Pasta with Vodka

We went to see the Louise Nevelson sculputre exhibit yesterday at the DeYoung Museum. I've always thought of the DeYoung as a second tier museum without much coherence. So it was surprising to experience an exhibit of such power. Rooms full of Nevelsons started with a self-portrait and terra cotta pieces. There were white Nevelsons, the reunited sections of Dawn's Wedding Feast and Cathedral displayed as the environment she intended, with pillars for the attendants and large bride and groom scultpures in the center. Her piece 600,000,001 is a looming in-your-face reinactment of the holocaust. The last piece was Mrs N's Palace, an enclosed room of saturated black sculpture within and without on the walls and even the ceiling. We were dying to cross the rope barrier and go inside. We fantasized hiding until the museum closed so the sculpture could be ours to explore. When we left the museum we talked about the mechanics of moving this installation. Would it fit on a truck? My daughter said, "No way. It's bigger than San Francisco." That was the feeling of Nevelson's sculpture, vast, powerful, assured, intense.

We walked a few blocks in twighlight and fog to a neighborhood bistro. We tried their specialty, warm spiced wine. The food was interesting, comfortable meant for nourishment and enjoyment, thankfully counter to the current trend of food that requires intellectual effort. We had used all of that up at the Nevelson exhibit. We wanted to enjoy being together, warm and cozy on a cold night.

The bistro didn't have pasta with vodka on the menu, although they had a delicious mac n'cheese as a side. If you get to see the Nevelson exhibit and return home to cook dinner, this is what I suggest.

Penne with Vodka and Spicy Tomato-Cream Sauce
From Patricial Wells Trattoria, William Morrow, 1993, 92-93

6-8 servings. You could easily cut this recipe in half and save the tomatoes for a soup or if you are like our family, a pasta dish later in the week.

1/4 cup olive oil
4 plump garlic cloves minced or put through garlic press
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers/hot red pepper flakes or to taste
sea salt
1 28 oz. can plum tomatoes in juice or crushed tomatoes in puree
1 pound dried Italian tubular pasta such as penne
2 TLBS vodka
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley snipped with a scissors

Combine oil, garlic, red peppers, salt in a large pan big enough to hold the pasta later. Cook over medium heat until garlic is golden 2 or so minutes. Don't let it brown or burn. Add tomatoes. If using tomatoes in puree add directly from the can. If using plum tomatoes crush through your hands into the pan. Stir to blend and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil water in a large pot, add 3 TBLS of salt (cook pasta in salt water like the sea) and cook the penne until tender but still firm. Drain in a colander.

Add the drained pasta to the pan with the tomato sauce. Toss. Add the vodka. Toss again. Add the cream. Toss again. Cover, reduce the heat to low, let rest for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the parsley and toss again. Transfer to warm soup bowls and serve immediately. Patrician Wells adds that cheese is not served with this dish, but I like to put a bowl of fresh parmesan on the table - it's your choice. She suggests a good quality red wine like a 2 - 3 year old chianti or California Zin.

Please offer a toast to Mrs. N.