With no other topic jumping out at me tonight, I suppose I can share my dinner with you. Well, not really share it...I don't play nicely with others when pasta and creamy vodka sauce are involved. But y'know.
I was 25 pounds down in 2014, and my goal for 2015 is 40 more pounds down. It's an ambitious goal, but one that I know is achievable. It's all up to me. And frankly, the only way I can stick to a healthy lifestyle is if I allow myself a treat night once a week, which usually falls on Friday (which is also my weigh-in day). I love Friday nights. The more serious about weight loss and healthy living I become, the more I need that treat night to look forward to (I used to call it a cheat night, but I'm not really cheating, so no reason to make it sound dirtier than it is). And the richer and more decadent those treat nights become.
Penne alla vodka is a perfect choice for such a night. You have the copious amount of carbs from the pasta, the ridiculous fat content of the heavy cream-laden tomato sauce, combined with alcohol and high-quality cheese. It really doesn't get much treatier or cheatier than that. And tonight, I'm making it even better by adding some chicken. Have I mentioned that I love Friday nights?
Follow me below the luscious penne... ("Luscious"...isn't that a horrible word? At least I didn't say "lusciously moist.")
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Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the doodle...
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The ingredients that are going to come together to make me very happy:
The one thing I forgot to include in the picture? The
vodka! Um...duh. But rest assured, there is vodka.
The prep: Finely chop two large shallots and mince four to five cloves of garlic. Cut 12 to 16 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken into bite-size pieces. I would normally use thighs, but my grocery store was out of them, so I had to settle for the breast. Also, if you're using whole tomatoes, and I highly recommend you do (people don't believe me when I say this, but it's true: there's a quality difference between canned whole and crushed tomatoes), either crush them by hand or run them through the food processor until they're nicely pureed. You'll need a 28-ounce can.
Add some olive oil to a big pan or Dutch oven and brown the chicken, adding salt and pepper. When the chicken develops some color on the outside, remove and set aside (it won't be cooked all the way through).
Now, you'll have a delicious fond on the bottom of the pan. Add some more olive oil and sweat the shallots for four or five minutes, or until they're nice and soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add some dried oregano (probably about a heaping teaspoon, but I didn't measure) and a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes. Cook it for a minute or so, just long enough to "awaken" the oregano. Then, pour in the vodka and deglaze all the flavor from that fond at the bottom. You'll need four or five ounces, give or take. Since I'm not much of a vodka drinker anymore, I never have vodka on hand--I just buy three little 50 ml bottles and use it all. Keep it on the fire until the vodka has reduced by about half. This is what I call onion, garlic, and vodka soup. The fumes make me gag.
Pour in the tomatoes and add the chicken (and accumulated juices!) back in. Bring it up to a simmer and let it go, partially covered, for 40 to 45 minutes. I'm holding off on the seasoning until it has simmered.
When there's 10 minutes left to go on the sauce, bring some generously salted water up to a boil and throw in a pound of penne.
When the sauce is done simmering, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream. As rich as this dish is, I think the way I make penne alla vodka is a little more health-conscious than those who add an entire cup of cream, plus butter and god knows what else. This is rich and decadent, but simple and not completely loaded with fat. Taste the sauce and add salt and black pepper if necessary. This is the point at which I add my secret ingredient that may or may not be a salty fermented liquid that comes from certain water-residing creatures. Shhhhh, nobody will know except me. Finally, stir in fresh basil to taste. For me, "to taste" means a whole basil plant. (I'd add cilantro to make BeninSC happy, but that might be out of place here.) Let it go for another 10 minutes or so. Oooooh, look at that...
It's getting close to chow time. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce, stirring to coat. One final ingredient: preferably some really good parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Unfortunately, when I restocked my cheese a week ago, my grocery store's cheese island was out of the good stuff, and since I was too lazy to go to another store I was stuck with a wedge of Stella parmesan. Which didn't make this cheese snob happy, but it works. About 1/4 cup of cheese will do. Stir it in and it's done!
A plate of this, some bread (for some excellent carb-on-carb action), and a big ol' glass of cab is exactly what I needed to warm me up tonight. Have I mentioned that I love Friday nights?
Now, on to the tops...
TOP COMMENTS
January 9, 2014
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From Youffraita:
In Chrislove's diary TX GOP state rep introduces bill to stop paying clerks who comply with marriage equality rulings, here4tehbeer posts an awesome and hilarious video featuring the late, inimitable Molly Ivins (NSFW, or kiddies).
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Here is another excellent comment from LeftHandedMan from FIDOUGHERTY's diary How to Destroy the Republican Party--legally.
From Yasuragi:
I would like to nominate kovie's comment on republishing Charlie Hebdo cartoons from Lupin's diary Terrorists win - US & UK media surrender.
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I hereby nominate this comment by Phoebe Loosinhouse because I liked the pithy summation of why the dems haven't caught fire and how we can move the process even so. I especially liked this bit: "It's really the duty of rank and file Democrats to tell their party in no uncertain terms that we are sick and tired of the crap that is being passed down to us and that we expect more. It's our JOB to be critical and demanding and 'whiny' as some would have it, because that is the only way things are going to get better."
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January 8, 2014
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