Beef Stroganoff and Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

Beef Stroganoff is a recipe I have done for years.  Previous to cooking it a la Silver Spoon, I thought I had perfected it.  My recipe was some form of beef, onions, mushrooms, mustard and sour cream.  It worked great, non fussy and made for great left overs too.
 
The SS recipe is fussy, doesn't have sour cream and was probably slightly better.  I started off by sauteing 4 onions in butter.  Onions and butter is clearly a cornerstone of Italian cooking.  I then added sliced mushrooms and covered for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile I started another pan and added more butter and flour to create a base for a cream sauce.  I quickly added a cup of cream and a pinch of sugar and stirred.  I removed the sauce from the heat and added a healthy dose of mustard and put it aside while I sauteed strips of sirloin in butter and olive oil.  When the beef was cooked, I combined the contents of all three pans and had Beef Stroganoff SS style.

Somewhere in the middle of making the stroganoff, I started washing 2 pounds of spinach.  I filled the biggest pot in my house with it and cooked the spinach for 5 minutes.  Once it was wilted I made a huge mess in my kitchen trying to squeeze out the excess water.  Next time I will bring the whole pot closer to the sink before trying to extract the water.  I then dumped the spinach in the food processor and chopped it finely.  I combined the spinach with ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and two egg yolks.  I added salt and pepper and rolled them into little balls.  I delegated some ball rolling to my BFF and started to add the finished ones into boiling water one at a time.  

Instantly I had spinach soup.  I was getting about 50 percent of the gnocchi out of the water.  It may have needed another yolk to bind the cheese and spinach dough together, or I might not have dusted them with enough flour.  T. and I were giggling and trying our best to get as many out of the water as possible.  We spilled hot butter on each other, panicked for a few seconds and giggled some more.

 I really can't say that this recipe was a success but it was fun to make.  The gnocchi were on the bland side, despite the copious amount of salt I added and parmesan cheese.  The best way to eat them was discovered this morning when I spread some gnocchi on Italian bread and pretended it was spinach bread.  So much for low carb living.  Coming up soon, another dinner party, stay tuned!