Kitchen Adventures 8.5

Social networking and information sharing are now an integrated part of our culture. Everything has a Facebook page, website, or newsletter it seems. I subscribe to several daily food emails, and these typically have a weekly themed newsletter that also includes highlighted recipes. This recipe is one I got from my Food Network weekly newsletter. I like this newsletter, and feel that is balances out my other newsletter, which is recipes submitted by "regular people" rather than the celebrity chefs on Food Network. It's nice to use those "celebrity" recipes too, though.

I liked this recipe and it was something different than I would normally make. This recipes was also a lesson in reading directions for me. Normally I will read an entire recipe before starting the cooking or baking process, but sometimes I just get so excited I only look at one step at a time. This got me in trouble this time as I did not use a large enough skillet and forgot to add a key ingredient until the very end. The nice thing about cooking, though, is that you can make that mistake and it will still turn out well! It taught me a good lesson, though, and from now on I plan to read the entire recipe before beginning my adventure. Also, you may substitute regular pasta for the whole wheat pasta, but it was nice to feel like I was being somewhat healthy while eating this. :)

This is from the Food Network Magazine via a Food Network email newsletter.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:

Kosher salt (I didn't use this)
12 oz. whole wheat penne pasta
1 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes
1 T. butter
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 c. vodka
2/3 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
Handful fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for topping (I used dried basil and it worked fine)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add the penne and cook according to the directions. Remove 1/2 c. boiling water, then drain. Empty the tomatoes (drained) into a bowl and crush with your hands. (You could always buy crushed tomatoes, but this was actually a pretty quick step.)
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet (really, sue a large one)over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vodka, tomatoes, and salt to taste. Return the pan to the heat and simmer, still stirring, until the alcohol cooks off, about 7 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and cook until the sauce thickens, about 3m inutes. Stir in the parmesan and basil.
Add the pasta to the sauce (I added the sauce to the pasta that I had returned to the large pot as my skillet was not big enough) and toss to combine. Add in the reserve boiling water if necessary to loosen the sauce. Serve topped with more parmesan and basil.

This dish had a "tang" to it. I'm not sure if it was the sauce, the whole wheat pasta, or the combination. Either way, it was good!