Who Knew?

[asphaltcowgrrl]

Many years ago, we went to an Italian restaurant and I thought I'd venture out of my usual comfort zone and tried something new to me: vodka cream sauce.  I immediately fell in love and set off on a mission to find a comparable recipe.  It took a couple years and then Rachael Ray, queen of the 30-minute meal, came to my rescue with her You Won't Be Single for Long Vodka Cream Pasta.

Score!

This recipe is simple, calls for nothing exotic, and is a snap to make.  Even better?  It's VERY tasty (and versatile, too - you can easily eliminate the vodka and substitue an extra cup of broth if you're so inclined).  An additional plus is that my husband isn't very fond of red sauce (Alfredo, on the other hand, he adores), but my younger child lives for the stuff.  Adding the cream to the red sauce somehow makes it more paltable for my husband, making this dinner a win-win.

Anyway, I've been making this sauce for years and have only made two small adjustments: 1) I add a teaspoon of sugar to the sauce as it simmers, to cut down on the acidity of the tomatoes and 2) I add a couple shakes of crushed red pepper flakes, to give it a touch of heat.  Both are optional.  However, one night, I found myself without any regular vodka.  Now, I had dragonfruit, pumpkin pie, and vanilla, but no average, everyday vodka.  Huh?  So, on a whim, I used the vanilla.

Oddly enough, it worked.  Gave the sauce just a hint of sweetness and so I left out the sugar.  No one seemed to notice, so that's a beautiful thing, right?

Fast forward to last night's dinner.

I found myself without regular voda AND vanilla vodka.  But what did I have?  (And no, 'an AA meeting to attend' is not an appropriate answer!)  I had freaking Smirnoff whipped cream vodka.  I kid you not.  So... why not, right?  Turns out, that was the best vodka sauce I've ever made.  So much so that my husband pointed out to me how good it tasted (made me happy) and commented on how he loved the sweet taste of the sauce.  Go figure.

Now, I totally understand that not everyone wants a sweet pasta sauce, so use regular vodka, vegetable/chicken broth or whatever you like.  But if you like a creamy red sauce, then you might want to try this one.

You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta

This recipe will make enough for two couples. If you plan a romantic evening where more than two's a crowd, reserve half the sauce to freeze ... More

Total Time: 25 min
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 20 min
Yield:4 servings
Level:Easy

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
Crusty bread, for passing

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Pass pasta with crusty bread.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray (and stolen off the Food Network's website)

Comments

[tkeylasunset.livejournal.com]

I love vodka sauce and I've never found a recipe that didn't sound like you had to be a graduate of Cordon Bleu to make it. This sounds perfect. I'm going to give it a try, just as soon as it's not 100 degrees outside (not even kidding) and I feel like I can turn on the stove without spontaneously combusting into flames.

I'll let you know how mine turns out.

Thank you!

[asphaltcowgrrl.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I hope you love it. And I totally get what you mean. I'm a pretty accomplished cook, but sometimes I look at these recipes and scratch my head. Some of Emeril Lagasse's recipes aren't as difficult as a few bloggers I've found.

Oh, I hear that. Our high for today is 108. At 12:47, it's already 103. Le sigh.

You are so welcome and I look forward to hearing whether you like it or not. :)

[peppermint-wow.livejournal.com]

Oooo, how interesting! I don't really use much in the way of pasta sauce (or eat much in the way of pasta, now that I'm thinking about it), but the vodka sounds like a very interesting ingredient! I've only ever used vodka for cleaning. I use it in a spritz bottle instead of fabreeze to get rid of odors in my costumes. It works amazingly well. :D

[asphaltcowgrrl.livejournal.com]

Ah, we eat way more pasta than we should. :) It's a very good sauce and a nice way to switch it up.

I bet - you spray it on and it evaporates pretty quickly, too.

[skyesurfer12.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't think it was possible, but I *believe* this will beat Ina's recipe hands down when I make it. I love the addition of basil, shallots, and chicken stock. Half a cup of cream sounds just right. I always back off of the amount in Ina's just to keep it more tomatoe-y and less calories.

Thanks for posting! I'm going to go find it on Pinterest and get it on one of my foodie boards.

[asphaltcowgrrl.livejournal.com]

I love Ina, and you know this, but this is seriously the best pasta sauce I've found to date. And just as an aside, if you ever want it creamier but want to cut calories and fat, Land O'Lakes fat free half and half is amazing. You get the same creamy thickness without all the crap.

Here's the link to the recipe on her site, you can pin it from there: http://www.rachaelray.com/recipes/you-wont-be-single-for-long-vodka-cream-pasta