this bread should be eaten with rich flavorful meats and soups.

After rubbing the slices with garlic, I drizzled some olive oil, then topped it with spicy Portuguese sardines, strips of roasted sweet pepper, capers, flaked sea salt, and a few drops of sriracha sauce. It was delicious, but then the same toppings tasted way better on salted bread. Sorry but Tuscan bread just can't win. The wonderful texture and ease of preparation aren't good enough reasons to make this again.

One important thing I learned from baking Tuscan bread: now I know what bread to avoid if ever I visit Tuscany. I just saw an episode of Food Trip With Todd English on PBS where he was in an open market in Tuscany. He was offered a slice of Tuscan bread but was also told that very few people buy them because they're tasteless. The seller offered him another type of rustic bread to try. So, why do they still bake their bread without salt when it seems it is not very popular even in Tuscany? Just asking.;-)

egg salad and inexpensive lumpfish caviar

spicy Portuguese sardines, roasted sweet red pepper, capers, hot sauce

Rating:
flavor 1
texture 5
visual appeal 4
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 0
Total: 20
Average: 3.3

Mongolian BBQ Fried Rice

Mongolian Barbecue was all the rage in the Philippines in the mid-1980s. We used to eat it regularly in fast food restaurants that serve them. What's not to like: meats or seafood mixed with lots of vegetables and flavored with highly seasoned sweet sauce. We never had it again when we moved here in the US and I have forgotten about it.

About 5 years ago, Mongolian Barbecue restaurants started sprouting in the Washington D.C. area and one opened in my town only to close after 2 years. I guess people here don't like the idea of mixing everything like chop suey.

Mongolian BBQ is of course best eaten with a bowl of steaming hot rice and what could be better than mixing them all together and make it into Mongolian Barbecue Fried Rice.

Mongolian BBQ Fried Rice

sauce
¼ cup rice wine or cream sherry
½ cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
½ tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 star anise
1 green onion

• Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Heat until boiling, reduce heat to medium and continue boiling, partially covered, until reduced by half. Remove star anise and green onion and discard. Transfer sauce into a small bowl. Set aside.

fried rice
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 green onion, sliced
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, thinly sliced
½ green pepper, sliced into strips
¼ cup shredded carrots
½ cup shredded cabbage
¼ pound beef or pork tenderloin tips, cut into strips
¼ pound prawns, peeled, deveined, and cut into three pieces
½ cup blanched mung bean sprouts
2 cups freshly steamed Japanese rice, keep warm
Mongolian sauce

• Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a wok. Add green onion and egg and stir cook until set but still slightly runny, transfer into a plate and set aside.
• Heat the remaining oil, add the onion and saute until soft. Add the meat and prawns, stir fry until they change color. Stir in the carrots, green pepper, and cabbage and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked egg.
• Add the rice, pour in enough sauce to coat the rice evenly, about 6 tablespoons, and mix well. Taste and add more sauce if necessary. Stir fry for 1 minute. Gently stir in the mung bean sprouts.
• Serve immediately in individual bowls with extra sauce on the side.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Svbnztr4M46HESfDA

Swedish Rye (Limpa): BBAC#37

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #37: Swedish Rye (Limpa)

Wow, I love this bread. I was prepared for a disappointment but reading through the ingredients I knew this would be a yummier rye bread because of the spices and orange flavoring. These are the ground spices that made me fall for it: aniseed, fennel, and cardamom. These spices combined with dried orange peels*, brown sugar, and a small amount of molasses make this fragrant sweetish loaf so good just by itself, with butter, or with mild cheeses such as brie or young Gouda. The crumb and crust are soft with a bit of chew and the flavors complement each other, not one flavor is dominant.

I think I'm beginning to really love rye breads but will probably take a long time or maybe never to appreciate the 100% Sourdough Rye Bread (BBAC #32).

extra yummie with brie

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

* I usually get dried orange peels [for Chinese-style meat stews] from the Asian grocery store. About a month or so ago I dried some orange peels from 4 large oranges by leaving them on the kitchen counter for 3 days. Then to make sure they are super crispy I put them in the very low heat dry setting of the toaster/convection oven for 20 minutes and stored them in an airtight jar. I pulverized the peels in a coffee grinder for the limpa.

Lasang Pinoy Sundays: Chocolate

champorado with dark and white chocolate

Champorado, a Filipino breakfast food, is a sweet chocolate sticky rice porridge. The rice is boiled in water with cocoa powder and sugar, then served with milk just like cereals. After a day in the refrigerator the leftover champorado becomes thick and pudding-like but still very yummy.

The photo is ancient, taken in 2006. I chose this photo from my "chocolate" archives because it's perfect for this edition of LaPis: Chocolate. I made 2 separate champorado, one with dark and another with white chocolate, and served them both in one bowl. There is no need to add milk to enjoy this all-time Filipino favorite and you get to savor two kinds of chocolate all at once in one spoonful.

