Potato Gnocchi

These are exceedingly simple little pasta-like dumplings. The only hard part is deciding how you want to shape them. Serve them with any sauce you would normally have with pasta: pesto, marinara, oil and balsamic vinegar, etc. We had them with an exciting dandelion-greens sauce that Jennie made.

2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 c unbleached white flour

Bake, boil or steam the potatoes until they are all soft. Make sure they cook evenly (we had problems with some less-cooked chunks sticking around).
While they are still hot, mash potatoes with salt and pepper.
Gradually add flour, stirring until you have sticky blob (sounds tasty, eh?).
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead dough for about 3 minutes, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle.
Pat dough into a rectangle, cut into long strips about an inch wide.
Roll strips into thick ropes (like you're playing with clay), cut into 1/2 inch thick cylinders.
Now the really fun part: decide how you want to shape the gnocchi. We followed a cookbook's directions and pressed the dough between a thumb and fork. They turned out a little funny looking, but that didn't stop them from tasting good!
Drop gnocchi into a pot of boiling salted water in batches small enough that the pot won't be too crowded.
Gnocchi are done when they float to the top.
Drain cooked gnocchi in a colander. If you're making a big batch, you may want to pour a little oil over the waiting gnocchi to keep them from sticking.

This recipe served three of us, but should be good for at least four if Branden isn't there.