Penne alla Vodka con Pollo

Vodka, one of my favorite things from Russia, outside the nesting dolls maybe…No, who am I kidding, it’s the vodka.

I am not quite sure what vodka does to this dish.  I think it has made it sweeter, but I am not sure.  However,  I am not willing to risk the oh so delicious flavor of this dish by omitting it next time (although I am certain you can, you would simply have a wonderful creamy tomato sauce on your hands.)

It is (was) Oscar night and it is my tradition with friends to have a “fancy” dinner while we watch the various annual award shows.  One friend requested pasta with a red sauce.  Since red sauce is a favorite, I obliged but felt I needed to “fancy” things up a bit or be decadent. This one of those occasions I save my fat, carbs, and calories for.  Enter Vodka! Enter Cream!

You might have noticed the “con pollo” part of the recipe.  Adding chicken is not a standard in most recipes, but I must have protein with every meal, didn’t feel like making it separate, so I figured why not just add it straight to the sauce.  Hey, maybe my chicken drank all the vodka and that is why I couldn’t taste it.  Hmmmm…

When you go to add the vodka, do so slowly as to avoid making a flambé.  For the basil, use fresh if you can, but if you use dry, only use about a ½ teaspoon.

The salt was a fun experience.  I started with just putting my standard ⅛ of a tsp in and I felt like nothing was added.  I added another ⅛ teaspoon, still, nothing.  Canned tomatoes usually are packed salted, but crushed tomatoes have no added salt, so I continued to add a bit of salt at a time.  By the time the cream was added, the dish still needed more salt and I was now at ¾ teaspoon and finally, perfect.  But I do understand we all have different salt palates, one taster salted the dish after it was served, so go with your own tastes, just start with a bit and work your way up.

My plan was to use two full cups of cream, go big or go home right? But by the time I was at a cup and half it was where I wanted it to be, but add a two full cups if you so desire.  It won’t be bad.