His inspiration for the sauce was a leftover half package of Philadelphia Cooking Cream*. Have you tried this stuff yet? It's got the flavor of cream cheese but the texture is more like that of mascarpone cheese. We bought it to use in our smoked salmon chowder & it made the chowder even better than the original version (richer, creamier) plus it incorporates so easily. After that success, Matt said he wanted to experiment with it in pasta sauce. It added a nice bit of tang that you wouldn't get from just cream & a luxurious thickness. I think this might be the perfect cream cheese to use in frosting, no waiting for it to reach room temp!
Matt's Busy Saturday Vodka Cream Sauce
1 T salted butter
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
few grinds black pepper
1/4 t dried basil
8 oz basic tomato sauce
splash of vodka
5 oz Philadelphia Cooking Cream
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the garlic, red pepper, black pepper & basil. Sauté for about a minute. Stir in the tomato sauce & vodka. Whisk in the cooking cream until incorporated. Heat through. Serve with your favorite pasta.
Makes 2 - 3 servings
* We did not receive the Philadelphia Cooking Cream for free or receive any sort of payment for writing about it. We just happened to pick it up at the store & liked it so, thought we'd share our thoughts about it with you.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski
I haven't seen that cooking cream but you can be sure I'll keep my eye's open for it. I love Gnocchi and this sauce sounds so good. Wish my hubby cooked! ;)
ReplyDeleteThat Philadelphia brand cooking cream caught my eye in the store last night, this looks like a great recipe to put it to use. Will have to check it out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMmmm,sounds like the perfect remedy to my late winter food rut. Where in the store did you find the cooking cream - near the cream cheese?
ReplyDeleteSorry about your accident and glad you guys are ok. The sauce looks delicious! I have not seen the cooking cream but have heard about it. I will have to try and find it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys are alright... fender benders are never fun!!
ReplyDeleteHave seen the cooking cream advertised, but haven't tried it yet. Is it similar to cream cheese whipped with a bit of milk?
Vodka sauce looks amazing... perfect quick evening meal, if you ask me.
Liz - Yup, it was right by the cream cheese. We were going to buy cream cheese for the soup when this caught our eye
ReplyDeletehello! i do love this sauce!
ReplyDeleteand so sorry about the accident :-(
but everyone is ok and that is what matters.
I haven't seen the cooking cream! This sauce sounds delightful and quick.
ReplyDeleteI like quick!
Yum! I make this type of sauce but not with these ingredients. I have to try this way for sure. We have not had it in so long.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the fender bender. That can be quite a hassle. I hope your insurance was good about everything.
What a great match for gnocchi. Hmm...that cream may be a good sub for an ingredient in some Brazilian recipes I have. I'll have to keep my eye out for it.
ReplyDeleteI love creamy Vodka tomato pasta sauce! There's something about alcohol that brings out good flavors in tomatoes. Sorry to hear about the fender bender, those events are always stressful. I hope you have your car back soon.
ReplyDeletethat looks so comforting! Especially after a bad day. I've seen those just recently at the store-they look interesting, and some nice flavor combos to choose from, too.
ReplyDeleteSo back to that salmon chowder; did you sub the "cooking cream" for the half & half? Completely, partly? On the fence whether to try that product but the convenience of it, stability with heat may make it try-worthy. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteStacy - I did it in addition to the half & half but you know I could just have subbed it completely & I think that would have worked great too.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of vodka sauce, but I have never tried it. Maybe this weekend. Where do you get Philadelphia cooking cream? What is it near (cheese or milk or what)? Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeletePhiladelphia Cooking Cream...I'll have to keep an eye out for it!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you want to cook off the vodka just a wee bit?
ReplyDeleteDiana - He only threw in a splash of vodka & then heated the sauce through so we were totally fine with it the way it was. If someone wanted to cook it off more they easily could.
ReplyDeleteWow...this sauce was really tasty and super fast to prepare! I was looking for ways to use the Philadelphia cooking cream. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
ReplyDeleteIf I can't find that cooking cream anywhere, do you think I could replace it with just cream cheese?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - It might be a little heavier but I don't see why not. Maybe start with a little less & let it blend in, taste & see if you want more. Also if you can get the whipped I would chose that.
ReplyDelete