Pasta a la Vodka Casserole

I didn't have a chance to make this week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe, but earlier this week my friend Anna and I whipped up some Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. The recipe was borrowed again, from my friend Melissa's blog, Love at First Bite , and is really named Penne a la Vodka Casserole. However, we didn't have any penne on hand, and just used a mixture of different kinds of pasta, hence the Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. We were both so excited about making this recipe. She's Italian and I love, love, LOVE Italian food! Plus, Anna had taken a peek at Melissa's blog through mine and called to tell me that she wanted to make it. So we did, and let me tell you, it is wonderful! Can't you tell? Even Anna's dog, Howard, was itching for a taste. Isn't he cute?

Although preparing the dish took a long time, it was all worth it. Everything worked out really well. I had about half the ingredients and Anna had the rest, including the main ingredient--the vodka! The recipe calls for both hot and sweet Italian sausage, but I was only able to find sweet Italian turkey sausage, as seen below. I tend to prefer sweet over spicy anyway.

Here, we sauted the sausage and about 4 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions together. We added about two cloves of garlic to this mixture and the aroma was just so invigorating!

Here, we later added whole tomatoes and heavy cream and the resulting sauce was mixed with our pasta. We had enough of the pasta mixture to fill the entire baking dish and then some. So we were each able to help ourselves to a serving. The pasta mixture could very well be served without baking it. I actually preferred the unbaked pasta to the baked version, but you find out which version works for you!

The baked pasta came out looking like this....cheese all bubbly and just downright yummy! Again, the dish took a while to prepare--about 40 minutes to make the sauce and then the same amount of time to bake. But you will find that it was time well spent! Here is the recipe below, which Melissa adapted from Emeril. And thanks again Melissa for another great recipe!

Penne A La Vodka Casserole

(recipe adapted from Emeril)

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

1 lb. hot Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

4 cups thinly sliced onions

1 and 3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup vodka

Two 16-oz. cans whole tomatoes, crushed in their juices

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pound penne pasta

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

1 and 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over high heat. Add the sausages and cook, stirring, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, 3/4 tsp. salt, and the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are just soft, about 4 minutes. Add the basil and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the vodka and tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Add the garlic powder and heavy cream, stir to mix, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. To cook the pasta, combine 4 quarts water, the olive oil, and the remaining tsp. salt in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain well. Combine half of the ricotta cheese and half of the Parmesan-Reggiano with the remining 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the pasta and toss to coat evenly. Add the sausage mixture and mix well. Add the remaining ricotta cheese and the remaining Parmesan-Reggiano and mix well.
3. Transfer the mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Delicious! Just you wait and see!