By Tara Young

Friday, May 16, 2003, noon-1:00 pm, at The White Elephant.

Prune Stuffed Gnocchi with Foie Gras-Vin Santo Glaze

Standing next to the familiar Viking travel demo stage, Annie Copps from Boston Magazine introduces Barbara Lynch of the highly accoladed Boston restaurant No. 9 Park. This is not first time for these two on this stage together, although Barbara gives the audience advanced, though unwarranted apologies for her presentation, saying she is better in the kitchen.

The plat du jour is Prune Stuffed Gnocchi, a signature dish of No. 9 Park, which is known for its mélange of French and Italian cuisine. Barbara promises the gnocchi are simple to make: if you were awarded 2003 Best Chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation like she was, it surely would be; and with sous chef Frank Gehr at her side, Barbara makes it look real easy.

From the steaming pot of boiling water, Frank pulls out several Idaho potatoes, which Barbara prefers to Yukon Gold for the gnocchi. They deftly peel the potatoes while still scalding hot, and explain that they are used to burning their hands. These are true players of the game "hot potato." While the potatoes are still hot, they rice the potatoes, instead of using a food mill, letting us know that a ricer will produce a better texture than a food mill. Then, it is time to chill the potatoes.

When someone from the audience asks about her influences, Barbara recalls a train trip she took from Milan to Tuscany, and how each town at each stop had its own unique kind of pasta. These differences and how they developed intrigued and captured her. At her restaurant, she continues to pursue and celebrate the pastas and foods that define the subtlties of Italian culture she experienced on that train trip.

Her exploration has lead to the edge of those boundaries and piqued the greatest of tastes. All who are in the know seek out her food. Every year on the way to Christmas dinner with her family, Annie Copps stops by No. 9 Park to pick up fresh pasta for their holiday feast, while fielding worried phone calls from her mother asking if she has got it yet.

Since this is a cooking demonstration and outside of the world of real time, Barbara finds there is some riced potato already nice and chilled in the fridge. She takes out this magic potato and dumps it out onto the counter. Now she starts the real magic and breaks an egg into a divot she made in the pile, and begins kneading, adding flour as needed. With her hands seemingly on autopilot, she explains about the flour glutens and how they can cause the dough to get tough if kneaded too long. As soon as the dough is ready, she rolls it out, cuts out small circles, and places a dollop of prunes in the center of each. Af! ter folding them into delectable half-moons, she places them on a cookie sheet and puts them in the freezer.

For this presentation, her well-known gnocchi is served with a demi-sec champagne, a serendipitous pairing that occurred over a dinner prepared for the head of Veuve Cliquot and Julia Child. Cat Silirie, the sommelier for No. 9 Park, needed something that would both balance out the savory, sweet, salty, nutty tones of the gnocchi, and complement her guests. She chose the non-vintage Veuve Cliquot demi-sec champagne. Upon tasting, Julia Child declared it one of "the all time great food and wine matches." This pair was served at a second dinner for the Cellar Master of Veuve Cliquot. He agreed that it was a fantastic match, but suggested decanting the champagne to make it less sparkling, less aggressively bubbly. The decanting produced a softer, rounder bouquet, allowing for a more open mellow dialogue with the gnocchi.

Arms of steam from the pot of boiling water beckon, and Barbara prepares to drop in the gnocchi. "Do not drop the whole tray in at once," she warns. This would cause the temperature of the water to fall, so it is better to drop them in little by little. While waiting for the gnocchi to float, she maintains the sauce, letting everyone in on the secret of hot water. Water is a chef’s best friend—it has no taste and is the perfect thing to save sauces from breaking.

Within a couple minutes, the gnocchi float, meaning they are done, and it is time for plating. As the dishes make their way around to each table, the tinkling of the first forks on the plates are followed by delighted sighs. Taking a bite of gnocchi, and then a sip of champagne, everyone tests the words of Julia Child. The decanted bubbles gingerly cut through the butter, clean up the foie gras, and light up the prunes. The first round of gnocchi is devoured quickly, and a second serving of one more gnocchi each steeds off the bittersweet feeling that it is over.

The crowd from the tent disperses, and attendees make their way to the next event or nearby shops. A French couple who had attended the lunch happens into the same nearby antique shop as I do. I ask them if they enjoyed the gnocchi as much as I did. He does not say anything, and she scrunches up her nose. Apparently, they did not like it. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

The next endeavors for Barbara Lynch will include an oyster bar and a butchery that will double as a wine bar at night. Annie Copps has already pledged to be spending some good quality time there. It is certain to be another mecca for all lovers of food and wine. Keep your eyes, ears, nose, and taste buds open for the coming of this next culinary adventure.