A combination of two...

Like I said earlier, Ivonne's Cream Puffs in Venice holds some delish sounding recipes. Two, in particular, caught my fancy in a big way this week. Her Creamy Lemon Fettucini and her Gnocchi alla Bava. *swoon* Last night I couldn't decide which I wanted more, I just knew I wanted them both RIGHT NOW. I didn't have the time or energy after my 8 in the dungeon to attempt the actual gnocchi recipe, but the sauce she used with them sounded so darn good. As did the Creamy Lemon sauce.. which one? which one? Okay well.. let's try combining them.. the best of both worlds?! And that I did. I have to say, at first, I was a little taken aback. I had made the beautiful creamy lemon sauce and added the Fontina cheese from the gnocchi recipe and it looked smashing - all creamy and white with little specks of delish lemon zest throughout (I didn't strain mine as she suggested because I used my microplane and the zest grated so finely that I just left it in), but when I did my first taste test I was immediately alarmed. No no.. this was not a bad recipe, this was my dorkiness coming into play once again. I over salted. *sigh* So with an addition of more cream and more cheese (as if that could be a bad thing, c'mon!) it evened out the salt and I had a delicious sauce for my al dente fettucini to soak up. The tartness of the lemon played beautifully with the sharpness of the cheese. The consistency of the sauce was silky and rich. This was a fabulous combination and I just want to thank Ivonne for two fabulous recipes that I will definitely try on their own as well - I can't wait to make homemade gnocchi! I'm going to link to the Gnocchi alla Bava instead of typing them out here (just in case you haven't seen the wonderful photos that go with them) and the way I made mine was just adding 6 ounces of Fontina cheese (okay well more than 6 oz. when it was all said and done!) to her Creamy Lemon Fettucini recipe, that's it. =) Creamy Lemon Fettucini Copied verbatim from Ivonne's Creampuffs in Venice Adapted from Lemon Zest by Lori Longbotham. 1 cup heavy cream (35% cream) 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano 1 pound dried fettuccine salt and pepper to taste Heat the cream in a small pot until it's just about to come to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the lemon zest. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain the cream through a sieve to remove the lemon zest. Put a large pot of water to boil; once it comes to a boil add the fettuccine and cook according to package directions. As the fettuccine cook, melt the butter in a large pan (large enough to accommodate the fettuccine). Add the lemon cream and bring to a boil; add a bit of salt and pepper (taste to make sure that it's to your liking; add more salt if necessary). Lower the heat and let the cream simmer; it will reduce slightly and thicken. As soon as the fettuccine are cooked add them to the cream mixture. Immediately add the Parmigiano Reggiano and toss gently until all the fettuccine are covered in the sauce. As you toss the pasta, the melting Parmigiano and the starch from the pasta will combine to thicken the sauce further. Serve the pasta immediately with additional Parmigiano. Enjoy! Note: This recipe will serve 6 to 8 people. You can cut it in half. The original recipe does not include Parmigiano Reggiano, but as I am of the belief that Parmigiano makes everything taste better, I added lots of it! Gnocchi alla Bava