Loaded Baked Potato Sheet Pan Gnocchi

and some fall favorites

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes in your inbox every Tuesday!

REMINDER: PAID TIER IS CURRENTLY ON HIATUS UNTIL JANUARY 2023!

During this hiatus, your membership will remain paused and you will not be charged until the beginning of January when I resume. The free, Tuesday weekly edition of this newsletter will still continue!

Thank you for understanding, and I look forward to coming back next year better than ever!

CATCH UP!

Happy November my beautiful friends!

First off, thank you for all the comments and messages regarding last week’s newsletter. I love hearing from my community, and it gives me a lot of peace knowing that I have people here who share my ethos and understand nuance :).

I have a lot of thoughts about a lot of topics, and I find it hard to discuss them on places like Instagram stories because I find they’re too long, and again too nuanced, to include in a video that people will want to watch for awhile. Writing is always going to be my preferred form, so for that, I am extremely grateful to have this platform.

Since I went in so deep last week, I will keep this week light. I am sitting here drinking matcha, with my dog Willow next to me, post-morning walk, and I just feel calm. Every year when fall rolls around, I am reminded that I am at my emotional best during this season, as much as I love to think that I am a summer girl. There is something about autumn that calms me, event though I live in Los Angeles and some may argue that seasons are arbitrary (although that some does not include me, because I can name a myriad of changes that happen each season to disprove this, but I digress).

Next week, our wedding circuit resumes, and we are back to some travel after about a much-needed month and a half off (if you don’t count our stint up to Big Sur, that is). I just love the togetherness that happens in fall. After the hustle and bustle of summer, the nesting spirit of the season means more people are around, and there are so many holidays, I just tend to feel so connected to others, and I love it.

THINGS I’M LOVING!

I just received the lovely The Woks Of Life cookbook, and I already feel SO inspired to cook and try out new recipes. I’ve followed The Woks of Life family for a while now on Instagram, and their recipes are amazing. If you’re looking to try out cooking some Chinese dishes, like Salt-and-Pepper Fried Oyster Mushrooms (omg), Classic Sesame Chicken, Chili Oil Wontons, and more, this cookbook is here for you! I’m personally excited to try the Shortcut Dan Dan Noodles — all of these pictures have me salivating, and you know appealing photos are a huge part of a good cookbook!!

I would never think to buy cashmere because ($$$), but Madewell always comes through with the sales on top of sales. I loved the cropped coziness of this Cashmere Upton Cardigan Sweater, and since it was heavily discounted, I went for it! It’s so comfortable, and I love the neutral color, although it also comes in eggshell!

I have always been a fan of Hu Chocolate — they have amazing ingredients and the best flavors, and now they just came out with a milk chocolate bar! I particularly love that it’s not overly sweet like some other milk chocolates. They have a plain milk chocolate bar, but they also have their signature flavors like Cashew Butter, Almond Crunch, and more, which you can try in the Hu Milk Chocolate Sampler Pack!

RECIPE!

Grant and I (and our third wheel, Willow), recently had a date night at Agnes Restaurant and Cheesery in Pasadena, and we ordered their “Loaded Potato Dumplings,” which were little gnocchi-like pasta with broccoli, cheddar, sour cream, bacon, and super crispy fried onions. Genius, I thought!

I only recently discovered the glory of sheet pan gnocchi, and I felt a dish with this flavor profile would be perfect to use in this form. I am a huge potato girl, and I was excited to use gnocchi, which already contain potatoes, in a recipe reminiscent of a loaded baked potato. Throwing it all on a sheet pan and making it low-maintenance made it all the better.

If you are vegetarian, you can leave out the bacon, just make sure to add a little more olive oil to give the dish some more fat, since the bacon fat helps to add flavor and assist in roasting!

Loaded Baked Potato Sheet Pan Gnocchi

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 lbs (32 oz) gnocchi

• 4 oz bacon, cut into 1-inch strips

• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 tsp bay seasoning

• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar (plus more to top)

• Greek yogurt or sour cream (to top)

• Chopped chives (to top)

• Salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Add gnocchi, bacon, onion, garlic, and bay seasoning to a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and mix everything together. Make sure everything is spread in a single layer on the baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes or until gnocchi turns golden and bacon is crispy.

2. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the cheddar cheese. Mix together, letting the cheese melt into the gnocchi. Transfer to bowls, and top with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream and finely chopped chives.