Welcome!

Welcome to Simple Fare, Fairly Simple. This is a place for me to post recipes of all kinds...along with other miscellaneous fodder from my so-called life here in the south. Who knows what you will find here. Could be anything from my husband...known as IT Guy...to my kids and beautiful grandbabies that are growing up way too fast right before my eyes. But...mostly this will be a place for food. I hope you'll see something you like and if you decide to try something from the list...leave me a comment and let me know!



Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Living here in the south, macaroni and cheese is EVERYWHERE! HomeMADE mac and cheese. Not the stuff in the box...which, by the way, I am a BIG fan of. (I think last that sentence wasn't grammatically correct. This is a cooking page...not a grammer page...so whatever.) Aaannywayyy, I decided to take a basic cheese sauce and re-do your basic mac and cheese...but with no mac. I used gnocchi instead! If you've never had gnocchi, you don't know what you're missing. Little potato dumplings is what they are! And SO yummy! Mixed with the cheese...sprinkled with a little parm, a little breadcrumbs...I was a happy girl, let me tell you! THIS...you HAVE to try!

Gnocchi and Cheese


1 lb. gnocchi ~ I used store bought
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp flour
1 cup half & half
1 tsp dijon mustard
2/3 cup gruyere cheese, grated (or a combination of your favorite cheeses, 1/3 cup each)
1/3 cup parmesan, grated
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F and spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook until they’ve floated to the surface. About 2 minutes.

Drain gnocchi and place in a single-layer in the prepared pan.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat

Stir in garlic and cook about 30 seconds.

Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in the half & half and the dijon.

Continue to whisk and cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes

Add the cheese to the butter/milk mixture, stirring until cheese has melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour sauce evenly over the gnocchi.

In a small bowl, combine the parmesan and panko then sprinkle on top of the gnocchi

Bake  until the top is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Let the gnocchi set for a few minutes before serving.


Here's what you'll need for this yumminess.
 
 

Melt the butter in a saucepan 
then add the minced garlic.
 
 

Add the flour and cook that for a bit.
 
 

Then add the milk and the dijon mustard.
 
 

Then the cheese. Stir until smooth 
and the cheese is melted.



Cook the gnocchi...
 
 

..then place it a shallow pan. 
Pour the cheese sauce over the gnocchi.
 
 

Combine the panko and the parm.
 
 

Then sprinkle over the cheese sauce.
 
 

Bake it up!