Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter

I loved this gnocchi from the October 2010 issue of Bon Appetit, but I knew I would. I really like gnocchi. The Hub felt it needed a heavy pasta sauce, but admitted he has never had it before so didn't know what to expect. I've had this recipe for two years waiting for the perfect Sunday afternoon to make it. The recipe actually lists 1 hour 45 minutes for prep time. That's a lot of prepping, especially if you don't know what you're doing. You divide your dough into eight parts and I only cooked two. This recipe makes a lot of gnocchi. I'll probably end up freezing the rest of it. I'm not sure I could really taste the pumpkin, but they were still heavenly.

Notice the asparagus? When I was in France this summer with my girlfriends, we took a cooking lesson. We were shocked at the market when our chef chose the largest asparagus he could find since in the States, small ones are coveted. When we got back to the kitchen he had us peel them with a potato peeler and that's what I did with these huge ones. They are unbelievably tender when cooked. I just threw them in the gnocchi water for five minutes and they really didn't need anything but a little salt.