Ladies and Gents: My pride and joy. I have been dying to make gnocchi from scratch FOREVER! Although I (formerly) thought the process would be daunting and time-consuming: It's not. I came across this recipe a while back and thought, hmm, maybe I could do this! This particular dish was inspired by the most delicious beet gnocchi I had in Brooklyn some time ago, and have been dreaming of how to even begin recreating this heavenly concoction. I used sweet potatoes in lieu of regular russet potatoes because (I love them, and) I wanted to complement the sweetness of the beets. I ended up using a lot more flour than called for in the recipe because my dough was particularly unmanageable, but as soon as I got that under control the rest was a cinch! The gnocchi would have been great paired with a goat cheese sauce, but if you don't have any on hand, I found a delicious recipe for Beurre Rouge that worked oh-so-perfectly. I mean it's red wine with loads of butter - OF COURSE it's good. 
Ingredients: Gnocchi
2-3 medium Sweet Potatoes
3 small Beets
2 cups of flour (more or less as you need it)
1 ts salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
Beurre Rouge sauce:
1 cup of red wine
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (can substitute other vinegar like balsamic)
1 shallot, minced
1 lb cold butter, diced (I used 1/2 pound = 1 stick and it was still delicious)
salt to taste
What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and roast with beets for 40-50 mins, or until tender to the touch
3. Set aside to cool then remove peel
4. In a large mixing bowl, mash potatoes, beets and salt
5. Mix egg in
6. Add flour in a 1/2 cup at a time until a manageable dough forms that doesn't stick to your hands (you can either combine with a spatula or a mixer)
7. On a clean, floured surface roll or spread the dough out and knead for 2-3 mins
8. Separate into 5 or 6 smaller balls, and then roll each one in your hands to create a long, thin, snake-like rope
9. Cut the dough ropes into small 1" pieces
10. Meanwhile fill a large pot with water, salt it, and bring it to a boil
11. Once water is boiling drop the gnocchi in one by one
12. Gnocchi are cooked when they float to the top, drain
13. In a separate and smaller sauce pan, saute shallots in a little olive oil for 2 mins
14. Reduce heat and add in the vinegar and the wine
15. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and let the sauce reduce by 2 Tbs which takes about 10 mins
16. While the sauce is reducing, heat a small saute pan on med heat with a pat of butter
17. Throw in the Gnocchi and let them saute for a few mins until golden on either side, turn heat off.
18. Once sauce has reduced, begin adding in the cubes of butter two at a time.
19. Wisk the butter into the sauce until melted and combined - continue with the rest of the butter
20. Once you have 2 cubes of butter left, turn off the heat and wisk in the rest.
21. Plate the Gnocchi and pour sauce over - serve immediately with shaved parmesan on top!
