Vodka Penne

Vodka sauces are wonderful and so easy to make! I sauteed some chopped onion in olive oil along with 3 cloves of garlic. I then added 1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes. I used a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes instead of whole and then 2 tsp. of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. I also added a bit of parmesan cheese along with the cream and the sauce came out very smooth and oh so good over the penne pasta. Great with garlic bread!  -  20 Oct 2010  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

I've made several a la vodka sauces before, however most used tomato puree or just canned tomato sauce. The idea of using whole peeled tomatos in this recipe is a good one, however that's the only thing I would do again from this recipe. There is entirely too much heavy cream used in this recipe. The flavor of the tomatos and the spices was great, but once the heavy cream was added this sauce suddenly became very bland. Not only was the sauce bland, but it was very thin. My recommendation would be to cut the heavy cream in half.  -  23 Jun 2006  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

I made this for dinner last night - my husband called it "restaurant quality". With the alterations I made, it was closer to another 5-star recipe on this site, "Penne with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce", with no meat. I recommend using red pepper flakes, 3/4t. salt, crushed or diced tomatoes (vs. whole) and less cream. I added sliced, fresh mushrooms halfway through - oh yum! Adding the red pepper with some salt will eliminate the blandness that other reviewers mentioned. I will make this again with those changes.  -  27 Oct 2005  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)