Vodka Pasta and a story

The first meal I ever made for John was vodka pasta. I was finishing up college, he came to town from Columbus, and apparently I had something to prove by insisting I make us dinner in my tiny kitchen only a couple of dates in.

While this went well overall, I was using Rachael Ray’s vodka pasta because this is what my mom always made and I loved it. However, it hilariously enough is called You Won’t Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta and my computer with the recipe was open when he arrived. We decided it was funny, thank goodness, and not creepy.

Vodka pasta is one of my favorite pastas to make, as evidenced below, but now I use a different recipe. Not because the name of the original was too much to endure, but because I prefer the texture and taste of this new sauce. It’s thicker and deeper in flavor because it uses tomato paste instead of crushed tomatoes, and has a fun kick from the red pepper flakes. While it’s best served with a shaped pasta, like fusilli or penne, I most recently used fettuccine because it’s what I had and that was fine too.

Fusilli alla Vodka + Basil and Parmesan

Tips: Pairs well with a simple salad — I’m loving the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, dried oregano and garlic powder situation these days. I don’t recommend adding protein to this. I think it’s best on its own as a meatless dish.