Vodka Sauce, Take Two

Vodka sauce on pasta is probably one of my top five favorite foods.  I've made it once before but wasn't crazy about the results.  This recipe was really good; the crushed red pepper gave it a nice kick.  I made a few changes because the sauce was still really thin after only 30 minutes of simmering.  I ended up simmering it for 2 hours, until it was nice and thick.  This reduces the quantity of sauce a bit, so if you do this and are making sauce for a pound of pasta, I would double the recipe.

Next time I'll probably separately sauté more pancetta and add it in at the end.  It gave the sauce a great taste, but was fairly undetectable by the time the sauce was ready.

Vodka Sauce
Adapted from: Food and Wine

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup vodka
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 35-ounce can whole peeled Italian tomatoes with their juices, crushed by hand
Pinch of sugar
2 basil leaves
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the pancetta, garlic (leave them whole), and crushed red pepper and stir occasionally, about 5 minutes, until golden. 

2. Deglaze the mixture with vodka and then add the tomato paste, stirring for about a minute.  Add the crushed tomatoes with their juices, stir in the sugar and basil leaves, and bring to a boil.  Then use the extra vodka to make yourself a bloody mary while you wait for the sauce to simmer (optional, but recommended).  

3. Reduce heat and simmer the sauce until it reaches your preferred consistency.  Remove basil and garlic and stir in heavy cream.  Simmer for another 5 minutes. 



The photos aren't spectacular but the sauce was! My sister and I share an obsession for adding broccoli to pasta with vodka sauce, hence the broccoli in the photo above.

Rice Vermicelli Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Snow Peas

I had a lot of rice vermicelli noodles leftover from this soup, so I took another stab at creating a peanut sauce that I like a lot, and this one came out pretty nicely! Sugar snap peas also work for this.

I think I'll try to spice it up a little next time by adding a little chili sauce or crushed red pepper.

Serves 6. Serve warm or cold.

Rice Vermicelli Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Snow Peas

Ingredients

1 8oz package rice vermicelli noodles
3 cups snow peas, trimmed
1/2 cup green onion, sliced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

For the peanut sauce

3/4 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1 14oz can coconut milk (I used light coconut milk)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 limes, juiced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Peanuts, roughly chopped, for topping
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the snow peas for about 20 seconds then remove them with a slotted spoon and run cold water over them. Bring the water back to a boil and cook the rice vermicelli noodles according to package.

2. Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce by stirring all of the ingredients together over medium heat until combined. Simmer for a few minutes until thick.

3. Drain the rice vermicelli and mix well with the peanut sauce. Mix in the cilantro and green onions and top with chopped peanuts.



Gettin' saucy:

Grilled Portabello Mushrooms with Garlic Balsamic Reduction Glaze

The name of this recipe sounds really fancy, but it's not.  It's very easy and delicious. I browsed around different ways of making it and combined some of the things I learned into this recipe.

Balsamic reduction sauce works well for meat glazes or to add flavor to vegetables like tomatoes and mushrooms.

Ingredients

2-4 portabello mushroom caps, sliced thickly
Olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 medium sized garlic cloved, smashed or pressed
Salt and pepper

For the mushrooms:

1. Remove stems from mushroom caps and wash.  Coat with olive oil and set on a grill pan over medium heat. Cook until the caps soften. Season with salt and pepper.

For the balsamic glaze:

2. Combine balsamic vinegar and sugar and whisk together until sugar dissolves.  Add a whole sprig of thyme and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and sticky. Remove thyme.

3. Add smashed/pressed garlic into the mixture and stir.  Drizzle the glaze over the mushrooms.


"Grilling" mushrooms: 

You can see the reflection of my kitchen cabinets in there!

Reducing: