There Are No Absolutes in Life-Only Vodka...

I don't really know where that quote is from, but I know that it does relate to tonight's dish. I'll preface this entry by saying that I think I have found my new favorite thing to make. Yes, I have a lot of favorite things to make. But this dish is definitely in the top ten. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Vodka Sauce!!

Seeing as I live on a dry campus, this was a covert operation that had to be conducted off campus. You may be thinking, "Brianne, you cook the alcohol out of this sauce and you hardly use any at all." You may also be noting that I've never actually disclosed what college campus I live on in any entry (however if you know me, then you would already know). All that being said, by the off chance that a college administrator looks at this blog and figures out who it is and where they are, I am not about to get kicked off campus for making sauce. End of story.

I always thought Vodka Sauce would be a long, complex process (don't ask me why. Delicious things always seem like they should be very time consuming). I was wrong. It all starts with some marinara sauce. Being the resourceful chef that I am, I froze some of the sauce I made earlier so it was already made and ready to go for this dish. You heat the marinara with some vodka for about 20 minutes to cook out the alcohol and reduce the mixture.

Note: Unless you want to taste death, DO NOT taste-test this sauce before it has reduced. I am speaking from experience.

After the reduction, you add some heavy cream or, my new favorite go-to item, fat-free evaporated milk. Once this has been heat through, you remove the pan from heat, stir in some Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, and serve it over pasta. I chose the standard penne for mine.

I wasn't sure how the sauce would come out having not used heavy cream, but it didn't matter at all. The only thing that was missing was that terrible lethargic after-feeling from eating something so rich. When I first went on my healthy food kick, I feared I would never be able to eat a creamy sauce again without feeling guilty, but my nice little swap in this dish has proven that theory wrong!! I am in LOVE with my vodka sauce. In fact, I'm having leftovers tomorrow night.

Side note: according to Giada, vodka sauce is actually an Italian-American sauce. You will not find it in Italy!

I am officially cooked out for the week. I probably didn't make up all of the weeks I had taken off during my break, but I do feel as though I am back on track with this project. The next time I cook will probably be Sunday, so please check back then for more delicious eats!! Ciao!

Caliente!!

Forgive the cross-cultural reference in the title, but I don't know how to say "spicy" in Italian. Unfortunately, I won't know how to say it for awhile considering my crazy schedule for next semester won't allow me to take Italian :(

Tonight I explored another tomato sauce...Spicy Tomato Sauce! According to Ms. Di Laurentiis, this sauce is also known as "all'arrabbiata" which translates to "in the angry style." It's an angry sauce. Mine wasn't quite as hot as I may have liked it, but it packed a nice punch. And this is how I made it.

I started by sauteing some chopped onion and garlic for about three minutes in some EVOO. I've gotten very good at trying to keep my hands garlic-smell-free and am proud to say that despite the enormous size of the clove I used, my hands only smell like my Lime Basil kitchen soap :) I next added some chopped black olives, capers, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes.

I tried not to go overboard on the red pepper flakes, but I think my sauce could have used more. I would classify it as a "mild medium" sauce. I could've kicked it all the way up to "hot," but I didn't want to overpower the other flavors the first time making it.

Next, I added some crushed tomatoes and let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes while I cooked some penne. I use spaghetti or angel hair pasta more often than any other form, so I had forgotten how much longer it takes to cook other types. Luckily, I started cooking it early enough that it was ready at about the same time as the sauce.

As I said before, the sauce wasn't as spicy as I would have liked, but it was great nonetheless. The tomatoes weren't overpowered by the red peppers and the olives and capers made it a little salty. The penne was Giada's suggestion which, as expected, was perfect for this sauce. The bigger pasta scooped up more sauce than something like spaghetti could.

I must say, thus far the sauces from the "Everyday Sauces" section have been pretty quick (with the exception of the marinara sauce that needs at least an hour) which is nice considering a college student like myself doesn't have all the time in the world to cook. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing like a sauce that took an entire day to cook, but these ones have been just as good and I can eat them sooner!!

The next update will be Thursday with another pasta dish! Can't wait!