2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. andouille sausage
1/2 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 shallot, if you have one handy
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 32 oz can crushed or whole tomatoes with juice
16 oz pasta, penne or bowtie preferably
1/3 cup half and half
handful of fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Slice sausage into bite size pieces. Heat 1 Tbs oil in skillet over medium-high heat and saute sausage until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Add white wine to the pan and deglaze drippings from pan, stir about 3-5 minutes to loosen. Reserve sauce.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, garlic, onion and shallots. Gently saute for 5 minutes. Add vodka to the pan. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes and reserved sauce from andouille. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to a simmer. Add andouille. Season with salt and pepper.
While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente.
Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Pass pasta with crusty bread and green salad.
