Pregame Dinner With Sis

I happen to follow NBA basketball and have a deep affinity for the Los Angeles Lakers, my hometown team. Baseball never really did it for me and neither did hockey. Football is fun during the playoffs (Super Bowl) and I find soccer amusing if it’s French national team action. There is great enjoyment in plunking down with friends to watch a basketball game, especially if the Lakers are involved. I have suffered from a glaring handicap throughout the season however, no cable box or suitable television. My sister Emma has been kind enough to allow me access to her living room a few nights a week to watch my beloved franchise. Quite frankly her television is ginormous and her sofa miry which make it the ideal place for viewing. To thank her for the use of a sizeable portion of her apartment for long hours at a time I thought it would be nice to cook her a meal. I do not cook nearly enough for Emma and it means a lot to her when I do which made it a nice reciprocation of her kindness. For the pregame dinner we had a couple of rustic Italian dishes loaded with all things delicious. We had an arugula salad of tender baby leaves tossed with grated Parmesan, lemon, and olive oil; why mess with a classic when it tastes so good each and every time.

This saucy red mess with the little fluffy white plop in the middle is a gnocchi dish that got ahead of me as I was bringing the meal together. I oversauced the pasta severely after getting caught up in how delicious it was going to be and effectively hid the potato pillows completely. The dish I was going for was gnocchi with marinara and fresh ricotta known as “the priest stranglers” at Supper, a pizza/pasta joint on the Lower East Side. They make theirs with squiggly noodles and house “Sunday” marinara, a combo that is nearly impossible to recreate at home. No matter how much I try, I am just not from Naples. The mild creamy ricotta mellows the acidity of the tomatoes nicely making an absolutely stunning sauce. I cheated and used Scarpetta marinara sauce which is actually pretty tasty. I prefer to make my own of course but hey, sometimes laziness beats la gourmandaise. The dish had good intentions but was completely overpowered by the sauce however delicious it might have been. I think Emma was happy with it and was buttered up enough for me to watch some wicked ball at her apartment. Just kidding. As always, I encourage you to enjoy and share delicious food and home cooked meals with yourself and others!