Every dinner I ate in Italy was pasta. I couldn't not order pasta. Each pasta dish I had was so good that the next time around I wanted to order pasta again, hopeful that this time it would be even better and confident that even if it didn't outperform the last, it would still be fantastic. And much of the pasta I ate was gnocchi. Because it does not get any better than those doughy pillows of delight. Am I right? LOVE gnocchi.

But I'd never served gnocchi at home. I'd ordered it in restaurants here in the States (not the same!) but for some reason I'd never made it myself. So when we came home, one of the first things I did was look for an easy gnocchi recipe. And unlike the dishes I'd had in Venice (in which the gnocchi nearly floated in decadent cream sauces), I wanted one that was relatively healthy. I've made this one twice now, and been quite pleased both times.

1 small carton of mushrooms, chopped (any kind - I like baby bella)
16 oz. box vacuum-packed gnocchi
1-2 shallots, chopped
olive oil
thyme
Parmesan cheese

Prepare gnocchi by directions. (Or you can make your own. Next time I'm going to attempt this, since it seems fairly easy and would surely add an extra level of divine.)

Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms and shallots in small amount of olive oil. Season with thyme and allow to cook for several minutes.

Add generous amount of Parmesan cheese to mushroom mixture, and stir in several spoonfuls of water from boiling gnocchi.

Drain gnocchi and mix with mushroom sauce.

Serves 3-4

This recipe came about one evening when Rob was in the mood for soup and I wanted to get rid of a bunch of stuff we had in the fridge. He googled some combination of the items in our fridge with "soup" tacked onto the end, and came across a recipe that sounded decent. He adapted it, adding other stuff we had, and the result was delicious.

Driving home from somewhere not long before, we'd been flipping through the stations and came upon John Tesh talking about how to create family traditions. He claimed that just giving something an official name would make it feel to your kids like a tradition, even if you'd never done it before. He said, for example, that you could make some random casserole for the first time but calling it "Aunt Sally's Famous Tuna Casserole" would make it seem special to your kids. You all know I think John Tesh is a crock of shit, but this amused me and so when Rob made this soup the first time, I proclaimed it Rob's Famous Tortellini and Artichoke Soup. Maybe Tesh was onto something, though, because this recipe is quickly becoming a tradition as it is now on regular rotation at our house, changing slightly each time depending on what we have on hand.

Also, Rob cooks like his mom, so all of these measurements are bad estimates at best.

olive oil
1/2 chopped onion
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
4 oz ground Italian sausage
1 can broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can white beans (garbanzo, great northern, or navy)
3 artichoke hearts, chopped
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
pepper to taste
8 oz. cheese-filled tortellini, uncooked

First sauté Italian sausage, onion, and garlic in olive oil. Then add all ingredients to saucepan and boil until tortellini is cooked.

(For the crockpot: Sauté Italian sausage like above, then add all ingredients but tortellini to the crockpot and cook on Low for at least several hours. For last hour, add tortellini and cook on High.)

Makes 4 servings

Rob and I are not big fans of fish, but we eat it pretty regularly because it's good for us. We've found various ways to eat it without really tasting it, such as hiding it in tacos or sneaking it into pasta salads. But we also often cook fillets for dinner, and while we've come a long way, I wouldn't say the experience of eating fish is particularly enjoyable for us. Until now.

Rob's mom served us some delicious salmon a few weeks ago, and it was so good that I found myself craving fish (!) for dinner last night. So I made it, and it turned out so well that I feel compelled to share the recipe. Which isn't much of a recipe, actually, because Rob's mom does not measure. I mean, I know for a fact that she owns measuring cups and spoons, but I do not believe she has ever used them. Rob loves her blonde brownies, and when we were first married I asked her for the recipe so I could make them for him. And she was like, "Um okay, so I mix brown sugar, regular sugar, and a couple of eggs."

"How much sugar?"

"Oh, maybe a cup or so of each? Whatever looks right."

Whatever looks right? Are you kidding me? "Okaaaay...and is 'a couple of eggs' two?"

"I might put three in. Depends on the size."

I thought perhaps she was trying to jeopardize my blonde brownie making in some weird mother-in-law sort of way. I mean, she couldn't even tell me the temperature at which she bakes them! But I've since learned that she's like this with everything she makes. And Rob gets this trait from her - he'll just throw in a little of this and a smidge of that. It used to drive me crazy. You know, because things have to be perfect? I mean, how can you just toss that in there without checking the recipe?! Measurements must be precise! And FLOUR SHOULD BE LEVELED WITH A KNIFE.

