And Then There Was This...

You can't always walk into the kitchen and come out with something that you are proud of.  I have to admit that when picking out this recipe,  Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter, I assumed it was going to be good and that I wouldn't have any issues making it.  Doesn't the title make it sound like a worry free night?  Boil some pasta, cut some zucchini and cover it all in a butter sauce.   

The first thing I had to learn how to do was use a mandoline.  It's never a good idea to let me be around sharp objects.  I'd already been cut once by this mandoline when washing dishes while it was in the sink.  Anthony demonstrated how to use it and I was able to make a few zucchini ribbons with it, but it still made me nervous so I let him make the majority of the ribbons.

The other prep was easy enough chopping shallots and halving cherry tomatoes. 

First you need to boil water for your gnocchi.  I used the packaged kind you find in the pasta aisle.  You could also use frozen.  Then melt the butter in a pan and cook until it's just starting to brown.  Next add the shallots and zucchini.  After adding the zucchini ribbons they just seemed too big for the pan so I sliced them all in half.  The recipe doesn't say to do this, but I couldn't see myself eating pieces of zucchini that big in pasta. 

Once that is soft add the tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and pepper, cook for another 2 minutes.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese (I used the shake kind from Wegman's) and parsley.  Put the gnocchi in and mix until coated. 

Final Product:

(Doesn't this look like a squishy mess?!)

My thoughts:  While this was an easy recipe to make.  The zucchini came out mushy.  I like a more crisp zucchini.  So everything was the same texture...soft. It really needed something in there that would make a little crunch.  This is not something I plan on trying again.  I just don't feel like it's that good of a recipe to start with.

This was supposed to be another budget meal.  Let's see how much it cost:

Items I already had:  butter, nutmeg, salt, and pepper

Gnocchi/$2.79
2 Shallots/$0.41
2 Zucchini/$1.94
Cherry Tomatoes/$3.69
Parsley/$0.75 (split in half with another meal)
Parmesan Cheese/$2.89

Total/$12.47 

I feel like this wasn't really a good deal.  The cherry tomatoes where just too expensive.  Although when you really think about $12.47 for a dinner for two (with enough leftovers for one person's lunch) is pretty damn cheap.  To compare:  when we go out to dinner we typically spend between $40-50 on a dinner for two.  Even buying a pizza would have been more expensive.  You can see the benefit of cooking at home when you think about it that way. 

Next Up:  One Dish Haddock and Rice Pilaf