Gnocchi Time Part II, in Which our Heroine Loses her Mind and Finds it Again

We left off with your champion of the kitchen (that's me) covered in gnocchi dough with the guests due to arrive at any minute.   As I mentioned before, I was in the weeds.  In other words the meal is taking too long to cook or is not coming together.  Mine was the former, and to remedy my problem I enlisted some help. 

I quickly readied the orange sauce for the pork, combining 3 tablespoons of butter with orange juice and some chili powder and garlic.  Once the sauce came to a boil, I started shouting to the fiance to lend a hand in getting the pork ready for the oven. Now I should mention that my husband to be is extremely detail oriented and spent a good four minutes looking for "the way to open the pork."  At approximately minute three I screeched, "are you joking?" He then used scissors and got the pork into the pan, I topped it with the orange sauce and we were off.  In the meantime, I drained the asparagus and created the apple cream by adding cream (obviously), yogurt, a green apple and horseradish in a bowl for the crostini.  I made the fiance go and slice the baguette for the crostini in another room where I could not see how detail oriented he was being, fiance finished slicing bread, we toasted it in the oven and the guests arrived.

What to do when no food is ready and your guests arrive? Give them beer and put them to work. The crostini came out of the oven and one of the guests was directed to top the breads with the cream and another to add proscuitto.  Guests tried the "Mountain Crostini" and really liked it, "Hurray!" I thought.   One of the more silent and stoic guests even asked, "Hey, is there horseradish in here?  Cool."

In the meantime, C. the gnocchi snob, and I commenced to getting the asparagus in the oven. Cue brow sweat as I look at the Bechamel which is solid and slightly lumpy. The urge to run from the kitchen was a 7 out of 10 at this point. I remembered that Silver Spoon told me that if the Bechamel gets lumpy I can add more milk, okay, I added more milk and stirred and got the water on to boil for the gnocchi. I asked C. to stir the Bechamel as I buttered the Au Gratin pan.  Asparagus was then officially baking and now once again it was "Gnocchi Time." 

The directions state that it is best to put in a few Gnocci at a time into boiling water.  When the gnocchi floats to the top it should be scooped out with a slotted spoon and put in the serving dish.  C. and I worked together to put gnocchi in and scoop them out.  Again, Silver Spoon was right!  The gnocchi stayed together, cooked beautifully and did I mention that they didn't fall apart? We plated them with the "Quick Tomato Sauce," and my first ever prima piatti was done.   

As we sat down together to eat, I realized "gnocci time" was worth it.  A disclaimer, they are not the best gnocci I have ever had.  The best gnocci I ever had was in Bologna with Bolognese sauce when I was 17, made at a restaurant that had been making them for over a century.  I wasn't expecting to top them on the first shot.  Accolades were received from all the guests, especially the "gnocchi snob." Though, one complained about the nature of the project.  He surmised I won't be able to make this gnocchi again for 2 years.  I reassured him that there are plenty of sauces that would count as a new recipe. 

Just as we finished discussing how great the gnocchi were, and how great I am (kidding) the pork timer dinged and we moved on to the second course, Orange Flavored Pork and Asparagus Au Gratin.  The pork was juicy and had a nice orangy flavor, but I wasn't too pleased with the asparagus.  I followed the directions from the SS.  It states to boil the asparagus for 15 minutes in salted water, and after combining with the Bechamel and cheeses, bake for an additional 15 minutes.  The asparagus was very soft.  I prefer crisp or crunchy vegetables. If you are the same I would suggest that the boiling time be decreased 5 or so minutes. When I asked my guests about the consistency of the asparagus, they refused to agree saying it was tasty and good.  Wait until I serve them calves brains, they'll have something to say then that might be more constructive. 

Next, C. helped me to do dishes and the gentlemen adjorned to the living room to play Super Mario on Wii.  C. told me that she is going to try to make gnocchi on her own, I am inspiring people already! I kid, but it still felt great that my friend was willing to try a new, challenging recipe because I did it and the dish succeeded. I think that is what this project is all about in a way. I am just a regular average everyday person who likes cooking. Why should I cut corners all the time and buy pre-made less than healthy things to make a quick dish? One answer is "there are no shoulds," but Karen Horney came up with that before I was even born. Another answer is, you don't have to cut corners, you can try new things and be successful, broadening your cooking scope at the same time. 

So join me, put down the take out menu, say no the rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, resist buying chicken nuggets for your children, and try something new.  I wager that you will find that you are more capable than you think, that is what I found out.  Also I found out it is great to have friends who do the dishes.  Tonight, Steak Pizzaiola and maybe some more self-actualization.