Penne Vodka

This one did not turn out as planned. In fact, it got so haywire at one point that I felt like I was riding a gocart with no brakes. Here's the recipe - I'll be back afterwards to explain all my mistakes:

Serves/Makes:4
Ready in: < 30 minutes

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil,
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn


Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves.

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Ok, lots to talk about, lots to laugh at. First off, I burned the butter while sauteing the garlic and shallots. I should have thrown it away, except that I didn't have any other shallots in the house and I didn't want to make the dish without them. In hindsight, that's what killed the dish right there. I should have started again and substituted finely chopped onion for the shallots.

Next, I realized much too late that both my measuring cups were in the dishwasher. So, instead of trying to come up with an alternative (I found out later that a standard sized coffee mug is about equal to a cup), I figured I would just guess at how much vodka and chicken broth to put in. Big mistake. In the end, I didn't have enough cream to thicken the sauce. It didn't turn out half bad (Leslie gave it a 7 out of 10), but I learned my lesson both about thorough preparation and about burning butter.