I am not one to follow a recipe. Except for baking, I usually add something to tweak a recipe. And then in baking, I will add different optional ingredients or more of something than a recipe calls for. I love Martha Stewart’s banana bread recipe. It never fails to win praise. But, when I make it, I substitute 1/3 of the total flour with whole wheat flour. I add twice as many walnuts. I have even added mini chocolate chips.

Sometimes, all my tweaking results is an absolute killer meal, but occasionally a meal I can’t easily replicate. So I have changed my approach. I make a recipe the first time as it is written. If it is basically a keeper, then I will make personal adjustments. Tonight I made Gnocchi 3.0. And I am pretty sure that this will become a standard. The boys devour it. Tonight, I made a double batch and fed my sister and nephew. She has a more discerning palate, but has agreed to my gustatory adventures. She liked the gnocchi. Definitely a keeper. The original recipe is here, but below is my embellished version.

Gnocchi 3.0

1 container of whole milk ricotta

1 egg yolk

1/3 romano

1/2- 1 tsp garlic POWDER

1/4 tsp rubbed sage

cracked pepper

1 cup flour and more to knead

1 tbsp butter

3 slices of bacon

Set the slices of bacon to fry slowly in an electric skillet. [I use the electric skillet because it is big enough to hold the entire recipe after boiling.]

Set a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.

Mix the ricotta, yolk, romano and spices. Fold in 1/2 c of the flour. Turn mixture out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining  1/2 c flour. Cut the dough into fourths and roll each section into a rope the thickness of a cigar. Cut each rope into pieces the size of casino dice and place on a floured cutting board in a single layer. Repeat for the other 3 sections. Once water is boiling, slide all of the gnocchi into the water careful to avoid the splatter.The once boiling water will be still. Wait for it to return to boiling and gnocchi are all floating.

Work quickly. While waiting for gnocchi to surf, remove bacon from skillet and turn it to med high heat. Add one tbsp of butter, a tsp of minced garlic and more cracked pepper. Chop up the crispy bacon and return to skillet. Fish the gnocchi out of the water with a hand strainer and drain. Turn out into the skillet and quickly toss to coat in butter and bacon drippings.  Let sit untouched to brown on one side. Then turn and fold the gnocchi a few times. Remove from skillet onto a serving platter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. It can be served plain or with a red sauce.