How do you like Gnocchi?

Richard and I are by no means gnocchi experts, but I recently felt inspired watching Top Chef and decided that I wanted to give it a try.  So naturally the first step was to start researching on the internet for best methods, which led me to the potato ricer...  What is a potatoe ricer you ask?  It most closely resembles the play doh spaghetti maker you played with as a kid.

was I right?

So naturally I went out and purchased a potato ricer at Bed Bath and Beyond, because you apparently need it for the lightest gnocchi, and if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right!

So Saturday night we stayed in (as usual) to explore the culinary unknown.  Since neither of us is really familiar with gnocchi, we weren't sure what type of sauce we were going to pair with the gnocchi.  When researching the top runners were sage or thyme butter sauce, gorgonzola cream (yuck!), tomato sauce or pesto.  We decided to go simple and chose a thyme butter sauce.  Next we made the gnocchi per the recipe from our italian food bible, which included boiling potatoes, ricing potatoes, mixing with flour and egg, rolling and cutting and they turned out looking like fluffly pillows.

So here is my gnocchi verdict: it's good, but it needs something more texturally appealing than sage butter.  So the next day I cooked some more and added some roasted pine nuts to the gnocchi with thyme butter, which I thought improved the dish.  But I also decided to try gnocchi another way, so I made gnocchi alla romana, which is gnocchi broiled with butter and parmesean.  It makes a glorious crust ont the outside with a soft tender inside, and I am in love! 

Now what I want to know from you is how do you like your gnocchi?  If you don't know, try gnocchi alla romana!