Jessica's Penne and Vodka Sauce

In January I went to visit my sister-in-law in Seattle and she made us the most delicious dinner: Penne with Italian Turkey Sausage and Vodka Sauce. I've had Vodka sauce before and never really liked it that much but this was fantastic! I asked her to share it with me so I could make it at home.  Jessica has said that if you can't find ground Italian turkey sausage, try turkey breakfast sausage patties if you don't want to squeeze the meat out of the links.

I made mine with spaghetti because that's what we had on hand and served with a side of roasted garlic broccoli (recipe to follow.)

*Recipe makes a lot of sauce, about 8 servings so plan on left overs.

1 pound penne pasta
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you want it a little spicy)
1 (28) oz can of crushed tomatoes
3/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons vodka
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream *I can't eat dairy, so I replaced this with plain soy coffee cream*
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Cook pasta until al dente.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and stir to crumble. Stir occasionally until browned.
3. Remove cooked sausage and set aside.  Add olive oil and heat.
4. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to pan, stirring until garlic begins to brown.
5. Add tomatoes and salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Toss in vodka, cream, parsley and sausage.  Stir and serve over hot pasta.