Gnocchi with Chicken and Sweet Potato

Last night, I reread my issue of Gourmet magazine and decided I wanted to make gnocchi from scratch. My boyfriend had no idea what gnocchi was; for him, and for those who aren't aware, gnocchi are tiny Italian dumplings. They're a little larger than a pencil eraser, and have ridges on them to hold the sauce. As it turns out, my boyfriend and I ended up going grocery shopping, and I stumbled across a box of gnocchi. Realizing that this would cut my cooking time in half ( and it was close to nine at night anyway), I asked him, "Are you still interested in gnocchi?" Loyally, he replied, "If you're cooking it, I'll eat it.

Why yes, I AM a lucky woman.

What kinds of recipes do you cook when you don't have a lot of time?

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Sweet Potato and Baked Chicken

1 box potato gnocchi
1/2 a sweet potato (make sure you're getting a sweet potato and not a yam-- yams aren't as sweet)
10 fresh sage leaves
1/2 stick butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
Leftover baked chicken

Put the butter into a small saucepan, and let it heat until it turns a dark brown. Remove it from the heat and set it aside.

Set a four quart pot full of water to boil on the stove.

Cut the sweet potato into small chunks, and brown them in three tablespoons of olive oil. Remove them from the pan to drain on a paper towel, and set them aside.

Fry the sage leaves in the leftover oil for 30 seconds at a time. Remove from the oil and set them aside to drain on a paper towel (they will get crispier as they cool).

Check the water. If it's boiling, add the entire box of gnocchi. Cook and drain according to the directions. Dump the brown butter in the pan that was used to cook the sage and sweet potato, then add the gnocchi and turn to coat. Divide into three servings (or 1 1/2 if you're serving two), and garnish with the sweet potato chunks and sage leaves. Serve hot, with leftover baked chicken.