This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday come This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday comes as we wrap up family summer birthdays so she is included too. 🥰 She loves lululemon, fountain Coke, and long hugs. She is a fiercely loyal friend, is the best debater I know, and sleeps later than I ever did when I was a teenager. 😂 She is quiet and loud all at once and is forever the biggest cheerleader her brother and I could ever have. My rainbow baby is growing up before my eyes and I love it and hate it all at once. Love you to the moon and back kiddo. 💛
“Everything good, everything magical happens bet “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." Jenny Han
The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a ho The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a hot minute but when it starts showing off at sunset, how could I move it anywhere else? ✨
Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Ba Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” just run through your head or are you young? 😂 I despise Parkway traffic in the summer but love that our kids get to have a Jersey shore summer just like we did when we were their age. 💛
Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I con Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I consider it a win… dinner date with my oldest at Cava to close out the weekend, perfection. 🥰
The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boar The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boards from @ainttooproudtomeg’s cheese board deck. They may have eaten about half as much as they arranged, but that’s the point, right? 😍
We hope today made you as happy as this little chi We hope today made you as happy as this little chippy who hit paydirt with a $100,000 grand candy bar he found. 😍 (he actually had found himself TWO candy bars from we don’t know where, but we squired one away bc that felt like a sugar coma waiting to happen 😂)
If burrata is the question, the answer should be a If burrata is the question, the answer should be a loud and emphatic YES. Unless you’re lactose intolerant or somethin’.
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Food and Life

Recipe: Penne with Vodka Sauce

September 25, 2008 · Narrative

Penne with Vodka SauceThere comes a point in time where we all have amassed a quiet little collection of fall-back recipes … recipes that we turn to when we don’t want to think.  Whether it be a crazy weeknight where time to eat is at a premium, a weekend of entertaining but no time to plan, or just a time when you want to play it safe.  I have a few recipes in my cache that fit that bill.  Recipes that we nearly make often enough for me to remember the process by heart, but since my memory is lousy at best, I do the next best thing.  I tape the recipes we keep going back to on the inside of my kitchen cabinets.  Smart, right?  I have Nicholas’ favorite pancake recipe there, a go-to dessert that all the men in the family adore, and, of course, Mom Juice.

Another recipe that has made it to the inside of our kitchen cabinets is a Penne with Vodka Sauce that Nicholas adores.  Between The Husband coming home late from work today, and the two of them rushing off to a cub scout meeting after dinner, I wanted something that I could get on the table quickly, and with no opposition from the Peanut Gallery.  After all, I had 30 minutes in the kitchen, and less than that at the dinner table, so time was of the essence tonight.

I made this recipe for the first time a few years ago, finding it in Karen Duffy’s cookbook A Slob in the Kitchen.  Since then, we probably have it every six weeks or so.  It’s a great dish to trot out when company is coming over.

It’s forgiving — one time I was so busy talking I had the sequence wrong and had to cook it extra long to cook off all the vodka.  The dish was still good.  Good enough that the guest herself has been making it on a regular basis for her family and guests ever since (hi Erin!).

It is flexible —  don’t want to use heavy cream?  Use light cream.  Don’t want to use red onions?  Use yellow onions or shallots.  Or omit them all together.  If Nicholas sees them, he’ll usually pick them all out, so I try and be kind.  I’ve made this and added a little bit of frizzled prosciutto – excellent.  Slivers of sun-dried tomatoes – equally good.

Quite simply, it’s just the perfect dish to have in your repertoire.  It’s actually the first recipe I made the first time another friend and her son came over for dinner (hi Denise!).  When they came over again for dinner months later, she requested it.  And she’s made it many times since then for her own family and for her own guests.  And tonight it hit her table again.  It’s just that type of recipe … simple, safe, warm, comforting and, most important, delicious.

Add a loaf of garlic bread and a tossed green salad and call everyone round.  Casual entertaining or crazy being-pulled-in-five-different-directions weeknights, it will rise to the occasion each and every time.

P.S.  This is not the sauciest of sauces, so if you do serve it with garlic bread, you want to make sure it’s a moister version so that it can stand alone.

A year ago today … mmm, homemade Chorizo Hashbrowns.
Two years ago … gone to the dogs.
Three years ago … mouth totally watering when I remembered this recipe.  Love it.

John Zaccaro Jr.’s Penne with Vodka Sauce
Serves 4

1 pound penne
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/2 cup vodka
4 tablespoons butter
1 red onion, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook just until al dente. Drain. In a cup, steep the red pepper flakes in the vodka and set aside while you get on with making the sauce.

