VODKA RIGATONI

Vodka Rigatoni is one of my favorite dishes – it’s easy to make and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. One thing of note – when I stress in the recipe below to use cheap vodka – I mean CHEAP! The vodka really gives the sauce the flavor so if you use the good, smooth vodka you really aren’t getting any flavor from it . . . so remember; it needs to be cheap, cheap, wrapped in a brown bag, embarrassingly cheap vodka!

Ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 1 medium onion diced
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Italian seasoning
• ½ lb. of prosciutto chopped
• 2 cups CHEAP vodka
• 2 cans 35 oz. whole tomatoes
• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 1 cup of grated cheese (parmesan or locatelli)
• 2 lbs. of penne pasta

Now let’s get going! I am going to write my blog so that even the most amateur of chefs can follow a recipe. If you can’t make sense of what I am saying (and I am referring to the blog site only) please feel free to email me at phoenix.lori@gmail.com with any questions.

Coat the bottom of a medium saucepan with approx. 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and set heat to low flame (or if electric around 3-4).  Add chopped garlic and onion and cook slowly, it should be more transparent than golden or brown. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes (sidebar: a pinch consists of what you can fit between your thumb and pointer finger or approx. 1 teaspoon or so) and 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning – stir.

Now it’s on to the prosciutto. I like the prosciutto finely chopped – so when I go to the deli, I ask them to cut a ½ lb. ‘chunk’ for me and then I dice it. If you don’t want to do it this way, ask for it finely sliced with NO WAX PAPER in between slices – and then just cut it into thin strips. Trust me on the wax paper, nothing is more annoying than sitting there peeling it off piece by piece.

Stir the prosciutto into the oil/garlic/onion/etc. mix until it is thoroughly coated, add vodka. Or should I say add the really, really cheap vodka just to remind you? Drink the Grey Goose – pour in the cheap vodka.

Now, here is the fun part! FIRE!!! Yes, I said fire. With a fireplace match or one of those long funny looking lighters used for the grill, light the vodka on fire (cool huh?). Once you get a flame, stir very gently (remember it is fire) for about a minute or so until the prosciutto begins to brown on the edges. Once it’s brown, put the lid on the pot to extinguish the flames. Remove lid, bring to a low simmer and move on to the next step.

Place the whole tomatoes into the blender to puree (kinda’ funny right? I tell you to use whole tomatoes and then have you puree them! But trust me on this). Pour into the saucepan; add the heavy cream and grated cheese and stir.  Bring to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes or so.

Cook penne according to instructions on box (no, I don’t make my own pasta now and can’t envision doing it in the future – if you want to, go at it!), drain well and put back into pot. Put about a cup of the vodka sauce in the pot with the pasta and stir to coat.

Place pasta on plates, put on additional sauce, sprinkle with cheese and serve. Garlic bread and a nice salad are the perfect company.

Oh, and don’t forget the wine! Mangia!

P.S. Keep in mind that this sauce freezes well – double up and you’ll have it for the next time!