Penne with Vodka Cream Sauce - Delizioso!

Keeping with my New Years Resolutions to try at least one new recipe every week, one of the first I wanted to knock off my list was a Vodka Cream Sauce. Back in October Rob and I went to Chicago and dined at Pizano's  - Oprah's favorite pizza place in Chitown and I can see why! The Pasta Vodka A “La” Strauss was amazing, Rob has asked me to search for this recipe ever since. So I found, via Pinterest of course, Rachael Ray's "You Won’t Be Single For Long" Vodka Cream Pasta . This was featured on  the Oprah and Dr OZ shows and it is suppose to be outstanding!

Here's what you'll need -

Ingredients
Makes 4 Servings
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
Coarse salt and pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)
16 oz pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Directions

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add in the olive oil, butter, garlic and shallots. Gently sauté the shallots for 3-5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add the vodka to the pan and reduce the vodka by half, about 2 or 3 minutes.

Then add the chicken stock and the tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste, I also added in red pepper flakes.

While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (not quite cooked all the way, 1-2 less then time suggested on box) and chop the fresh basil

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

Pour yourself a glass of vino and enjoy! Homemade pasta sauce like this one is so easy and so much better then the stuff out of a jar. This makes alot of sauce so invite over some friends or enjoy the leftovers.
The name suits it well, you wouldn't be single for long with this homemade dish (yep, Rob gave it a thumbs up too).
Let me know if you try this!

xx
Katherine