LIFESTYLE: Butternut Squash Gnocchi With Bourbon Cream Sauce

hey y'all,

Yes, you read that right. Butternut squash gnocchi with bourbon sauce. Forget how ya mama used to make squash because let's face it, anything with bourbon instantly sounds yummier.

With fall here (although you wouldn't know it in the south) and Halloween only 13 days, it's means halloween movies are in full swing. Spooky movie marathons wouldn't be complete without the perfect fall recipes. As a new segment on xoxorebeccaf, I'll be sharing my favorite recipes from the best lifestyle bloggers. That's right, blog posts centered all around food. You can thank me later.

To start this yummy blog post series off, I'm sharing a recipe from Whitney over at Fabulous in Fayette. Y'all go check this fabulous girl out. She loves food (a girl after my own heart) and blogging about all things in Kentucky.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi With Bourbon Cream Sauce

Ingredients: -small butternut squash, about 1 lb. (ours was a little over 1 lb). -1/2 cup parmesan cheese -3/4 teaspoon nutmeg< -1 teaspoon of salt -pepper (we used around 1 teaspoon) -2 eggs -1 cup flour (I would slowly add more in the mixture, until it is manageable to work with and is not as sticky. It is heavily dependent on how large your squash is. Just remember you can always add more, but you can’t take away).

Ingredients for the Cream Sauce: -3 tablespoons butter -2 tablespoons flour -2 shallots, finely diced -4 cloves garlic, minced -2 cups chicken stock -1 cup bourbon -1/3 cup heavy cream -salt and pepeer -fresh thyme leaves (to garnish)

Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Cut the squash in half. 3. Be sure to remove the seeds and lay on an oiled, rimmed baking sheet. 4. Roast the squash until soft (usually 30-40 minutes). You may need to do it longer, depending on the size of your squash. I recommend weighing the squash at the grocery store before you buy it, so you’ll definitely know the weight. 5. Scoop the flesh of the squash out and place it in a food processor, and then puree until it is completely smooth. 6. Mix the pureed squash with parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and eggs 7. Then add the flour into the mixture and work together by hand. Warning: It will be very sticky! 8. Once the mixture is smooth, put flour down on your work surface and a large piece of parchment paper. 9. Don’t skip this step! Flour your hands and grab a handful of dough. Roll into a long-strip about 1/2 inch wide and then into 1/2 pieces. 10. Place each piece in the palm of your hand and gently roll with a fork to create ridges. 11. Place on the parchment paper and repeat until finished. 12. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil half the gnocchi, remove, and repeat until finished. You know the gnocchi is finished, when it floats. It usually takes maybe around 5 minutes. 13. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Make sure to add the butter and flour, and whisk until smooth. 14. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. 15. Add the bourbon and chicken stock. 16. Whisk and raise the heat, so the sauce can come to a boil. 17. Allow the sauce to reduce down to a thin gravy-like consistency. Then lower the heat to medium-low and add the cream (If the cream sauce thickens too much, add a little water from the gnocchi pot to thin it out!) 18. Add salt and pepper to taste (around 1 teaspoon). 19. Once all of the gnocchi are finished cooking, remove them and place them into the cream sauce. 20. Stir to coat. 21. Serve the gnocchi warm and you can garnish with fresh thyme leaves if you wish.

*Now, be forewarned, this recipe takes at least 1.5 hours to 2 hours to complete, and most likely even longer if you are a complete novice to cooking or if you are doing completely by yourself or if you bought a large squash (which would result in lots of gnocchi). It’s also a recipe, where you need to be good at multi-tasking, since you are making the gnocchi and the sauce essentially at the same time. So, if you plan on making this, be sure to set a lot of time aside or you may end up being hungry before it’s finished!