Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Pot Roast

Tonight I made the sweet potato gnocchi. What follows is a technical description of the recipe. I'll follow that with evaluation and analysis.
Gnocchi:
Roast and mash sweet potato. Mix with beaten egg and flour, form into a 1" log and cut into 1" sections. Roll off the tines of a fork, and boil for 3-5 minutes. Drain, and allow to dry without rinsing.
Bechamel Sauce:
Make a roux, add hot milk, grate approx. 1/4t. nutmeg into sauce. Add finely chopped pecans, and correct seasoning.
Pot Roast:
Chop carrots, green beans and celery, and add to cold beef stock. Bring beef stock to hot temperature below boil (Ideally, about 140 Fahrenheit; I doubt that I was able to keep it there), and hold at that temperature for at least 30 minutes. Cut chuck roast into cubes and brown. Deglaze pan with beef stock, add vegetables, red wine, and one large sprig rosemary. Bring to boil and move to 350 Fahrenheit oven for one hour. After braising has finished, add demi glace to gravy and reduce to thicken.
To Plate:
Shred beef, and mound vegetables on plate. Top with shredded beef, and spoon over sauce. Scatter Gnocchi on plate, and drizzle bechamel sauce over.

The Review

The gnocchi was not quite as tender or yielding as I would have liked. I believe that this is due to the fact that I roasted the sweet potato whole, and let it sit that way (skin on) after roasting. Sweet potatoes in general are more moist than regular potatoes, which are traditionally used for gnocchi. This meant that I had to use a dispropportionate amount of flour to make the gnocchi dough, which decreased the tenderness of the gnocchi. The flavor of sweet potato was pronounced and recognizable, but not overbearing. The bechamel sauce with nutmeg and pecans was complementary, but a little bland. The pot roast was very basic; I did cut against the grain, and this shortened the strands of muscle fiber; I was not pleased about this, as it didn't shred very well, and took away from the presentation, but it did no detriment to the dish. The flavor of the pot roast was very good, but the sauce was thin; I should have added more demi glace, but when I cracked the bag I smelled freezer burn, and had no interest in adding that particular flavor to the dish. The rosemary flavor was nonexistent; the dish was still very flavorful, but I should have used the rosemary differently to ensure that the flavor was present, and I believe that mincing the rosemary and adding at the end would have corrected this. A sprinkle of rosemary, and possibly a rosemary sprig, would have improved the plating.
What Worked:
The gnocchi had a good sweet potato flavor, and the flavors in the sauce were complementary. Pot roast is easy, and this one went mostly well. The two dishes were complementary, and I used the method outlined in On Food and Cooking for encouraging persistent firmness in vegetables: Start in cold water, bring to about 130-140 Fahrenheit and hold there for 20-30 minutes. The vegetables were still firm, and a little tender upon serving. It should be noted that OFaC recommends this for only some vegetables, namely potatoes, beans, carrots and other.
What could be done better:
The sweet potato should have been cut into chunks and dry-roasted to allow as much evaporation as possible. I need to find a better sauce: the texture, nutmeg and pecans were complementary to the sweet potato flavor, but the combination was bland. The chuck should have been cut along the grain to achieve the desired muscle fiber length. I should have used a thickening agent to make the sauce into a better gravy.
About the pictures:
These aren't great by any stretch, but I need to learn to take pictures of my presentations, so although I was in a hurry, I shot a few and corrected them in Picasa. They're a little grainy, but they get the point across.