Momma Gina's Penne Ala Vodka

I just wrote this up for my mother-in-law so I figured I'd post it so we don't loose it! Here's my mom's Penne ala Vodka recipe.

Note: We typically make vodka sauce with cooking sauce or a smooth sauce. It will probably be really good with marinara though we’ve never tried it. Also, this recipe is for a large amount of sauce for from 3-4 lbs of pasta. You should cut it down as you see fit.

Ingredients:
32 oz (1 quart) or more of cooked red sauce (not tomato paste or chopped tomatoes, use marinara or cooking sauce)
64 oz (2 quarts) of heavy cream
8 oz (.25 quarts) vodka
1 small onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 teaspoon of spicy brown mustard
4 cups of grated cheese
black pepper to taste
4 lbs of dry penne

Step 1: Fry Onions and Garlic in olive oil until brown (not too dark). Strain oil from onions and garlic well.
Step 2: Put heavy cream, onion/garlic mixture, vodka and spicy brown mustard in a pot and stir well.
Step 3: Stir in red sauce slowly until mixture is pink in color. It should be at least 32 oz but may need more if the color is too light. Don’t let it get red!
Step 4: Add pepper to taste (as you see fit).
Step 5: Bring sauce to a boil for 1 minute, then turn down to medium (slow boil) for 3-4 minutes to burn off the alcohol in the vodka.
Step 6: Cook the 4lbs of penne. Don't forget to add salt to the water!!!
Step 7: Once the sauce is cooked, let it cool just a bit and whisk in grated cheese to taste. Typically it would be from 2-4 cups of grated cheese but you may want to add less or more.
Step 8: Strain the penne once aldente and mix the ala Vodka sauce with cooked penne. NOTE: since I'm unsure of the pasta to sauce ratio, start with 1/2 the pasta and mix the sauce and pasta in slowly figuring how much sauce you want on your pasta.

This recipe is copyright by my mom so you publish it and start charging people then you'll have to pay her. So, I recommend not stealing this for your first published cooking book because she's lethal (she's my mom of course!).

Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

-s