Nick and Toni's Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

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"restaurant quality and the best thing you've ever made me" is what my boyfriend told me. rave reviews from him and the family. It is alittle on the spicy side but it was perfect. it makes more than enough sauce for 3/4 lb of penne...so make sure you cook the full 1 lb box. a few things i did differently: I didnt cook it the full 90 mins, just about 50 is fine. I didn't add the penne or the cheese in the sauce, I let the guests serve themselves. I used one can san marzano plums (because those are the most expensive and one can of Hunt's. I added an extra clove of garlic as well and used high quality vodka even though the quality of vodka in cooking doesnt matter since its a neutral tasting alcohol.
all in all, this sauce is restaurant quality and is super good!! thanks Ina.

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Oh wow! This was fantastic!!!!! The sauce is so rich and creamy, it really does make a huge difference if you puree it before mixing it with the pasta. Full of flavor and absolutely delicious!! Yum. Yum. Yum. I did use one minor change, I had no vodka, so I used red wine as a substitute. Don't know if that makes a whole lot of difference, but the meal still turned out great. No need for meat, the pasta is filling by itself!

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Fantastic recipe - I make this all time for weeknight dinners and casual meals with friends. So easy and perfect to prep ahead on busy days. I always receive kind compliments when I prepare this dish.

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I love it

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Wonderful! I am not quite sure about the reviewers who didn't have success. I used regular old canned tomatoes, not the best quality vodka and it was still the best vodka sauce I have ever tasted. My hubby (who really isn't into creamy sauces went nuts over this. My tips for those who didn't have the best sauce is: 1. Salt the sauce before you roast in the oven and taste it again after you puree and salt again if need be, just taste it! 2. Heavily salt the pasta water before cooking and, 3. If you are using regular canned tomatoes, just add a pinch of sugar (just a pinch as you can always add more to bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes and drive away the acidity. Enjoy!

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Sorry Honeyeyes1, but this is an amazing repeatable recipe. I've made this several times, with penne, or with homemade gnocchi, and it always delivers. I recommend this to anyone who loves vodka rosa sauces.

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This is an excellent recipe. I consider myself a "beginner cook" but this recipe was very simple and easy to follow. I have made it three times and each time it came out excellent. My mother is extremely picky about her sauces, but she absolutely loved this. It says to cook it for 1 1/2 hours but I cooked it for about 1 hr and 10 minutes instead. I feel that if I cooked it the full length of time there wouldn't have been much sauce left. Enjoy this recipe!

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I was so excited to make this because I had never made a vodka cream sauce and I am a very skilled cook, but this fell flat for my husband and I. The sauce consistency was perfect, cooked up the way it was supposed to. I followed the recipe to a T except made 1 pound penne (still very saucy. I used excellent vodka (Grey Goose, fresh parm. and it was just bland with a bit of heat and yes I used Cento San Marzano tomatoes. I usually enjoy Ina's dishes, but not this one. Our Bassett Hound finished the remaining dish for real, I guess 1 out of 3 isn't bad LOL. Happy cooking to all! :

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This is a really good version. I added fresh oregano and just a tbsp. It is an excellent penne vodka recipe.

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So delicious and easy. My husband doesn't usually care for pastas with tomato based sauce, but he loved this pasta! I had to substitute fresh basil for the fresh oregano because that's what I had on hand and it was great.