>>Production funding for Tassie's Table is provided by Atlantic Union Bank, offering a range of financial solutions for consumers and businesses, including checking, savings, and lending.

More information is at AtlanticUnionBank.com or at a local branch.

>>Pasta dishes take no time at all, and this one is no exception.

Today on Tassie's Table, it's penne alla vodka.

So in my pan, I've sprayed a little bit of non-stick coating.

And then to that, I'm going to add about a quarter cup of onion and a chopped clove of garlic.

Now I have the pan nice and warm, though it's not tremendously hot, I don't want to burn that garlic.

And then to that, I'm going to add two ounces of chopped prosciutto.

Now the goal here is to get the prosciutto to just crispy, to get that garlic so that it's done, but not browning, and then I want the onion to start to soften and take on just a little brown characteristic.

That's gonna take about five minutes.

It's key that you stir the whole time, because if you don't, that garlic will burn.

Now I'm turning my burner up to about medium.

Now you can see I'm starting to get a little color on some of the onions and on some of the prosciutto.

So at this point I want to add 14 ounces of crushed tomatoes.

Now I'm using San Marzano, but you can use any crushed tomato that you like, just make sure they don't have so much watery liquid on them.

You want a nice, thick sauce in your tomatoes.

That smells so good.

And now we want to add our vodka.

This is about a quarter cup of vodka, and I'm just pouring it right about in the center, and then I'll work it all the way out.

And I'm turning the heat up just a little bit beyond medium high toward high.

At this point, I want to really start cooking that sauce, and the heat is important.

And now I'm going to add just a little bit of cayenne pepper.

This is just a pinch.

If you like more, add more.

And I want to add about a third of a cup of heavy whipping cream.

Mm, this smells so good, and I can't wait to taste it.

Now let's add just a little bit of oregano.

The oregano is going to give it a little more flavor, and I really have tried it with both oregano and with basil.

I think oregano works best and it makes it more of the traditional penne alla vodka that I remember from the first time I tried it.

Ah, now you're getting a really beautiful cream sauce here.

And we want to add a little more thickening and flavor.

So here we've got a quarter cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Ah, now that's melting down.

It's beautiful.

And to that, I want to add a half pound of penne that I cooked.

I put it in a little olive oil and stuck it in my refrigerator so it's ready when I am.

And at this point, that penne alla vodka is almost done.

Just one more little flavor component to make it all come together.

And that's a little chiffonade of basil.

Now I like to use fresh basil for this.

I have about a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half, but if you don't have fresh basil and you want to substitute to use dry basil, use one third the amount of fresh.

There we go and our penne alla vodka is all ready for plate up.

So let's put it into a dish and have some delicious dinner.

Oh, look at that.

It looks absolutely amazing.

Now this is enough to serve two people.

And it's wonderful.

It also makes really great leftovers.

Penne alla vodka, as that vodka starts to go through the sauce, and the tomato starts to just take on all of those flavors, it's absolutely fantastic.

Now let's just top that off with a little basil, because I do love my basil.

There we go.

Isn't that gorgeous?

So for this recipe and more, I hope you'll continue to join me on Tassie's Table.