But I've gotten much better, and now find myself loosening up a bit with my cooking. Not with bread or cookies or things for which being exact actually matters, but with other stuff. I remember the first time Rob saw me improvise something in a recipe. He asked, "Did I just see you put something in that pot without measuring it first?!" And I replied, "Dude, it wasn't even ON the recipe." He looked at me stunned, his pride apparent. And I exclaimed, "I KNOW, right?!"

Normally when I make a non-recipe from Rob's mom, I will measure what I do so I can document it and do it again the next time. But marinades don't need exact measurements, or really even recipes. So when I made the salmon last evening, I didn't bother to measure. I didn't even use measuring utensils! And that? That, people, is personal growth.

Ingredients:

several glugs of white wine
clod of brown sugar
large splat of lemon juice
hunk of salmon

Whisk together the first three ingredients. Marinade the salmon in this mixture for about an hour. Bake (375-ish) or grill, basting at least once. The fish will flake with a fork when done. I sprinkled a wee bit of brown sugar on the fillets before serving.

(Or, a good excuse to use your beautiful brand new KitchenAid.)

1 cup butter/margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups (12 oz) peanut butter chips

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Cool 1 minute beore removing from cookie sheet onto wire rack.

Makes about 5 dozen 2 1/2 inch cookies.

1 butternut squash
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp. brown sugar
dash cumin
dash cinnamon
1 tbsp. chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 400°.

Slice butternut squash in half lengthwise. Place face down in baking sheet; add enough water to cover bottom of sheet. Roast squash for 20 minutes or until tender enough to peel and chop. Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.

Peel squash and cut into 1-inch cubes (approx. 3 cups). Combine squash, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until tender. Place squash, milk, and broth in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not bring to a boil). Stir in brown sugar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add dash of cumin, to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and lightly sprinkle each serving with cinnamon. Garnish with walnuts on top.

Yield: 2 servings

Tonight Mr. Mojo's girlfriend taught me how to make crème brûlée. I think this is utterly appropriate because never before have I met someone who epitomizes the best qualities of Kimmy in My Best Friend's Wedding - she's so sweet, very supportive of him, and completely classy. She seems to be flawless and one can't help but adore her. She's crème brûlée. (And I suspect that next to her, I am frickin' jello. But whatever.)

My favorite part is, of course, cracking it with a spoon.

1 cup whole milk (can use 1/2 cup skim milk & 1/2 cup Half & Half instead)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract or 1-2 Vanilla Bean Pods
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
powdered sugar for topping

In a small saucepan, bring milk and cream to a boil, monitoring it closely so it doesn't boil over. Remove from the heat. Add vanilla, and allow vanilla to infuse the cream for 30 minutes for regular Vanilla Extract or an hour for Vanilla Bean Pods at room temperature. Strain mixture into a clean saucepan. Bring to a boil again and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 275°F. In a mixing bowl, whisk the yolks and granulated sugar until just combined. Temper the egg mixture by very slowly whisking a small amount of the now warm vanilla cream into the eggs. Take your time with this step so that the yolks don't scramble (2-3 tablespoons at a time). Once the egg mixture and cream are roughly the same temperature, whisk the remaining egg mixture into the cream.

Divide custard among four 4-ounce ramekins. Place ramekins in a baking dish or roasting pan. Fill dish or pan with water so that water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins and transfer to the oven rack. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (Note: this can take up to an hour depending on the size of the ramekin and beginning temperature of water. Check every 10 minutes.) During the last 10 minutes, check frequently for doneness: when fully baked, the crème brûlées will be firm and will wiggle just slightly when shaken. Remove ramekins from water bath and refrigerate until chilled.

Before serving, sprinkle each dessert with 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar. Hold propane kitchen torch about 3 inches from the custard's surface and flame the sugar into a golden brown, brittle crust. Serve immediately.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 tbsp. onion, finely diced
1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 garlic clove, diced
1 cup red pepper, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350. Shred chicken. Combine all ingredients except crescent rolls.

To assemble ring, unroll crescent dough and separate into 16 triangles. On a cookie sheet, arrange triangles in a circle with wide end of triangle overlapping in center and points toward the outside. There should be a 5” diameter center. Scoop mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangle over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered.) Bake 20-30 minutes or until crescent rolls are a deep golden brown.