Peace, Love, & Pink Sauce

Psalm 34:8 ~ Oh taste and see that the Lord is good...

This sauce has become a regular at our house lately.  Mainly because it has heavy cream and fresh herbs in it, which both expire.  That, and Robbie tasted it one night and said that it tasted like something from a restaurant.  I almost cried I was so happy!
This recipe is one that my mom gave to me.  She lives outside of Philadelphia, so they eat a lot of Italian sauces.  Really the recipe is called Penne A La Vodka, but I was afraid that when people saw vodka they might flip at having to go to the liquor store!  Really, it's okay, I promise.  Just walk in while you leave your kids in the locked car, and tell the man that you need the cheapest bottle of vodka he has.  He will give you a funny look, but explain that it's for cooking.  Again, he will look at you like you may have a slight problem, but just pay for the vodka and leave! :)
Okay, now that that's over with, onto the recipe...

I always half the recipe, but that's because my family is not a fan of leftovers...lucky me!

(The 'und' by tomatoes means undrained, and obviously the garlic is crushed.)

I use fresh parsley and garlic, but the basil that comes in a tube. If you've never tried these herbs in a tube, they're awesome!  Use the same amount as fresh.

Put the olive oil in the pan and let it get hot over medium-high heat (about two minutes).  Add the garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, and basil.  Saute these for about two minutes.

It will look like this:

Now add the can of tomatoes...

...and vodka.

Still over medium-high heat, stir, stir, stir!  You can even crush the tomatoes up a little bit if you want to.  Bring this mixture to a boil (that's what takes the alcohol out of the vodka).  Boil for a minute or so.

Add the heavy cream...

...and stir some more.  (I LOVE my wooden spoon!  And yes, I do have a different wooden spoon for spanking...I can't bear to use the same ones to cook and spank!)

Turn the heat down to low and cover.  I usually cook my noodles now.

Just before you're ready to eat, add the fresh parmesan cheese.  And please use fresh...the Italians in Philly would have a heart attack if they found out you used the green bottle!!

Put some pasta in a bowl, top it with the sauce, and you have a fancy-schmancy meal!!

Grilled chicken is good on top of this, too.  And yes, I did use spaghetti noodles.  They're supposed to be penne, but I used what I had! :)