Feelin' Like Fancy Mac and Cheese

Sometimes I read the title of a recipe, and that's enough for me to know that I think we'll enjoy it. About 60 percent of the time, I'll glance at the recipe to confirm. For those recipes I don't read ahead of time, I sometimes have a revelation while I'm in the process of making it. This was one of those times. As I'm stirring the sauce and adding the ingredients, I realized that this Baked Gnocchi in Bubbly Parmesan Cream Sauce is just a fancy Italian-ish Mac (Gnocchi) and Cheese. I've absolutely no objection to that, but it is funny that it took me a while to realize it. 

To start, you make a cream sauce, not unlike one for macaroni and cheese or fettucine Alfredo. This one has more chicken broth, but by the time the Parmesan is added, it's pretty cheesy. I did not have fresh Basil, as our grocery store had none available. I couldn't even see the spot on the shelf where it is normally stocked, so not sure what is up with that. I used regular sundried tomatoes, rather than the basil variety. In general, sundried tomatoes are hit or miss for me, and I really wish I had left them out this time. I did not have fresh nutmeg to grate, so I used the jarred variety instead. I don't know if I've ever had fresh nutmeg, so I probably don't know enough to tell the difference on that one. One thing I did do that was very easy, was to make the sauce in my cast iron skillet (12"), and then add the cooked gnocchi into the sauce. It saved getting an extra pan dirty, and the cast iron is always a great choice to get a crusty, bubbly edge.

This is a very creamy, yummy recipe that felt elevated and familiar all at the same time. We all enjoyed it, but I think I would leave the tomatoes out the next time or chop them smaller. I would love to taste this with the fresh Basil, because I think it would have a brightness that wasn't there with dried.