9.14.2010

My Recipes: Vodka and Cake

Let them eat cake!

While staying with our friends, we're certainly having some fun with the kiddos. Little M, four years old, expressed an interest in helping me cook some blueberry muffins, a strawberry cake and Rachael Ray's vodka cream pasta for dinner. So we got to work!


My little helper overseeing the chicken.
After Little M helped me "crush" eggs into the batter mixes, we popped the cake and muffins into the oven and started on Rachael's recipe, adding some Italian chicken and a good dose of salt and pepper.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
Crusty bread, for passing (I just made Texas Toast garlic bread for the sake of time!)
**Make it heartier with meat! Think chicken or your favorite sausage.


Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the EVOO, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently sauté the shallots for 3-5 minutes to develop their sweetness. 


Add the vodka to the pan – three turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce the vodka by half, about 2 or 3 minutes. 


Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce to simmer. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While the pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.


Stir 
the cream into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. When the sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from the heat. Drain the pasta. Toss the hot pasta with the sauce and the basil leaves. Pass the pasta with crusty bread at the table.

Voila! The sauce, coupled with the fresh basil, was delicious. Loved the chicken I added, too. 
After dinner, Little M decorated the cake...


When she was done, she dusted off her hands and said, "This is the perfect cake."

And it was!

Sweet eats!


5 comments:

  1. That cake looks delicious! She did a great job. I love Rachel Ray.

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  2. Looks like a delicious meal as well as a lovely time in the kitchen with your little helper! Reminds me of when YOU were little and cooked. In looking at my journal from TWENTY years ago on this day YOU were making your famous baked beans! I guess you have been spending time in the kitchen ALL your life!

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  3. I like the background and look forward to a leisurely read of some of the posts I've missed. - Debbie

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  4. That pasta looks delicious! I'll have to try it, I'm always looking for different pasta recipes (we eat pasta OFTEN!). Thanks for sharing :)

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  5. This sounds delicious! Gonna have to bookmark this one for later!

    Welcome to Texas Blogging Gals!

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