Prune-Stuffed Gnocchi with Foie Gras Sauce

This is another one from Barbara Lynch. She wrote it up as being kind of hard to do but worth it for special occasions. For my New Year's dinner, I wanted something special and had the luxury of time for making these. It is a lot of work, but if you have a free Saturday and have friends coming over, this is a very indulgent appetizer (or entree if you give everyone a few more gnocchis). The dough is extremely light and fluffy, the prune filling is tart, and sweet, and the earthy, rich foie gras sauce is amazingly decadent. The crunch of the almonds on top is also a nice contrast. Yum!

I had to make a few changes because it's really hard to find 8oz of foie gras, so I used a foie gras spread which worked fine. This has also inspired me to try stuffing other things into gnocchi. Any suggestions? Maybe a pureed bitter green?

Serves 6
Ingredients:
For the Gnocchi:
22 pitted prunes
1 cup Madeira (or Vin Santo, but Madeira's cheaper)
2-2 1/4 lb Idaho or Yukon Gold potatoes (I used 2 Idaho, 1 Yukon gold) unpeeled
1 1/2 - 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 large eggs
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

For the Sauce:
8 oz foie gras spread
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2 large)
15 sprigs thyme
15 black peppercorns
15 coriander seeds
2 cups Madeira

Roasted Butterflied Leg of Lamb

This year for New Year's we decided to have a few friends out to Southampton for the weekend for a low key celebration. To make it special, I wanted to make a really great dinner. I started with Prune-Stuffed Gnocchi with a Foie Gras-Madeira Glaze and then for the main, Michael Psilakis' Stuffed Lamb recipe and some green beans. For dessert, we did a make your own ice cream sundae - always a big hit. It was a delicious and special dinner and a really fun night. The lamb was savory and had great Mediterranean flavors. The spread you make to rub into the middle of the lamb is extremely tasty - I could have eaten it straight. If you have the time, definitely do it the night before and let it air dry in the fridge. It makes such a great, crispy sear. Also, the broth under the lamb as it roasts smells heavenly.

Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
For the stuffing:
1 1/2 cups large sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted
1 tsp minced rosemary
leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tsp dry Greek oregano
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
10 cloves of garlic, mashed into a paste
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh ground pepper