"Penne alla vodka," as many a restaurant menu, recipe, or catering spread will call it, was one of the quintessential dishes present at practically every cherished family dinner when we went out to eat at an New Jersey Italian-American restaurant (it was my brother's go-to order for years and years), as well as a primary fixture at nearly every formal occasion I've ever attended. A simple, rich dish that differentiates from standard marinara in ingredients, taste, color and even texture, vodka sauce is a dependable, reliable sauce that never goes out of style.
Why is it, then, that so many seem spooked at the idea of making it at home?
