Profumo Profondo

As promised, here’s the penne alla vodka recipe Scott made for my birthday dinner.

Vodka is not native to Italy, and Wikipedia has three different versions of the dish’s origin. The one with the most detail says that the dish was invented in New York. I don’t know if that’s correct but it sounds plausible. At any rate, it doesn’t really matter – authentic Italian or not, penne alla vodka is really good when made well.

Here’s our version:

Ingredients

2 cups roasted tomato sauce
1/4 pound pancetta, sliced thin
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup vodka
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley

1 pound dry penne pasta

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then cook the penne until it is al dente. If you time it right, you should be able to start the water, then the sauce, and the pasta will be ready for the sauce at just the right time. If you’re not that confident about the timing, it’s better to have the sauce waiting for the pasta than vice versa. Overcooked pasta = epic fail (and not very tasty either).

Put the olive oil into a large skillet over medium flame. Dice the pancetta and add it to the skillet. Cook until dark and crispy (but not burned). Remove the pancetta from the pan with a slotted spoon and place the pancetta on paper towels to drain. Add the garlic slices to the pan and sauté until they turn light golden brown.

Add the tomato sauce to the pan, stir to deglaze, and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring the tomato sauce to a low boil, then add the salt and red pepper flakes. Keep the low boil going for 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to low and add the vodka. Stir in the cream, pouring slowly, then keep on stirring as you slowly add the cheese. Tip: don’t add the cheese until the pasta is ready to go.

When the pasta is ready, drain it and put it into a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the pasta, sprinkle the parsley and the pancetta on top, and toss to mix it all together. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6, depending on whether you’re doing it as a main dish or an appetizer.

Notes

• This is one of those recipes where the quality of the ingredients you put into it is absolutely critical. We tried this one night with some pre-cut shrink-wrapped pancetta and it was nowhere near as good as when we make it using freshly-sliced pancetta from a good deli counter. Get the good stuff. It matters.
• The same goes for the Parmigian cheese. Don’t even think of using that stuff in the green can. Get the real thing.
• If it’s winter or you don’t have roasted tomato sauce on hand, a 28 ounce can of tomatoes will do fine. Use whole tomatoes and quickly puree them in the blender, don’t buy the pureed ones. Again, quality is key. Use San Marzanos if you can get them. If not, Progresso is a good fallback.

Ingredients

1 lobe of foie gras (or four little mini lobes)
2 figs, quartered
2 pears, peeled, seeded and quartered
4 small bunches of rapes (5-6 per bunch) (use the cute little mini-grapes, if you can find them – keep attached to stem)
2 oz. duck fat
2 tablespoons oz. sugar
11/2 cup Sauternes
salt (fleur de sel, if you have it)
black pepper

Preparation

1. Let foie gras stand for 20-30 minutes before cooking.

2. In a sauté pan, melt the duck fat and sauté pears on medium heat. Add grape bunches and figs, stirring gently, until the fruit juices caramelize. Sprinkle lightly with the sugar and stir once.

3. Reduce Sauternes to ¾ cup.

4. Season the foie gras with salt and pepper, and sear until crisp and golden brown on the outside (rare on the inside), about 1 minute per side. Do not go over time, or foie gras will melt into a puddle of liquid fat.

5 To plate, lay the grape bunch at the top, lay in sliced pears and figs, and top with foie gras. Drizzle generously with the reduction. If you need to reheat the foie, do so on medium-low heat, just to warm through.

Notes

You can substitute the fruits quite liberally: use 3 apricots, peeled and sliced, in lieu of the pears, a cup of cranberries (or almost any other kind of berry) instead of the grapes, or add 2 small peeled and sliced apples – Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, etc. – depending on the season.

This is a messy dish to eat, but so yummy. Serve it with plain rice and maybe some steamed veggies to make a meal, or alone as an appetizer or party food.

Ingredients:
15 chicken wings, trimmed into pieces
1/3 cup soy sauce (I use the reduced sodium version)
3 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup warm water
4 to 6 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, or add more if you like the heat!)

Preparation:

Whisk the soy, water, and honey in a small bowl until the honey is completely dissolved. (Warm water helps the honey dissolve faster.)

Put a large frying pan (or a wok if you have one) on medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 15 seconds. Add the wings and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken skin starts to brown.

Pour in the bowl of liquids and the hot sauce, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook roughly 30 minutes, or until the meat on the wings has cooked through. Stir occasionally.

When the chicken is cooked, you’ll want to reduce the sauce down to a glaze. Turn the heat back up to high and cook until the sauce has thickened down to a glaze. You’ll want to stir frequently to make sure nothing burns.

Get a pile of napkins out, serve, and enjoy!

Notes & Substitutions:

• Powdered garlic and ginger are not good substitutes for fresh. You can skip the ginger entirely if you don’t have fresh, but don’t try substituting powered garlic for the real thing in this dish. It will taste like crap.
• We often buy whole wings and trim them down to component pieces to save money. The inedible wing tips can be saved and frozen, they are fantastic for making chicken stock.