Pasta with Sausage and Vodka Sauce

As you can probably tell, I love pasta. I could live on it - I am convinced of that. I do try to limit it though and I always use wheat/whole grain pasta to try to convince myself that it's still okay to eat it often. HA!

My friend Amanda posted a pasta recipe that I have been dying to try. I have heard this recipe before (Rachel Ray maybe?) but had never heard how good it was. If Amanda says it was good, that was good enough for me!

Ingredients

1/4 pound spaghetti (I used penne pasta)

1tablespoon olive oil

1/4 pound Italian sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled or chopped

1/2 cup chopped yellow onions

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 cup crushed tomatoes

3 tablespoons vodka

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 to 2 tablespoons chiffonade of fresh basil leaves

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish

Sprig fresh basil, for garnish

*Note: I doubled the sauce on this per Amanda's recommendation and I agree with her. Doubling the sauce led to the perfect amount. I would say this is about 2-3 servings depending on how much you eat.

Directions

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain in a colander and return to the saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until browned and all pink has disappeared, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onions, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until thick, about 2 minutes. Add the vodka and cook until the sauce reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the basil and remove from the heat.

I served with salad and crusty Italian bread.

Pig Rating: The Pig thought this one was so-so good. In Tommy language that means it was good :) He asked for some leftovers for his lunch.

Mrs. Pig Rating: I ate so much I felt like I was pregnant. HA! Does that tell you anything? I really liked this one a lot - I really liked the heat from the red pepper flakes mixed with the sausage and the sauce. Definitely a keeper in my book. YUM!