Gnocchi (or as my tastebuds know them, "little pillows of heaven") is my ultimate comfort food. Why have one starch when you can have two in the same perfect bite? Potato and semolina pasta come together to make a versatile comfort food equally well-suited for spring vegetables, parmaggiano reggiano and white wine or a hefty red sauce bolognese.
Making gnocchi is not my favorite (making anything time-consuming is not my favorite), so gnocchi has become my Italian restaurant benchmark. As some say the mark of a great French restaurant is the soups, I say the mark of a great Italian eatery is its gnocchi (unless it is home-made they shouldn't even put it on the menu in my opinion).
My favorite restaurant to eat gnocchi is the unassuming Nob Hill Cafe in San Francisco (with creamy pesto or spicy Arrabiata sauce, I alternate). In Indy, Capri has some pretty good stuff too (try it in the Bosceola style, tomato cream with mushrooms). Since I do not get out to Frisco often these days, and Capri is not on my weekly circuit, my favorite way to enjoy my little heavenly pillows is... drum roll please... at my desk! Trader Joe's (a truly spectacular wonderland of short-cut foods) has a fabulous Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Butter and Sage sauce in their freezer section. Just heat and serve (it is enough for two perfect lunches, I've found). The best way to heat it initially is in a sauce pan over medium heat. Use the microwave to reheat it, but not to cook it from a frozen state--the gnocchi lose their shape entirely. Sadly, pillows = mush at that point. It is also good with add-ins, like walnuts, butternut squash, asiago cheese, and fresh spinach. If you try it let me know what you think!
