Penne in Vodka Sauce

From Rachel Ray's recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces; I used a combination of fresh and can tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
16 ounces penne pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream; I used half and half
5-10 basil leaves

In a large pan, swirl the olive oil and add butter, garlic, and onion. Saute onions for 3 to 5 minutes, don't brown. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream. Cook till the vodka reduces by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken/ vegetable stock, and the tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. When the oil starts to glisten on the tomatoes, stir in the cream and remove from heat. Cut up half the basil leaves and stir into the sauce.

In the meantime, cook the penne pasta in boiling water al dente. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and remainder chopped basil leaves.

Smoked salmon pasta

Serves 2

3 cups pasta, I mixed two kinds

4 oz. smoked salmon, cut into bite size pieces

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 - 1/2 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

Fresh ground black pepper

1. Throw the pasta into a pot of salted, boiling water until cooked al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, dry roast pine nuts in a skillet until light brown. Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in the skillet (large enough to hold the pasta later). Add onions and garlic with salt and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
4. Add wine and lemon juice and let cook until sauce boils down by half. Add cream and boil for an additional minute.
5. Toss in the cooked pasta, smoked pasta and pine nuts. Add a couple of tbsps of the pasta water if the sauce is too dry.
6. Garnish with capers or parsley.

Fennel pasta

Serves 4

1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced - I used a mandoline

Linguine pasta

2 small cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of cubed pancetta, optional

2 tsp crushed red chillies

1/4 chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan reggiano

3/4 cup broth - I used homemade chicken broth

1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and add pancetta over medium heat. Once the fat renders, remove pancetta, add crushed red chillies and garlic. Cook until garlic begins to turns deep yellow.
2. Add sliced fennel and stir for a minute or two. Now add lemon juice, broth, salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt - parmesan will add some saltiness as well. Bring to a simmer, cover, lower heat and let cook until fennel is done. This should take about 15-20 mins.
3. During this time, cook the pasta. Keep it a little more than al dente, so that it can finish cooking in the fennel sauce. Save 1/2 a cup of pasta water.
4. Now uncover the fennel sauce and let it cook on medium heat to cook off most of the liquid. Until you have 2 tbsps of the liquid left.
5. Add the partially cooked pasta to the pan, stir to combine and add a 1/4 cup of the pasta water. If it's too dry, add another 1/4 cup. The idea is to keep it moist. Cook for a minute until pasta is cooked through.
6. Mix in parmesan reggiano and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot.

Penne Pasta with Eggplant Puree

Tried Smitten Kitchen's rigatoni version with a few minor changes. It was hearty and unusual!

1 small eggplant, chopped into pieces

15 cherry tomatoes

5 pods garlic, whole

5-6 mint leaves

olive oil, 3 tbsp

crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp

ground black pepper, 1 tsp

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 lb penne pasta

Mix the chopped eggplant, cherry tomatoes, whole garlic cloves, pepper, red pepper flakes and salt with 1tbsp olive oil. Arrange on a tray and bake in oven for 35 mins at 350F. Let cool once done. When cooled, add this mix to a food processor along with the mint and 2tbsp olive oil. I added 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup milk (the cherry tomatoes were too sour for my liking) to make the paste smoother.

In a baking dish, roast the pine nuts at 350F for 5-6 mins.

Cook the penne pasta as per instructions on packet, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. When cooked, remove pasta from water and add the eggplant puree. Add the pine nuts and mix well. Taste for additional salt/ pepper. If you like it more saucy, add the 1/2 cup of pasta water. Serve immediately.

The eggplant and mint combination was unusual and went surprisingly well with the penne.

Butternut squash pasta

I am back from a much needed vacation. I made this before I left in an attempt to use up the last of the squash I had lying around.

Serves 4

1 lb of butternut squash, peeled and seeded

2 tbsp butter

1 lb pasta

1/2 tsp roasted, ground cumin

1 tsp sugar

1 small bunch chopped sage leaves

1/2 cup grated parmesan reggiano

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Process chunks of squash until shredded.
2. In a broad based skillet, heat butter and add squash, salt, pepper, sugar and cumin. Cook until squash is cooked. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and add a few tbsps of water as needed. Make sure its not soupy.
3. Once the squash begins to cook, add the sage and cook overlow heat. Begin cooking the pasta.
4. When the pasta is done, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and toss the pasta with the squash in the skillet. Use the pasta water if the mixture seems too dry.
5. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Toss in the cheese and serve.

Roasted ratatouille pasta

Another one of my weeknight creations reeking of impatience :) I love that I can chop up a bunch of veggies, stick them into the oven with salt and pepper and dinner's ready!

Serves 3

1 large eggplant, cubed into 1/2" pieces

1 large red onion, cubed into 1/2" pieces

1 can of diced tomatoes strained - save atleast 1/3 cup of juice

Crushed red pepper

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tsps of fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsps of olive oil

1 1/2 cups of pasta

1. Preheat oven to 375 deg.
2. Mix all the ingredients except the pasta in a 9x13" baking dish.
3. Bake for 45 mins until veggies are completely cooked.
4. 5 mins before done - cook the pasta in 2 cups of salted water and reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water.
5. Mix the pasta into the eggplant mix and add the pasta water if more sauce is required. Stir to combine.
6. Garnish with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Puttanesca sauce with gnocchi

This is a personal favorite because of the story behind the name and that it combines three of my all time highly desirable ingredients: Anchovies, olives and capers. Puttanesca sauce was cooked in bordellos to attract clientele. The idea being - the more pungent the sauce the stronger the smell as it wafts down the stairs, out the red door into the streets. At the end of the night, customers were fed this salty and tasty sauce to encourage thirst for more drink more. It's all about the entire experience.

Serves 4

4-5 fillets of anchovies, diced

1/2 onion

1 red pepper, diced - I also added 1/4 leftover green pepper

3 cloves of garlic, diced

1 1/2 cans of diced tomatoes

1-2 tbsp water

1/2 cups halved kalamata olives

1 1/2 tbsp capers

Salt and pepper to taste

1 packet frozen gnocchi

1. Heat 1-2 tbsps olive oil in pan and cook anchovies over medium high heat until it completely dissipates. Use a screen if necessary, the sputtering can make a mess. Now add garlic, onions and diced peppers. Saute until onions are lightly browned. You might want to add a bit of water here to avoid excessive browning. Add tomatoes and salt (if necessary - don't forget anchovies add quite a bit of salt to begin with. So taste before you add more salt). Simmer for 10 mins until tomatoes are cooked. Add olives and capers 5 mins after adding the tomatoes.
2. While tomatoes are simmering, dunk the frozen gnocchi in salted boiling water for 4-5mins. This will start the cooking process. Take it out of the water and add it to the simmering sauce to complete the cooking process. This will ensure that the gnocchi absorbs the sauce and is evenly coated with it.
3. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

Vodka pasta sauce

Not sure what the source is but V and I make this sauce usually on week nights. It's the most bang for the buck kind of a dish. And no picture because it looks like tomatoey pasta sauce :)

Serves 4
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
crushed red pepper
2 1/2 cups of diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup vodka - get a good brand of vodka because the flavor really pulls through into the sauce even though most of the alcohol is cooked off.
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and add garlic, crushed red pepper and onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Now add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Now add diced tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are cooked, about 10 mins. Now vodka, cover and cook for another 15 mins. Lastly stir in cream, salt and pepper. Cook for another 3-5 mins. This is a good time to add pasta that is cooked shy of al dente to the sauce so that it finishes cooking in the sauce itself.

Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.