This year for my husband’s birthday I decided, as a special treat, to make him ricotta gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. Here’s how you can make it:

1. In large bowl add 8 ounces of whole milk ricotta (any other type is watery), 1 beaten egg, and flour. I used both all purpose flour and semolina flour. You may need to add a little water to make the dough stay together. For a special taste I put fresh cracked black pepper and dried rosemary in the mix.

2. Stir ingredients together, knead into a ball of dough, let sit for 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Pull a hand full of the dough, roll it out into a long tube, cut with a knife into 1 inch pieces. Dredge each piece in flour, flip with your thumb or a fork into the form of a pouch. This shape helps to hold the sauce/gravy better.

4. The finished platter of gnocchi is covered with a gorgonzola sauce. The recipe for the sauce and where I found it is another story for yet another day!

Mangia!

When Robin and Sarah from GATHER Events asked me to be a part of their rehearsal dinner styled photo shoot, I was excited. When they explained their concept to me, I was ecstatic! Basically they handed me this inspiration board:

I was immediately in love with the textures — grainy sand, thick cable knit blanket, smooth marshmallow-y desserts. Then I was enraptured by the colors — creamy white, hazy smoke from the fire against the gradient of the sunset. It felt sumptuous yet cozy, casual and inviting. Needless to say,  I was incredibly inspired!

The cable knit from the inspiration board lead to the hand-drawn envelope liner which is contrasted with a graphic interpretation of the sunset gradient on the invitation. Yarn from the cable knit is also referenced with the twirl-y flourishes that accent the text on both the invitation and the mailing address. The color palette includes warm tones on the invitation which is then placed into the smokey grey envelope.

The typographic elements and graphic sunset gradient featured on the invitation were echoed in the menu design. Drinks were skillfully concocted by Pharmacie and pizzas were baked in Urban Pie‘s mobile (yes, mobile!!) wood burning oven.

Given that we were on a beach, it only seemed natural for the guest book to take the form of a “message in a bottle”. We tweaked it slightly and called it “wisdom in a bottle” encouraging guests to give some words of advice to the soon-to-be-wed couple. To make it a little more authentic, Robin and Sarah burned the edges of the sign hanging on the glass jug to give it texture and lend a little bit of a smokey quality to it.

The favors — delicious “Pigments” by Petite Pig — are in a glass jar sealed with a cork and a tag that reads “Mint to be”.

Check out the entire shoot from this talented team assembled by GATHER Events and featured on 100 Layer Cake!
Photography: Heather Kincaid // Concept, Event Design, Florals, Production, Styling: GATHER Events // Furniture, Custom Napkins, Pillows, Styling: Borrowed Blu // Hair & Makeup: Tara Dowburd-Luftman // Pizza: Urban Pie // Favors: Petite Pig // Cocktails: Pharmacie

There are “sayings” told to you as a little child that you never forget. At Saint Michael’s — the Catholic school that I attended in Atlantic City, New Jersey — the nuns that taught us had much to say. These “sayings” were made up of words to live your life by. This (above) was one of them. Making trouble for the nuns, who probably already had enough troubles, would bring heaps of trouble down on you — trouble not only in school but at home too. This is not only a great alliteration but also something to ponder.

Contorno di verdura (side dish of vegetables) is something that I make quite often. There are many different versions of this dish that you can make and, as you will see, it goes with any main course.

1. Buy a variety of veggies: