Penne alla vodka

Penne alla vodka is a pasta dish of penne in vodka sauce: a tomato and cream sauce with some vodka, and sometimes small meats and vegetables such as sausage, pancetta or peas. Sometimes other pasta shapes are used. The alcohol is said to intensify and accentuate flavors in the dish, the alcohol would normally cook off as in most cooking and the dish would not necessarily contain any alcohol. It is usually topped with grated Parmesan cheese in amount as desired, as with ground pepper. The recipe became very popular in Italy and in the United States around the 1980s, when it was offered to discothèque customers. The recipe thus became an icon of the fashionable cuisine of the time, which preferred the use of cream in first courses. Penne alla vodka remains popular in Italian-American cuisine.

Source: Wikipedia