Gnocchi with Sweet Gorgonzola

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• sprig of thyme
• clove of garlic, uncut
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 fist-sized potatoes, peeled
• 1 egg
• about 1 cup of flour (or less)
• cornmeal for dusting counter
• 1 handful Parmigiano Reggiano
• nutmeg

Equipment

• Measuring cup and spoons
• Whisk
• Fork
• Hands
• Bowl
• Saucepan for sauce and for boiling potatoes
• Pasta pan for boiling gnocchi
• Slotted spoon
• Sieve lined with paper towel for straining gnocchi
• Buttered platter

Here is how:

1. For 4 first course portions, prepare the béchamel sauce by placing a knob of butter (1 Tbsp) and about equal amounts of flour in a saucepan. Whisk that up with a sprig of thyme and a whole clove of uncut garlic until the flour has lost its rawness and is on its way to butter cookie.
2. Turn off the heat and give it a spill of whole milk. Whisk 'til smooth. Add another spill and do the same.
3. Now give it a little flame, and enough milk to equal about a cup. Simmer and whisk until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste for salt and pepper. Strain and then put it back in the same pot off the flame.
4. In the meantime, boil some potatoes. Strain the potatoes and put them back in the same pot, but give them a low flame for a minute to dry them out. Immediately smash with a fork and season with a little salt and pepper. Now go breathe—walking really fast helps a lot if you’re self conscious about doing nothing but breathing.
5. When you come back, add a beaten egg to the potatoes along with about a cup of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Mix only as much as you have to. 
6. Divide the dough into small sections, and roll each section into a log shape, about the width of a sharpie pen. Coat a sheet pan with cornmeal, or your counter if it’s big enough, and cut the logs into one-inch gnocchi. You don’t have to crimp them with a fork if you don’t feel like it.
7. Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the gnocchi, about 10 to 15 at a time, and as soon as they rise to the surface, scoop them out with a slotted spoon onto a sieve covered with paper towel. Butter a platter, and let them rest on there until you’re done with the rest.
8. Now heat the béchamel back up slowly and when it’s barely at a simmer, add chunks of gorgonzola (or St. Agur), whisking as you go, and then a good handful of Parmigiano Reggiano. Taste to tell when it has enough cheese for you. 
9. Add a glimmer of freshly grated nutmeg. I love it with sautéed asparagus with garlic and fresh basil on the side.

Additional info:

Faye, of dinnerlist fame, tells us this is a really fun recipe to do with kids. Just be sure to mash the potatoes while they're hot, or they'll get gluey!