Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

Gnocchi di sugo. It may not roll off the tongue of the average American, but as a second-generation Italian-American, it does off mine.

Plus, it sounds better than potato dumplings and meat sauce.

Gnocchi di sugo is a traditional Northern Italian dish. While pasta and savoury doughs are staples in the south, the main dishes of the north revolve around rice, polenta (corn meal), and gnocchi. Gnocchi may also be eaten as as a first course, or placed in goulash-type casseroles and stews (particularly in north-east regions which border on Austria and Hungary).

The word gnocchi means "lumps", which is a good descriptor for how they look. It has been a traditional Italian pasta type since Roman times. Gnocchi can be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, potato, bread crumbs, or similar ingredients. While the potato was not introduced to Europe until the 16th century, it is the main ingredient in my grandmother's recipe.

For me, the true test of an Italian Restaurant is: do they serve gnocchi? Some do, but not many. And if so, how do they stack up against Nonna Jennie's version? That answer is almost always the same: not even close.

A kitchen full of women, piles of potatoes, tables covered with white cloth towels and dusted with flour. Making gnocchi was always a group activity at my Nonna's house, as it is not an easy job. It takes as long to prepare (and consume) as Thanksgiving dinner, so it is not for the faint of heart.

My grandmother taught Cindy how to make the gnocchi, and taught me how to make the sugo. I don't know if it was her plan or not, but neither of us know the exact recipe for the other half. For years at Harry & David, no one person knew the entire recipe for Fruitcake Confection, and the entire recipe was kept in a vault. Cindy and I don't lock away the recipes from each other, but rather we choose to continue the dance my grandmother set in motion: one of us leads the slow ballet of the sugo, the other leads the tarantella of the gnocchi.