Earl Cooks 4 Cheese Gnocchi with Italian Sausage

Growing up, I rarely ate Italian dishes. Oh we had spaghetti occasionally and I remember some kind of lasagna using yellow cheddar cheese. Pizza was something you went out to eat. There was no 'pasta' it was elbow macaroni or spaghetti. The variety of pastas, sauces, cheeses and dishes we enjoy today were not only not in my wheelhouse, but not in my world. Sausages came in link and patties and were eaten for breakfast. Herbs were a select few cans my mom kept hidden in a cupboard. Our salt came from a cardboard can and pepper was like black dust. My mom was an okay cook, she just didn't have exposure to variety. She was very picky about ingredients like butter...margarine never made it into her dishes. We didn't didn't have access to fresh fruits and veggies year round like today, what was in season or canned was all she had to work with. She probably could have expanded her knowledge, but if her "Betty Crocker" didn't have it, or if the ingredients weren't readily available and reasonably priced she didn't, bless her departed soul.

Fast forward to when I was 19 and went to live in the heart of Mexico in the mid 1970s. The fresh markets were open everyday and year round. People shopped every day. No supermarkets or grocery stores and every purchase was a negotiation. Herbs, fruits and vegetables and condiments galore and most of them unknown by me or my taste buds. When I returned to the states I met a wonderful woman, the love of my life or "Turkey" as I call her. Not only was she a good cook, she studied cooking in high school and college. Just one drawback...she didn't care for pasta. To here it was just paste, which of course, it is. So Italian cuisine was not her favorite. Okay, now back to the cooking

TOP-Same's Choice Italia 4 Cheese Gnocchi
With Colosimos Mild Italian Sausage Bottom

One thing "Turkey" loves is gnocchi.(njoki) that cute little dumpling made from flour, potato & cheese. So I saw that Wal-Mart had a new line called Sam's Choice Italia boxed dinners that I wanted to review here, one of which is a Four Cheese Gnocchi. They claimed it was from a recipe passed down for generations, so here goes...
I had some Colosimos Mild Italian Sausage that I thought would make the dish a meal. I took 3 links and cooked them to suit "Turkey's" liking. I hoped the term 'mild' might make the flavor more to her.

 First I cut them into slices, leaving the casing on. I wanted a more solid shape to go with the shape of the gnocchi.Next I placed them in a pan to cook with a dash of EVOO. I used the pan I was going to cook the gnocchi in for easy cleanup. When the sausage is cooked through and properly browned, remove to a bowl and continue. Follow package directions for preparing the gnocchi.

While it cooks, grate some Parmesan cheese to top the dish with. They recommend an amount that is far too sparse for my liking so I tripled it. Be certain you use FRESHLY GRATED PARMESAN only. Good Parmesan can be purchased relatively cheaply at warehouse stores or at Trader Joe's.
When the gnocchi has completed cooking, remove it from the heat and add the sausage to the gnocchi and mix in completely dish it up and add the grated Parmesan. A nice piece of crusty bread goes well to clean up the bowl.

Conclusion:
The Sam's Choice 4 Cheese Gnocchi is a fine product. It is not as good as my wife's homemade Ricotta gnocchi but for a good tasting option to your regular pasta it is worth it, although as it turns out, mild sausage was not mild enough...more for me!