SMALL PORTIONS!!! Semolina gnocchi

This is one of those dishes that I LOVE. I love it way too much. I think that I could easily eat the whole platter of it, without a question. That's even with, as you will see, the two sticks of butter variation. It is THAT good.
Fortunately, it takes a little bit of work. So I don't make it regularly. Having said that, this is something that you should have in your repertoire. It IS a show stopper, not so much because of how it looks, but because of its texture and its taste.
Semolina gnocchi are also called "Roman gnocchi." Why ? I have no idea. I once asked a few Romans if they knew what Roman gnocchi were and they looked at me like I had lost my mind. They may have been right, but that's the way it is. And once in a restaurant I really liked, they had Roman gnocchi on the menu . I ordered it and I got potato gnocchi. I asked if there had been a mistake and they said that three people had asked the same thing that day, but no, this was Roman gnocchi. I said that I thought potato dishes were associated with Genoa, and I was told that Genovesi were thieves.
We Italians are not proprietary about our dishes, no siree.

Ok, the onl unusual ingredient you need here, is semolina flour. This is the yellow stuff that is used to make pasta. "semolina" means, literally, "little seeds" I t hink that's because the grain is a little bigger than regular milled flour, and not as big as couscous. It's a very hard flour . What I mean by that is that when you add liquids, it is very, very stiff. That's why, when you read this, you will think twice about the amount of liquid, but it is the right amount.

Here we go. You will need a whole quart of whole milk. Also, a stick of unsalted butter. Then a pinch of salt, and a good heaping teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Then, one cup of semolina flour. You also want an egg, and about a cup of grated parmesan cheese.

Now, we're ready to go. Now, get a baking sheet greased. It would be best if you had what is called a "quarter sheet." This is one that is half the size of a regular one. You'll need that.

Put the quart of milk in a pot and then add the salt, the nutmet, and the semolina. Start stirring, and bring the pot to a simmer, slowly. While you stir, you'll see what looks like a custard forming. Keep stirring. When the stuff begins to come away from the sides of the pot, you're done. Now add, the egg, off the heat, and then the stick of butter, and the cheese, and stir it all together.

Pour that all out onto the buttered sheet, and wet your hands. Smooth it out as best as you can, but don't get ridiculous about it. Walk away and let it cool for about a half an hour.

Come back to it with a small can, like a 3 ounce tuna can, or a biscuit cutter, something like that. Cut circles, and put them into a greased baking dish, and lay them on top of each other, in lines that lie on each other. You'll have dough left over. You can roll it out, or you can just gather it together, and press it out again, which is what I do, and cut some more. Use as much of it as you can.

Now, what you are SUPPOSED t odo, is melt another stick of butter, and pour that over the gnocchi, and then sprinkle cheese over that and grill it for a few minutes. I leave the extra butter out. Sometimes I use pesto on them, sometimes red pepper sauce, or dried tomato sauce, whatever you like

These have a light, frothy texture, that makes you feel like you're eating nothing. But look at the ingredients. It's a heady dish, served best with grilled meat.

I'm going to dedicate this recipe to my friend Johnny D. He's gonna give it to Momma D, and they're gonna make it together. He loved it and admitted it. So, Johnny D, this is for you.