Lasang Pinoy Sundays is a gallery of food photography, Filipino style, is hosted by SpiCes and FeistyCook.

Stollen: BBAC #36

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #36: Stollen. This bread (or is it cake?) has been one of our Christmas treats for the past 20 years. I do not bake them, we buy the German-made loaves which appear at the grocery stores around November up until the first week of January. They are not expensive so I never bother to make them myself until this challenge.

There were two things I didn't follow in the recipe. One, I omitted the cinnamon powder because I have never eaten stollen with cinnamon flavor. I love cinnamon but not in stollen. Second, I shaped them using different methods.

Immediately after baking, the loaves were brushed generously with melted butter, sprinkled with a little granulated sugar, then covered with vanilla-infused powdered sugar. I wrapped the loaves in plastic film then placed them in the pantry. After 5 days they were ready to eat and the slices were moist and delicious. I love it.

an easier way of shaping stollen: form the dough into tallish loaves then cut a slit on top less than ½ inch deep just before baking

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

Palitaw

palitaw ribbons

Palitaw is a Filipino glutinous rice cake similar to mochi, the difference is the method of cooking. The pieces of palitaw dough are boiled in water until they rise to the surface. LITAW is the Philippine word for surface, hence palitaw. The photo of palitaw in the Filipino guidebook KULINARYA caught my eye because they don't look like the palitaw I grew up eating. The cooked palitaw are stretched into long and thin ribbons before rolling in a mixture of sugar, chopped roasted peanuts, and toasted sesame seeds. I have never eaten palitaw shaped into ribbons and with this combination before which is interesting and also yummy but I still prefer my palitaw dredged in grated coconut, sugar, and toasted sesame seeds.

Palitaw
adapted from KULINARYA guidebook

2 cups glutinous rice flour
¾ - 1 cup warm water
freshly grated coconut
tasted sesame seeds
chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
sugar

• Place the rice flour in a medium bowl then slowly add the warm water. Stir to combine thoroughly.
• Roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into 1-inch balls and using the palms of your hands, flatten each ball until ½-inch thick. With your thumb make a dent by pressing the center of each cake. Arrange flattened cakes side by side on a baking tray.
• Fill a medium pan with water and bring to a boil. Drop the cakes in, one at a time, in batches. When they rise to the surface, the palitaw is cooked. Transfer them to a large bowl of water to prevent them from sticking together.
• Just before serving, take each cake and stretch into ribbon-like pieces. Dredge in sugar-sesame seeds-peanut mixture (or coconut-sugar-sesame seeds mixture). Coil the pieces and arrange on a platter. Sprinkle with grated coconut.

with toasted black and white sesame seeds

Poilâne-style Miche : BBAC#33

flavorful dense and chewy but surprisingly moist crumb

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #33: Poilâne-style Miche. This bread is supposed to be very large at more than 4 pounds. I didn't think I would be able to handle that much dough and it will also take forever to eat it so I halved the recipe. The procedure is not very complicated. The dough has whole wheat flour (sifted) and doesn't use commercial yeast. I actually used half sifted and half finely ground organic whole wheat flour. For the final rise I put the dough on a linen-lined 10-inch skillet. I was not brave enough to score my initial on the top thinking I might ruin it so I stenciled the O which in my opinion is way too small for the size of the bread (12 inches wide and 3 inches tall).

The bread came out perfect. It's dense and chewy, slightly sour and nutty, and moist which surprised me. The best thing about this bread is it got better and more sour as it aged, so yummy on the third day. I haven't tasted the original pain Poilâne and have no idea if the flavor and texture of this bread come close to the real thing but I am happy with it and I think it is a keeper.

I love the slices simply drizzled with buckwheat honey and sprinkled with flaked sea salt

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

A Post Full of Rye: BBAC #32, 34, And 35

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge has gone awrye. Recipes #32, 34, and 35 for sourdough rye breads use either 100% or part sourdough starters and I think it's appropriate to put them together in one post.

I halved all three recipes and because I was being Miss Contrary I did not follow the book's shaping of the doughs: I baked the 100% Sourdough Rye in a loaf pan; I scored the top of the Pumpernickel loaf, and instead of pressing the crown with a dowel I scored the dough with a wheel spoke pattern. Why? Because I can.

#32: 100% Sourdough Rye. How do I describe this recipe without using some colorful words? Hmm. This bread doesn't taste very good and all the work and ingredients I put into making this brick went straight into the trash. I don't mind the dense texture which I think is good but the lack of flavor is puzzling. I absolutely hate it. Maybe I did something wrong along. Well, no use cryeing over it.

