As late September sets in, so does the crisp, cool autumn air. A great way to keep warm is with a hearty meal, like Giada De Laurentiis's Penne with Vodka Sauce. If you don't keep alcohol in your home, this one's probably not for you, but it's so easy anyone can prepare it.
It's hearty enough that you don't even notice it's a vegetarian recipe, and the shopping list for this meal certainly won't break the bank. My husband and I don't care for vodka as a drink, but I always have a bottle on hand because this is one of our favorite recipes.
Head's up: when Giada says let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes, she means the full 20 minutes. This allows enough time for the alcohol to cook out to make it a family friendly meal. Let's just say the first time I prepared this recipe I jumped the gun on the simmer time and we were feeling quite simmered ourselves after suppertime. If you're still concerned about alcohol as an ingredient, just set aside some plain marinara sauce for your kiddos. There's no reason Mom and Dad have to skimp on a little decadence.
Food Network has many great recipes for a side dish to accompany your meal. Still not warm after your Penne with Vodka Sauce? One of these Hot Chocolate recipes might do the trick!
Tip: I usually just buy a jar of prepared marinara sauce to save time. If you're one of those people who is great at planning ahead, you could make a double batch of Giada's marinara sauce and use half for this recipe and save the other half for a different night of the week.
ReplyDeleteMmm...I will have to try that one! By store-bought marinara sauce...do you mean spaghetti sauce? Or is that something different?
ReplyDeleteI use spaghetti sauce. I'm not exactly sure if that's what they mean, but that's what I use and it tastes good to me! : ) We use the Traditional Prego but I've been tempted to try once of the other flavors like Roasted Garlic - might be a nice "background" flavor!
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