Exploding Gnocci @LibbyKlein

 Libby Klein There is no recipe today. The recipe exploded. 

I was trying to make ricotta gnocchi. I followed the directions exactly. I made a lovely pan sauce of fried pancetta and sage in butter and olive oil. I still have the grated lemon waiting to go overtop the finished dish. When I put the gnocchi in water they exploded like Mentos in Mountain Dew. I had one giant gnocchi that looked like a life raft. 

Totally disgusted, I let it cook the requisite three minutes, then scooped it out of the water with my spider, and dumped the whole concoction into the butter and oil. It looked like it was breathing it was as mad as I was. Then I got the idea to bake it as if it were cheese puffs. So I scooped little meatball sized dumplings onto a parchment lined sheet pan and stuck them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

They taste right. They kind of resemble little potato pancakes (even though there is no potato since I'm allergic.) For a side dish to meatloaf these would be pretty good. All they are is cheese, flour, and egg with the butter, sage and prosciutto baked in. I don't recommend trying to make exploding gnocchi. Try Vicki Delaney's recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi instead. But if you ever make it by accident, just know you can recover by baking them in the oven and serving them anyway.

Have you ever had a recipe fail so badly you could only pivot or throw it out? Let me know in the comments.

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Libby Klein writes ridiculously funny murder mysteries from her Northern Virginia office with a very naughty calico Persian named Miss Eliza Doolittle, and a sweet black Lab named Vader. She can name that tune for 70s and 80s rock in the first few notes, and she's translated her love of classic rock into her Layla Virtue Mysteries. Libby was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that prevents her from eating gluten without exploding. Because bread is one of her love languages, she includes the recipes for gluten free goodies in her Cape May based Poppy McAllister series. Most of her hobbies revolve around travel, and eating, and eating while traveling. She insists she can find her way to any coffee shop anywhere in the world, even while blindfolded. Follow all of her nonsense on her website www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/