Rev: Cavatappi with Vodka Sauce May '03

[ElinorC]

We liked this very much. The sauce was very creamy and stuck to the pasta. It was much like the sauce we had in Italy last fall. Now I wonder what's the difference from the the vodka sauce in Cl'98. We'll have to try that one and compare.

[kcmo727]

Thanks for posting. My May issue just came in today and this recipe caught my eye...now I will definitely make it!

[yorkshirepud]

Would anyone with this in MC mind posting this? I haven't seen CL in the store yet.

Thanks.

[aggie94]

Adele, here's the recipe. I have this on my menu for the week, so I'm glad to read a good review!

Cavatappi with Vodka Sauce (CL, May 2003)
Luscious, creamy vodka sauce gets into every nook and cranny of the spiral-shaped cavatappi. You can also use fusilli or penne.

8 ounces uncooked cavatappi pasta (about 3 cups)
1 tbsp butter
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
4 tsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp water
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/3 cup vodka
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp finely chopped basil

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook 3 minutes or until tender. Add tomato sauce; simmer, partially covered, 8 minutes or until thick. Combine flour and water, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; cook 1 minute. Add half-and-half, milk, vodka, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in cheese. Reduce heat to low; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Add pasta; toss to coat. Sprinkle with basil.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups).

Cal 449 (27% from fat); fat 13.3g (sat 8g, mono 3.4g, poly 0.5g); protein 16.6g; carb 55g; fiber 3.2g; chol 36mg; iron 2.7mg; sodium 784mg; calc 275mg.

[yorkshirepud]

Thanks Aggie.

That does sound good.

I'll have to put it on hold until I feel like making some icecream. I never use half and half, so I could use the leftovers for that.

Adele

[laughsandlaughs]

I use LF Cream cheese instead of the half and half and it works incredibly well.

[yorkshirepud]

Originally posted by laughsandlaughs
I use LF Cream cheese instead of the half and half and it works incredibly well.

Cool. Thanks for letting me know. I comtemplated this, but didn't think it would work. I've often bypassed recipes for pasta with cream because I don't really like it. I find it too rich. I will try this next time.

[laughsandlaughs]

Cream Cheese does do really well.....I just add it at the end, with a whisk, and heat until warmed through.

[aggie94]

Hmmmm, I wasn't impressed with this. The vodka flavor was too overpowering, IMO. But then again, I'm sensitive to alcohol and can only tolerate it if it's very subtle. I had originally planned to serve this as the main course, but the tuna steaks at Central Market looked great and were on sale, so I picked up a large one for DH and to split -- a good thing, because I could not have eaten a large serving of pasta. I'm hoping DH likes it, because otherwise the leftovers will probably go in the trash. :(

[Vicanddi]

Aggie,

I was thinking of trying this recipe until I read your comments about the Vodka being overpowering. I am not a big fan of Vodka, and I was trying to figure out what I would do with the rest of the bottle after I made the recipe. Thanks for your review, it saved me some time to make some other wonderful recipe!;)

[alisajean]

I agree . . toooo much vodka. Of course you could also make it with less vodka. However, I felt it was missing something else, just can't quite put my finger on it. I also think it would be better with perhaps other ingredients i.e, chicken, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes. Anyone else feel the same?

[Laurielee]

This was so good - I had turkey italian sweet sausage and added it, which really paired well with the sauce - I did not get the strong vodka taste like other reviews. I also added some oregano. I used the cavatappi but would have preferred penne. DH also thought penne would be better, I told him it called for cavatappi to hold the sauce and he said penne would be better because it would fill in the holes.
This will be a repeat for us
Laurie

[JennieL]

I'm going to try the CL recipie tonight, but here is my favorite version of Pasta w/Vodka sauce. I has much less vodka than the CL version. I've added my notes too.

PENNE WITH VODKA SAUCE

Jennie's notes - I use half and half OR FF half and half. I add 1 clove of garlic to the pancetta and 2 T. of basil at the end.

6 Sun dried Tomatoes 1 8 oz. Can tomato sauce
2 T Vodka 1/3 c. whipping cream
2 oz pancetta (or bacon) ¾ lb. penne pasta
1 T butter (less) 3 T. Parmesan cheese

Snip sun dried tomatoes into fine pieces and combine with vodka. Set aside.