In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion over medium-high heat until golden and translucent, 5-8 minutes. Add the vodka and pepper flakes and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Reduce the heat to low and add the cream and grated cheese. Stir well and heat thoroughly. Toss with the drained, cooked pasta.

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Posted In: Narrative

Comments

  1. Cynthia says

    September 26, 2008 at 1:05 am

    I am going to make this tomorrow!! Hopefully I can add this to my arsenal too.

    Reply
  2. Kris says

    September 26, 2008 at 8:27 am

    This is going on my list for next week.

    Great idea taping those go to recipes inside your cabinet! I have to try it.

    Reply
  3. Patsy says

    September 26, 2008 at 8:39 am

    Vodka Sauce is my absolute favorite! I’ve only tried to make it once, and it was not a good recipe that I used… marking this one… and will have to do it soon. I loved the suggestion of including frizzed (love that word!) proscuitto! Yum! Double Yum!!!

    Patsys last blog post..Chicken Stir Fry Wraps and Reality TV

    Reply
  4. Debbie says

    September 26, 2008 at 11:09 am

    Sounds delicious. I would like to make this for a weekend dinner. Can I make the sauce a day ahead of time? Does it keep ok? Thanks….

    Debbies last blog post..Irish Cream-Topped Brownie Dessert

    Reply
  5. Cate says

    September 26, 2008 at 10:06 pm

    Debbie – it does keep. Sometimes when reheating, I just add a touch more extra cream to get it to the right consistency.

    Patsy – Love frizzled prosciutto, ham and salami – brings out the extra saltiness. :)

    Kris – saves me hunting down the recipes all the time. :)

    Cynthia – hope you like it. :)

    Reply
  6. Sarah says

    September 28, 2008 at 12:11 pm

    I wish I could make this tonight. Looks fantastic. It’s going on the ubiquitous list … maybe at the head of the list. I love vodka sauce.

    Too bad it’s Sunday and Connecticut still has blue laws. ::sigh::

    Sarahs last blog post..Photography for Food Bloggers

    Reply
  7. Lindsay says

    November 26, 2008 at 1:41 am

    I don’t even remember how I first came across your blog, but I bookmarked this recipe to try several months ago. I finally made it tonight. Sooo good. Thanks much for providing me with something quick, delicious, and nice enough for company. :)

    Reply

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This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday come This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday comes as we wrap up family summer birthdays so she is included too. 🥰 She loves lululemon, fountain Coke, and long hugs. She is a fiercely loyal friend, is the best debater I know, and sleeps later than I ever did when I was a teenager. 😂 She is quiet and loud all at once and is forever the biggest cheerleader her brother and I could ever have. My rainbow baby is growing up before my eyes and I love it and hate it all at once. Love you to the moon and back kiddo. 💛
“Everything good, everything magical happens bet “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." Jenny Han
The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a ho The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a hot minute but when it starts showing off at sunset, how could I move it anywhere else? ✨
Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Ba Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” just run through your head or are you young? 😂 I despise Parkway traffic in the summer but love that our kids get to have a Jersey shore summer just like we did when we were their age. 💛

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This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday come This is 14-1/2. I love that her half birthday comes as we wrap up family summer birthdays so she is included too. 🥰 She loves lululemon, fountain Coke, and long hugs. She is a fiercely loyal friend, is the best debater I know, and sleeps later than I ever did when I was a teenager. 😂 She is quiet and loud all at once and is forever the biggest cheerleader her brother and I could ever have. My rainbow baby is growing up before my eyes and I love it and hate it all at once. Love you to the moon and back kiddo. 💛
“Everything good, everything magical happens bet “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August." Jenny Han
The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a ho The disco ball was hung there temporarily for a hot minute but when it starts showing off at sunset, how could I move it anywhere else? ✨
Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Ba Did the lyrics to “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” just run through your head or are you young? 😂 I despise Parkway traffic in the summer but love that our kids get to have a Jersey shore summer just like we did when we were their age. 💛
Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I con Any time my kids ask to have dinner with me, I consider it a win… dinner date with my oldest at Cava to close out the weekend, perfection. 🥰
The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boar The five grandkids recreated one of the candy boards from @ainttooproudtomeg’s cheese board deck. They may have eaten about half as much as they arranged, but that’s the point, right? 😍
We hope today made you as happy as this little chi We hope today made you as happy as this little chippy who hit paydirt with a $100,000 grand candy bar he found. 😍 (he actually had found himself TWO candy bars from we don’t know where, but we squired one away bc that felt like a sugar coma waiting to happen 😂)
If burrata is the question, the answer should be a If burrata is the question, the answer should be a loud and emphatic YES. Unless you’re lactose intolerant or somethin’.

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