Guest Post: Gnocchi and Cheese from Earl-Leigh

Hey everyone! Up today is Earl-Leigh. She's sharing a DELICIOUS looking gnocchi recipe {I die!}. Have fun, y'all:

Hey y'all {Lauren's note: love being friends with other southern bloggers}! I was psyched when Lauren invited me over for a guest post! My name is Earl and I blog over at Earl-Leigh Designs. 

I'm a southern wife, puppy mama and Etsy shop owner. My blog is about my life and likes. You'll find some sewing tutorials, random excerpts from my day to day, recipes and more. Today, I came armed with a recipe. A few weeks ago, I was scouring my favorite website (Pinterest) and came upon a recipe for gnocchi mac and cheese. Let me tell ya...I have never met a carb that I didn't like so I knew that I needed to give this recipe a shot. 

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

1 pound of gnocchi ( I used sweet potato gnocchi)

2 tablespoons of butter

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 tablespoons of all-purpose (or wheat) flour

3/4 cup of milk

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1/4 shredded fontina cheese

salt and white pepper to taste

1/3 Parmigiano-Reggaino

Basil leaves for garnish (optional) 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions. Drain the gnocchi and place in a single layer in a 1 1/2 quart shallow baking dish. Be sure to spray the dish with nonstick cooking spray before. 

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.  Whisk in flour until the mixture thickens and bubbles, then whisk in the milk and mustard. Continue to whisk and cook until it thickens, about 3-5 minutes.

Combine Gruyere and fontina, add them to the mixture by the handful, stirring until the cheese melts before adding the next handful. Once all of the cheese is melted, add salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over the gnocchi and top with Parmigiano-Reggaino. Bake the gnocchi until they puff and the cheese is golden and bubbly (about 25 minutes). Let the gnocchi rest for five minutes before serving. Eat. 

The husband and I both really enjoyed this gourmet take on mac and cheese. It was really flavorful and done in less than one hour. What did we not like about this recipe? The price tag as it calls for THREE specialty cheeses and it didn't yield many portions. I would suggest this recipe for couples having a date night in or for someone who is entertaining. 

Thank you all for having me! It's been delightful. 

(Psst...Lauren. Will you please find out what type of conditioner Rapunzel uses while you're there? Ha!)

Well, I can *try* to find that out. But, I do know from past experience that those types of details tend to be TOP SECRET! But, I can promise a postcard and many pictures!