Penne Alla Vodka

Here I go, my very first food blog.  Most of my friends know that I love to cook.  In the last few years, I've found a passion for cooking.  Chris and I have actually gotten spoiled because we are now cooking things better at home then we get in the restaurant.  I wanted to share this recipe with you.  I did find the basic recipe online but I have tweaked it to my liking.  I hope you try it and you love it as much as I do.  You will definitely be in a carbohydrate coma after eating this meal.  lol

Penne Alla Vodka

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

8-10 cloves of garlic(finely chopped)

1(28 ounce) can of whole peeled tomatoes

1(14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes

1/8 cup(heaping cup) dried basil

1/4 cup of citron vodka

1 pound penne

1 pint heavy whipping cream

Salt and pepper to taste.

1.  In a large skillet over medium heat, cook finely chopped garlic in olive oil until its tender.
Watch your heat so that you don't burn the garlic.  Cook a couple of minutes.
Stir in both cans of tomatoes.  Break up the whole tomatoes a bit.
Stir basil and salt & pepper simmer for about 15 minutes.

Your sauce will reduce down and look similar to this.
I did go a little heavy on the basil on this day. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Don't forget to salt your water or your pasta won't have any flavor.

 Add pasta and cook for about 11 minutes or until al dente.

Stir in vodka and cook 10-15 minutes more. 



Stir cream into sauce and cook 10 minutes.
Be sure to keep stirring during this time so tomatoes don't settle
on the bottom of the pan and burn.



Your sauce will thicken a little while it cooks the last 10 minutes.

Drain your pasta.  (like my vintage strainer?....just like my mother had.)

Toss sauce and hot pasta in a large bowl.

Serve and enjoy.  This is a quick and easy meal.  Its low in cost.
You can buy the ingredients for this recipe for around $8.00.(not including the vodka)
Once you buy the bottle of vodka($15 a bottle) its a very cheap recipe.