Rating:
flavor 0
texture 2
visual appeal 2
ease of preparation 3
performance 1
worth 0
Total: 8
Average: 1.3

#34: Pumpernickel Bread I used high gluten flour but did not add rye bread crumbs and caraway seeds. However, I used 100% rye sourdough starter instead of the white starter. I love this one maybe because it has brown sugar which makes it a bit sweet and because it is not very sour. It also has a molasses-like and chocolaty flavor, I don't know why because I didn't add cocoa powder in the dough, I used caramel powder. The crust is a tad chewy and the crumb is soft but chewy, very nice with chicken noodle soup. I will definitely make this again.

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: perfect 5

#35: Sunflower Seed Rye The 7½-inch bread is a bit taller than the ones pictured in the book. I should probably have flattened the dough some more. Also, the hole of the crown almost disappeared making it look like a giant bagel. It is a little bit tangier and very tasty too, the seeds add a nice nutty flavor. I also like its chewy crust and crumb.

Rating:
flavor 4
texture 5
visual appeal 4
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 4
Total: 27
Average: 4.5

Note: Recipe #33 Poilâne-style Miche will have its own post.

Honey Caramels

soft and chewy honey caramels with macadamia

and walnuts

It's good to start the new year with sweet sweet stuff and what could be better than salted honey caramels loaded with nuts or enrobed in dark chocolate. The soft chewy silky buttery caramels are so yummy and utterly addicting. I thought of dipping them in melted chocolate, saw this cookie and caramel candy, baked a few crunchy brown sugar meringue cookies, melted some dark bitter chocolate and had the most delicious chocolate treat ever!

brown sugar cookies layered with honey caramel and enrobed in bitter chocolate

Honey Caramels
recipe adapted from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

2 cups coarsely chopped walnut or macadamia pieces, optional
¾ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup honey
2 cups sugar
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. If using walnuts, spread them in the prepared pan.
• Combine the syrup, honey, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula, until the mixture simmers around the edges. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover the pan, attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan, and cook uncovered, without stirring until the mixture reaches 305°F.
• Meanwhile, heat the cream in a small saucepan until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
• When the mixture is at 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically. Turn the heat back on until the mixture boils. Stir until smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly to 248°F for soft chewy caramels or 250°F for firmer chewy caramels.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let stand for 4 to 5 hours or overnight until firm.
• Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner and turn the caramel right side up. Cut the caramel into desired size. Wrap individually in wax paper or cellophane.

Bibingka And Suman

ginger suman and black and white bibingka

black and white layered bibingka topped with coconut jam

suman with grated fresh ginger

This is my last post for the year and here are a few favorite Filipino snacks I'd like to share: black and white bibingka (actually purple and white), suman, and if you have the energy, puto bumbong.

For black and white rice bibingka and puto bumbong, it is important to use glutinous black rice. There are non-glutinous black rice which I am not recommending because they don't have the same consistency as glutinous and take forever to cook.

For the suman, you can add a variety of flavors after boiling the glutinous rice in coconut milk and sugar. Fresh grated ginger is extra yummy paired with a mug of hot cocoa, chai, or jasmine tea. Another delicious flavor is the combination of chopped peanuts and chocolate, adding either grated dark chocolate or dark cocoa powder. Wrap in banana leaves and steam for 30 minutes.

Black And White Layered Bibingka
1 cup black glutinous rice
1 cup white glutinous rice
3 cups water, halved
½ cup sugar, halved
2 cups coconut milk, halved
salt
banana leaves
coconut jam

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch round or square pan with banana leaves, set aside.
• Cook the rice in 2 separate non-stick saucepans: Heat 1½ cups water, then add each of the rice. Let come to a full boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt and cook for 1 minute more. Spread the cooked black rice evenly on the lined pan. Spread the cooked white rice evenly on top of the black rice. Spread coconut jam all over the rice.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Transfer the pan on the upper rack, turn on the broiler, and broil for a few minutes until jam is bubbly and browned. Do not let burn. Cool before slicing.

See you in 2010!

Bibingka

Cannellini Bean Soup With Kale

Kale is my latest green leaf vegetable "flavor of the month". The dark green leaves are very good simply steamed and served with flaked sea salt and drizzled with lemon juice. They are also excellent baked into crispy chips, and of course added to soups. Kale not only tastes great, it's also very nutritious.

Bean soup with kale is the perfect comfort food during the cold months. It has been very cold the past 2 weeks; we had 6-inch snow 2 Fridays ago which took almost two weeks to melt completely. Where is this so-called global warming when you need it because we have 20°F nights for weeks now, our heater is working overtime and it's not even officially winter yet. It's okay though because I love the cold months, giving me a reason to cook and enjoy soups.

