Dinner with Girl Friends

Friday night I had a number of "fitness" friends join us for dinner. We had Vodka sauce on penne as the main course, a lightened version that tastes as good as the original. Everyone loved it.

Vodka Sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 lb prosciutto, chopped
6 oz vodka
10 garlic cloves, chopped or put through a garlic press
2 cans San Marzano Tomatoes, chopped in the food processor, or by hand ( you may use other canned tomatoes, but the flavor of the San Marzanos is superior) or 3 – 4 lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled (buy the reduced ones that are over ripe)
8 leaves snipped basil (more if you’d like, I do use extra)
1 t. dried sage (or 1T fresh, snipped)
2 cups fat free half and half
2T fresh snipped parsley, 1 t dried oregano
2 small cans, or 1 medium can tomato paste
8-12 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms, optional

Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil, add prosciutto, mix in and sauté for another 3 minutes. Add the vodka, sauté 3 min, and then light with a long match while stirring. I've never tried omitting this step, but you probably could, just saute the meat a bit longer. After the flames subside, stir in the plum tomatoes, basil, fresh parsley, oregano, sage and pepper to taste. Cook 30 minutes or longer, uncovered most of the time. Add tomato paste and heat through. Add mushrooms (optional) and cook until tender. Add the half and half; do not boil after this addition. Serve over penne for a traditional presentation.
For fancier serving, remove some sauce before adding the half and half and put some of the red sauce on the top of each serving (add some hot sauce to this also, if you’d like).

I also made some foccacia, very easy with store bought pizza dough. Use a pound of purchased dough, spread it in a circle on a baking sheet, or, even better, a pizza stone. Pierce in several places with a fork. Cover it with plastic wrap and then a towel, let it rise for several hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush some good extra virgin olive oil on the dough, then sprinkle on some Kosher salt, oregano and rosemary (dried). You may also finely chop a tomato and put it on top also. Bake for about 20 minutes, check it after 15. Let it rest on the counter for a few minutes before cutting it up. Serve with some olive oil and good balsamic vinegar on the side, for dipping.

A nice big salad, with a low fat dressing made the meal complete.