Little Old Italian Lady Vodka Sauce

Last night at my In-Laws house we had this wonderful vodka sauce for dinner.

No, she's not the little old lady, she got the recipe from a friend down in Florida who IS your typical little old Italian grandmother.

It's actually a pretty reasonable thing to make if you already have vodka. (And, if you are like me and have canned tomatoes and home grown garlic, it's even cheaper!) It's also quick to put together so you could have this on a weeknight without too much fuss.

Vodka Sauce For 1lb Penne

2 TBSP Butter
2 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 Small Shallot, chopped fine
1 qt jar of tomato puree. (You can use the 28oz can)
3 oz prosciutto chopped
1/2 cup vodka
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated cheese

Melt butter and sautee the garlic and shallot 3-4 min. Add prosciutto, sautee 5 minutes. Add tomato puree simmer 15 min. Add vodka and simmer until the smell of alcohol is gone, about 10 min. Add cream and grated cheese, stir until heated through and cheese is well incorporated into sauce. Serve over penne.

Some fresh Basil would be great over this, but no one had any and it was still REALLY wonderful. I think the prosciutto is what really makes this. The woman who gave my mother-in-law actually chops the onion, prosciutto and garlic in a mini chopper but we did not try that last night.