My BFF visited over the weekend.  It was so awesome to see her but she didn’t stay long enough.  Our friendship is woven through with stories of traveling, drinking, and eating.  We always laugh a lot, and eat good food when we are together.  She wasn’t here long enough for either of us to cook but she brought with her a drink concoction that required heavy cream.  I was trying to decide what to make for dinner last night and kept coming back to my desire for pasta and the heavy cream in the frig.  Alfredo?  Nope.  Primavera?  Sounded better but I only had broccoli and peas in the vegetable category.  I started thinking about a vodka cream sauce.  In all honesty, I’ve never had one that I thought was all that great.  Most that I’ve tried have been out of a jar and quite forgettable.  I figured it was worth a try and combed through a half dozen recipes to get an idea of how to throw it together.

YUM!  It turned out fabulous.  I was really surprised by how different it tasted from my normal red sauce.  It had a deep, kind of smoky flavor – and it tasted so indulgent with the cream and cheese!  Before anyone asks, I have no idea if you can make it without the vodka.  I don’t know what it adds to the flavor because I never cook with vodka – but the result was yummy!  It certainly isn’t health food but worthy of being an occasional treat!

TOMATO CREAM VODKA SAUCE

3/4 lb ground meat (I used lean beef but sausage, turkey, pork, or chicken would be good)

1/2 med yellow onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup vodka

6 oz tomato paste

15 oz can tomato sauce

1 Tbl dried Italian seasoning

1 Tbl dried basil

2 tsp smoked paprika

red pepper flakes to taste

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup heavy cream (half and half would be fine)

1/3 cup shredded Asiago cheese (Parmesan or Romano would work too)

Salt & Pepper

12 oz  pasta

Brown the meat.  Drain off fat.  Throw in the onion and garlic.  Saute for 5 min or until onion becomes translucent.  Add the vodka.  Allow to simmer for 4 min or until the liquid has reduced by about half.  Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, seasonings, and Worcestershire sauce.  Add the cream and cheese (salt and pepper to taste).  Allow to simmer while you cook the pasta.

Toss with cooked pasta.