Gnocchi Nicoise

We’ve been subscribers to the  Food Network Magazine since they started publishing.  One of the very first recipes we tried was their Gnocchi Nicoise.  You can go there for the original recipe, what we have below is the version that it's melded into for us over the years.  

It is probably the most memorable recipe we’ve gotten from the magazine, and one that I beg for at least once a month.  

In the tradition of goulash and chili, you’ll feel the love in the first bite. The potato gnocchi get great big hugs from the ground beef and tomatoes and the carrots, shallots and bacon dance around them.  You add just a little bit of red wine to give them a slow cooked taste without the slow cooking and when you take your first bite you'll feel like you're wrapped in a warm blanket in front of a roaring fire on a cold winter day.

Even better...this is a filling meal that will leave you with plenty of left overs that make great lunches throughout the week. 

By the way... for those of you who, like me, have no idea what Nicoise means, it means “as prepared in Nice.”  

Goulash and Csipetke

Goulash.  It sounds like some sort of torture food, doesn’t it?  I had my first experience with goulash when I was 5.  I was at my best friend’s house and her mom served it up for dinner.  I was a picky kid and wouldn’t eat it, but her mom forced me to have just one spoonful, which quickly turned into two bowlfuls.  It was delicious. 

Then later, I discovered something even better, Grandpa’s Goulash.  What I remember most about my Grandpa was his garden, he had this huge garden filled with corn and beans and all kinds of great vegetables, but most importantly, it was overrun with strawberry and raspberry bushes.  We would spend hours picking (and eating) the berries.  I thought that was the best thing about his house, until the day he made goulash.  It was nothing like what was served up at my friend’s house, but it was even better.  Grandpa’s been gone over 15 years now, but whenever goulash comes up, I think of him.  

So when I was reading Hunter Angler Gardener Cook blog the other day and came across a recipe for not just goulash, but venison goulash, I knew I had to make Lee make it for me.  He swapped out venison for chuck roast because oddly, we don’t have venison in the freezer right now. And we didn't have lard or sunflower oil, or caraway seed, or two kinds of paprika.  So go to their blog for the original recipe, Lee's adapted recipe is below.

Goulash and homemade noodles- WOW