Cannellini Bean Soup With Kale
8 ounces dry cannellini beans
1 ounce pancetta or unsmoked thick sliced bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 whole unpeeled garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 sprig each fresh rosemary and thyme
2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
2 cups coarsely chopped de-ribbed kale
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

• Clean the beans and soak overnight in cold water.
• The next day, preheat oven to 250°F. Rinse the beans, drain, and set aside.
• In a Dutch oven, heat the oil and saute pancetta until golden brown. Add the chicken broth, water, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, and beans. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, transfer into the oven, and bake for 1½ hours. Remove from oven, uncover and gently stir in the salt, then add the tomatoes and kale. Cover and continue to bake for another half to one hour or until the beans are tender. Discard garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, and thyme.
• Transfer into a serving bowl, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil if desired.

New York Deli Rye: BBAC #31

with onions, perfect for sandwiches or dipped in soups

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge Recipe #31: New York Deli Rye. I don't recall ever eating this type of rye bread; maybe I had although I'm not too sure.

Anyways, for this recipe, I divided the dough (with buttermilk but sans caraway seeds) and added cooked onion in one half and left the other half plain, let them rest on the the kitchen counter for 4 hours before putting them in the refrigerator overnight. The simple preparation and rising the next day took a total of about 5 and ½ hours. Both loaves are very tasty, slightly tangy, sweetish, and chewy. The one with onions make perfect sandwiches and I love it extra crispy dipped into soups, and the plain one is excellent toasted and buttered for breakfast. This recipe is another winner IMHO.

baked in a Pullman loaf pan

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

It was not in my schedule to bake this week but when I read last Sunday's Pearls Before Swine comic strip featuring toasted rye bread I decided to make it since it's next in line to be baked anyway.

I love puns including this groaner, it made me roll my eyes and laugh at the same time.^__^

Sweet Potato Gnocchi With Chestnuts And Sage

I never imagined gnocchi could be so delicious. I've had these in restaurants many years ago and also bought ready made ones from the refrigerated section at the grocery stores, not too often, just a few times. They were not too exciting and I remember them being chewy. I never had them again until I saw a recipe of sweet potato gnocchi with chestnuts and sage in the Gourmet magazine October 2009 issue. Anything that has chestnuts gets my attention right away, and the article describing the gnocchi as pillowy soft made me salivate even more. And it's true, they are pillowy soft, a bit sweet, and the simple combination of butter, crispy fried sage leaves, and chestnuts enhances these little orange gems. These are the best gnocchi I ever had, gnocchi-dding! Sorry for the bad pun.:D

Sweet Potato Gnocchi With Chestnuts And Sagerecipe adapted from Gourmet magazine

1 pound yukon gold or white potato
¾ pound sweet potato
1 large egg
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
1½ cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sage leaves
1/3 cup roasted chestnuts, crumbled
2 tablespoons salted butter

• Scrub both potatoes, place in a large pan, cover with water, and boil until soft (or bake them, if preferred). Cool potatoes slightly, then peel and force through ricer into a sheet pan, spreading in an even layer. Cool potatoes completely.
• Lightly flour 2 or 3 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
• Beat together egg, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl.
• Gather potatoes into a mound in sheet pan and form a well in center.
• Pour egg mixture into well, then knead into potatoes. Knead in cheese and 1 and ¼ cups flour, then knead, adding more flour as necessary, until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Dust top lightly with some of the flour.
• Cut dough into 6 pieces. Form 1 piece of dough into a half-inch-thick rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut rope into ½-inch pieces and lightly dust with flour. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
• Turn a fork over and hold at a 45-degree angle, with tips of tines touching work surface. Working with one at a time, roll gnocchi down fork tines, pressing with your thumb, to make ridges on one side. Transfer gnocchi as formed to baking sheets. Occasionally rub clean and flour the tines as it gets sticky.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry sage leaves in 3 batches, stirring, until they turn just a shade lighter and crisp (they will continue to crisp as they cool), about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt. Fry the chestnuts briefly and transfer into a plate.
• Add butter to oil in skillet and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat.
• In a large pot, bring well salted water into a boil, add half the gnocchi and stir. Cook until they float to the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the skillet with butter sauce. Cook remaining gnocchi in same manner, transferring to skillet when cooked.
• Heat gnocchi in skillet over medium heat, add chestnuts, and stir to coat. Transfer into a serving plate. Serve sprinkled with fried sage and grated Parmesan.

Gourmet note: Uncooked gnocchi can be frozen up to 1 month. Freeze in one layer on a baking sheet then transfer into resealable freezer bag/s. Do not thaw before cooking.

I buy Chinese roasted chestnuts from the Korean grocery. They are about a dollar for a 3.6-ounce packet, which contains more than enough for this recipe. In my opinion these small chestnuts from China are the best tasting and they are a bit sweeter than other varieties.