I adore this recipe, and so do thousands of readers.
Every time I’m tempted to mount my high horse and declare that I don’t need a recipe, I remind myself of the time I tried to make pasta alla vodka without any guidance. (You can probably guess where this is going.) I didn’t cook the sauce long enough, nor did I add enough cream to balance the vodka, and ended up with something like a warm Bloody Mary poured over pasta. It was certainly very boozy, but it wasn’t very delicious.
I really could have used Eric Kim’s recipe for ricotta pasta alla vodka, a glossy, creamy, spicy pasta dinner that comes together in less than an hour. Inspired by the version once served at Caffe Falai in the NoLIta section of Manhattan (the restaurant is now closed), Eric adds happy dollops of cool ricotta, creating a nice flavor and temperature contrast with the hot pasta. I never would have thought of adding ricotta; now I can’t imagine the dish without it. Recipes — they’re clever that way.
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Ricotta Pasta Alla Vodka
In theory, I don’t really need a recipe to make a smoked mackerel, lettuce and tomato sandwich, but it wouldn’t have occurred to me to spread butter on one piece of bread and mayonnaise on the other for that perfect combination of salty, tangy creaminess. That’s pure Ham El-Waylly genius.
I’m also grateful for Kay Chun’s recipe for pernil-style roasted chicken thighs, which allows me to get the ratio of orange and lime juices, garlic, oregano and onion powder just right. Same goes for this shrimp and corn chowder from Vivian Chan-Tam, which nails the balance of smoky bacon, sweet corn and just enough milk and flour to give the whole thing some body.
Happy Oktoberfest! Should you need some festive dishes to pair with your German lager, we have a collection of Oktoberfest recipes right here. Might I suggest these sheet-pan sausages and brussels sprouts with honey mustard, or our best currywurst?
And finally, two recipes I follow to the letter: these beautiful, plush milk bread pull-apart rolls from Naz Deravian, and Becky Hughes’s vegan Caesar salad with crisp chickpeas. The rolls because I will never be brave (foolish?) enough to try to make bread without kind, helpful instruction, and the salad because I have yet to find a more delicious Caesar dressing, vegan or no.
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