Quite possibly, in my area anyway, the most popular
of all pasta dishes...the loved or dreaded Pasta alla Vodka.  Kids, women, and men all seem to really like this creamy
and toothsome dish.  More often though, this dish is so terribly butchered that it just tastes like soggy, smelly, leftover
pasta...and I love leftover macaroni...I'm talking bad leftovers.  A few simple ingredients either make or break this dish.
Let's be honest...can you taste the Vodka in this dish, EVER?  Be honest, you can't.  However, use cheap vodka in this
sauce and you can be sure of a nasty, bitter bite to the sauce.  The Vodka goes in before the tomato really cooks so it's
just really a background flavor, extremely faint, and I think that was the intention of the inventor. 

     The story(one of many) is that a liquor company was looking to make Vodka more popular in Italy back in the
early 1970's.  Truly the way to an Italians heart and mind is through their stomach.  Alas, an inventive chef in Rome
 thought to use the vodka as an addition to his tomato and cream pasta sauce.
This may be a few different stories put together, so don't quote me here.  The point of the story is that the vodka
was to be used in a pasta sauce that was to popularize Vodka in Italy, the original name of the sauce was Pasta
alla Russia...very romantic...didn't really catch on in Italy, but the rich and famous in New York claim that it was
at the high end restaurant Orsini where Vodka was first added to the chef's creamy tomato sauce.  Does it matter?
Not really.  It caught on like wild fire in these parts and is a standard, like baked ziti and stuffed shells used to be
on good or bad buffet tables.  The delicate flavor of the vodka can pair well when this sauce is not over cooked, or
over seasoned...here are some tip I have...NO dried herbs in this sauce, ever.  Only a hint of garlic in the sauce,
use a sweet onion as the main aromatic.  Most places pour tons of chopped garlic into this...you burp it up for
decades.  Not too much butter or cream...and use parmigiano..the nutty flavor is better suited to the cream
addition.  There...those are my rules.  If your rules are different, follow my recipe and see if you see the subtle
nuances of all the ingredients playing harmoniously, not crashing into each other like Lindsay Lohan trying to dodge
the Customs Agents..
Many times the dish is also ruined with too much hot pepper...it's a background flavor...and the "original" vodka used
in the recipe is purported to be a hot pepper infused vodka.  You can mimic this by steeping 1 tsp. of red pepper
flakes into 1/4 cup of GOOD Vodka.  I used Absolut.  Let this steep for at least 2 hours.  The icy clear vodka will
take on an orange hue when it's done.


See the change? I used one of those airplane bottles of Absolut..added the hot red pepper flakes, let it steep for almost
3 hours.  It took on a great color.  So, while this is steeping, start the sauce.  I went to the local salumeria and bot 1/4
lb. of prosciutto, sliced a little thicker than you would normally have it cut.  Paper thin doesn't hold up in this sauce.
I asked the cutter to please let me have some of the rind, he thought I was crazy.  I said, what do you do with all of
that and to my horror and dismay, he said it goes into the garbage.  Off the top of my head, I can think of more than
one thing to do with that rind.  Throwing it out isn't one of them.  He gave me a nice slab...the skin is on one side and
there is a thinish layer of fat on the other.  Cut the piece up into smaller pieces and saute' them skin side down in a
little olive oil for about 10 minutes.  Then flip to the other side and let this render for 20 minutes.  Yeah..this takes
time but the flavor you are pulling out of the rind and adding to your sauce is unforgettable...you hear that...?? i said
unforgettable. 


While you are rendering (i love that word) the rind, chop up one medium onion.  Look like bigger pieces in the pic-
ture, but they are a medium-small dice.  Add 1 tbs. of olive oil to the pan and add the onions.  Saute' for a good
10 minutes, adding some salt and black pepper.  Cook this on medium flame being careful to lower if you see
the onions start to brown.  Open a 34 oz. can of San Marzano Tomatoes and put them thru a food mill or into a
blender to make a passata, or a fairly smooth sauce.  Set this aside.  Take out the sliced prosciutto and lay it onto
a cutting board, then roll it all up.  Slice it into rings, then cut them into pieces lengthwise.  Set the meat aside.


After the onion had softened and cooked, add 1/2 clove of garlic, finely minced, then the prosciutto.  Let this cook
for about 2 mintues, then add the vodka through a strainer, holding back the pepper flakes.  Let this cook for
about 2 minutes, then add the tomato.  Add one torn basil leaf and blend well..cook this on a medium simmer for
about 25 minutes.





Cook 1 lb. of Penne, Mostaccioli, or Ziti till just al dente. This will be cooking while you are finishing the sauce.  Add
to the sauce 2 tbs. of unsalted butter and mix well.  Then pour in 1/4 of a pint of heavy cream.  Any more butter or
cream than this will result in your sauce tasting more like tomato soup than a pasta sauce.  Maybe you think that is
a good thing....in which case, we must discuss that off line!  lol.  The balance of flavor in this sauce will keep it
from turning into an institutional tasting mess, to a flavorful and smooth sauce.



Blend the cream in well and there you go...you have created that thing called Vodka sauce...check it for seasoning
adding salt and pepper if necessary.  Let this simmer on low for about 5 minutes, you are just heating the cream
and do not let it boil.  Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce, but sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmigiano reggiano on the
pasta in the sauce pan BEFORE you mix it.  Then mix and blend the sauce with all the pasta.  Heat this for not
more than 2 minutes.  Let is sit for a few then serve.
 

You may serve this dish with pride.. I think it keeps you away from the pitfalls that you can encounter when preparing this.
Such a balance needs to be struck with all the ingredients...like not seasoning until the sauce is done so that any
salt that comes out of the prosciutto doesn't cause the sauce to be overly salty...no additonal pepper until the end
just in case the heat from the chile flakes was enough. 
Enjoy another pasta treat from the land of Cutlets and Cannoli, Risotto and Scampi....This should serve 4-6 people.
Add extra Parmigiano when serving..



You will know you have done well when you see the sauce coat the pasta with the orangy
creamy sauce....the prosciutto really puts it over the top...
Stay away from those jar of processed Vodka sauce, you can do this yourself!