Penne Alla Norris

Had the most amazing homemade penne alla vodka over at the Gamble residence during the Superbowl, I just had to recreate it...

Ingredients:

• 2/3 of a 1 lb box of penne
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup of vodka
• Standard large can of tomato puree (quality brand like Tuttorosso)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 pound cooked ham and 1/8 pound of pancetta (I asked for these from the deli and had them slice it "thick" then cubed it up when I got home)
• 2 drops hot sauce
• a shake of salt, a shake of ground pepper, a shake of dried oregano
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup grated cheese

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over low-med heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.
2. Stir in vodka and allow to simmer until the alcohol is fully cooked out.  You can tell this by lightly wafting the steam, if the alcohol hasn't burned off yet, it'll knock you in the face)
3. Add and stir in the can of tomato puree.
4. In a separate small skillet, sauté and crisp up the ham and pancetta in 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
5. When edged start to brown (like bacon would, but not fully cooked), add to sauce pot along with salt, pepper and hot sauce.
6. Lastly, add heavy cream and stir.
7. Boil a pot of water and cook penne to desired tenderness.
8. Drain penne and return to pot.  Ladle in sauce to dry penne pot until fully coated.  (I did this because I had extra sauce left over to freeze and didn't want the sauce amount to overwhelm the pasta.
9. Toss with grated cheese and serve.