Chicken and Penne with Vodka Sauce

LIQUOR IT UP

Let's step away from the grill a moment and into the stove now there is a million possibilities for pasta as far as cut, size, cheese filling, meat but one very important factor is the sauce. Now to understand this there is a couple of things to look out for (1) what "meat" are you serving it with beef,chicken,veal etc. and (2) what type of pasta are you using(depending on the pasta cut is how much sauce will travel with the pasta from the plate to your mouth).Today I will give you tips on making my Fiance's favorite Chicken and Penne with Vodka Sauce.

PASTA

For this dish I use either Penne or Penne Rigati. Rigati basically just means there is grooves on the pasta and going back to the traveling together these grooves help you bring more sauce with the pasta. Follow instructions on the box but add a tablespoon of oil to the water so if you have the pasta sit for a bit they will not stick to each other.

CHICKEN

In our household we save by buying in bulk pre packaging and freezing a lot of our meats. This saves the constant trips to the store and it does help on the wallet. DO NOT POUND DOWN THE CHICKEN BREAST This I believe makes them dry. Just get a sharp knife and fillet the breast thin. In this application I use egg wash , flour, egg then fry medium heat. I use this method because since the Vodka sauce is somewhat delicate you don't want a thick and heavy breadcrumb coating since it will take away from the flavor of the sauce.

Chicken Breast

3 Whole chicken breast (12 fillets)

6 Eggs

1lb All purpose Flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

**Prepare you station as follows to facilitate the cooking process...Cutting board with the sharpest knife, egg wash in a bowl which helps with the coating of the chicken, Aluminum Pan with Flour since it does have a tendency to splatter all over. By having these in order you will be able to prepare the food easier. We are not professional chefs so we can cut into the chicken to see if it is done....Fry up all the chicken and keep in mind to keep the coating crisp but not burned since the sauce like I said is delicate.

SAUCE

It may seem like a complicated sauce but once you have done it the first time it is very easy to make. NO NEED TO COOK ON HIGH.

2 Quarts of premade marinara sauce(no special flavors just plain sauce works)

2 Quarts of Heavy Cream (no Subs ad this will make the sauce very loose)

1/4 prediced Prosciutto(if sub maybe Pancetta or bacon)

1 Med Onion

2 cups of Vodka(Nothing expensive as it will not make much difference)
Oil
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Pepper

**Sauce pan take your onion and chop it fine and put it on high to cook with the prosciutto until the onions are translucent. Once this happens add the first cup of Vodka and let it reduce. When the mixture has reduced continue stirring and incorporate the Heavy Cream and the Sauce(the right color should be a little towards the orange color the picture above was missing a cup of red sauce). Once this starts to bubble add the second cup of vodka black pepper and red pepper flakes (even if you don't like the heat use a pinch or red pepper to cut down the thickness of the cream). As soon as all is in the pot bring down to a simmer and let it reduce 1/4 of the way(about 20 minutes). We enjoy the sauce very thick so we let it reduce more but once about 20 minutes where the alcohol has evaporated and the flavor is in your sauce you are good to go.

SERVE AND ENJOY

Thank you for taking your time to read this any comments post them. Questions, suggestions, hate mail, fan mail or anything you can write to me CookingMyBrain@hotmail.com

See you tomorrow

Leo