John's favorite food is gnocchi, so that's what he usually gets on his birthday. Depending on how ambitious I feel, he also has gnocchi on Valentines Day and Christmas Eve. I'm happy to please, although my favorite food is another subject. Anyway, since they are a hassle to make they shouldn't be squandered on indifferent eaters, so I usually have spaghetti instead and leave the chewy starch balls to him.
When we were in Columbus last April, I was thrilled when John's mom Wilda gave us the family gnocchi maker, Grandma Terrible's vintage machine. It's on the right in the picture above. It is very clean. The one I've been rassling with for the past 20 years is on the left and covered with a patina of flour, dried dough, tears and sweat, earned the hard way through many cranks of sticky frustration. I have a love-hate relationship with it, but we get along most of the time now.
These machines look similar, but the wood rollers produce very different dumplings. Grandma Terrible's gnocchi is thinner with small ridges, and mine fatter with deeper grooves.
The old machine acted up a bit yesterday, but it probably just needs to be "re-seasoned" with new layer of crud, which won't be a problem in this kitchen. Between the two I managed to crack out a pretty nice batch.
It's been rainy and cool in Seattle, and with a big birthday to celebrate we've had a long weekend of eating. The other highlight was a "Whisper Cake" from the Macarina Bakery. A rather perfect combination of whipped cream, dense white cake, lemon curd, cheese frosting and fresh raspberries. Impossible to make at home, and worth every calorie.
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