Chop pancetta into small pieces. Melt butter in large skillet, add pancetta and saute over medium heat until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add sun dried tomatoes and vodka and stir until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer uncovered 8 to 19 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook penne in 16 C. boiling salted water 7 to 8 minutes or according to package directions. Drain penne and return to pan. Pour sauce over pasta, sprinkle with Parmesan and toss until pasta is well coated.

[shoefling]

JennieL~

I made a version of your PENNE WITH VODKA SAUCE for supper tonight. It was terrific! I was trying to recreate a dish I love from Biaggi's, a restaurant in Cedar Rapids, IA. I think that it is a chain though. Anyhow, here are my changes. I left out the pancetta and subbed about 1/2 pound of sweet italian sausage. I added about 1/2 a bag of frozed peas to the cooking pasta during the last few minutes. I used half and half and added the garlic and dried basil. I also added some red chile flakes. I did not use any butter as there was enough oil from the sausage. All I have to say is WOW!!! This will definitely be a repeater for me! Thank you so much for your version of penne with vodka sauce!

Sarah

[JennieL]

Sarah,
Your changes look great. I'm going to try it with sausage next time.

Jennie

[Tina V]

Here's a vote for the cavatappi with vodka sauce.

Changes: I cut the recipe in half and kind of fudged on the measurements for the half & half, milk, and vodka (added them all together in the same measuring cup before adding it to the pan). This might explain why I didn't get the strong vodka flavor.

I really like the consistency of this sauce - it was creamy and smooth, but not heavy. I might try it with some fresh tomato thrown in at the end, and I thought the fresh basil paired nicely with it. Could also be good with some chicken or beef perhaps?

[valchemist]

Had this for dinner tonight and it was very good. The sauce was rich and creamy and the vodka flavor was not too strong. In fact, it was just barely detectable. Don't leave out the fresh basil. It needs it. I like Laurielee's idea of turkey sausage and Tina's idea of fresh tomatoes.

[MaryH]

Originally posted by laughsandlaughs
I use LF Cream cheese instead of the half and half and it works incredibly well.

I did that too (thanks to the suggestion). I really liked this. I actually added a little more vodka at the end but did not taste it at all.

[aggie94]

Okay, so for those of you who thought the vodka flavor was very subtle and/or not at all detectable, what kind of vodka did you use? I'm wondering if brand makes a difference, or if I just have really sensitive tastebuds (since I don't like the taste of alcohol)?

I used Absolut.

[valchemist]

I had to buy vodka, since I didn't have any on hand. I decided not to go with the expensive stuff (Absolut), so I bought Popov.

After the first bite, DH said he couldn't taste the vodka, but as he continued eating, he did admit he tasted it somewhat.

I let the sauce come to a pretty good boil, too. So maybe cooking some more of the alcohol off would have an effect on the final taste.

[AZLorena]

I made this last night for dinner. DH loved this one. I made him some tortellini to put it on top of. I made the cavatappi for me. I did make a couple of modifications.....I used fat free half and half.....and skim milk. I doubled the flour/water mixture to compensate. It turned out beautifully. DH wants me to make it again tonight.

Lorena

[Mindy]

Did anyone else have a problem with the water and flour mixture? Mine was so thick that when I added it to the sauce it curdled. How was yours?

[AZLorena]

Mindy....

I added a little extra water to the mix.

Lorena

[Mindy]

I'll try that when I make it again. Thanks

[Pat]

We just had this for dinner tonight with a salad and bread and it was a quick and easy weeknight meal. We will be making it again when we are in a hurry.

[Lchiles]

I tried this dish tonight...We really enjoyed it! We used fusilli, seemed like a lot of sauce to pasta ratio. (We like that personally, but was just wondering if it was because of the type of pasta used) I think the flavor of the vodka was definitely there. Perhaps next time we will use just a little less and make sure that we boil it very well. We also added some frozen peas that I have leftover, they went very well with the sauce. LaurieC

[erinlovesmarc]

Cream Cheese does do really well.....I just add it at the end, with a whisk, and heat until warmed through.

I wonder how much cream cheese I can use in this recipe?