Cream Sauce Virgin

I still had some pumpkin gnocchi leftover and was getting tired of the brown butter sauce. So I consulted my favorite recipe book, Google, for some possibilities.

Hmmm.... Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce - sounded interesting. One problem: I did not have Gorgonzola, and I was not sure if I will like it. Also, I am watching my cholesterol and am not too thrilled about using heavy cream. Let's keep looking, but we'll refine the search to include "light." in it.

I found this recipe in Cooking Light magazine, but I still had a dilemma on not having Gorgonzola cheese and did not want to go to the store. I also did not have any milk, nor hazelnuts. Improv time: Substitute Parmesian for gorgonzola, almond milk for milk, and sliced almonds for hazelnuts.

I decided to cut the sauce recipe in half, since I do not have that much pasta left. The result was pretty good; I was so proud of myself. The almond milk reduced nicely, and thickened with the butter. Also, the addition of the cheese thickened it more, giving a wonderful creamy, cheesy consistency.

The one flaw was that it seemed a bit bland, even with the addition of pepper and a dash of salt. I decided to add some garlic powder - okay, about a half a tablespoon of garlic powder. I figured that powder would work better since I am adding it at the end.

End result was pretty good. My husband did say that he thought I put too much garlic in the sauce, but I thought it was perfect with the gnocchi and broccoli. The pasta and veggies seemed to have mellowed the garlic. In researching it, it looks like I created an alfredo-style sauce, but may be missing some ingredients.

It's still good, and I consider it a success.  Now, I am more daring to try similar sauces. Light versions, of course.