my sweet mother in law

A lot of ladies can have an unfortunate and hateful relationships with their MIL’s- like, you married my son and now I hate you! Not so with me and Mama P. She’s about 5 feet tall, looks a LOT like Bette Midler and she is so excellent. She also makes some of the most delicious food I have ever tasted in my life. Like, honestly… the thought of her Alfredo sauce makes my heart race. Probably because she adds enough butter to give me a heart attack. But whatever – it’s delicious as is every single thing she puts on the table. Even her eggs. Like how did you make these basted eggs SO good? What did you do??! One time, I stated that I had a hankering for hot chocolate and that I was going to go get some. But Mama P said, “no honey, I’ll make you some.” If you’re thinking I got a cup of Swiss Miss, you are so wrong. She brought me in giant-ass mug filled to the brim with homemade hot chocolate made from melted chocolate and heavy cream and full size marshmallows. She just whipped it up. She doesn’t screw around. It was the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had – I could cry thinking about it. Tears of happiness, of course.

Four years ago, two days before my birthday, was the first time Bill brought me home to meet his parents. Mama P made a pot roast, mashed potatoes and a pumpkin cheesecake for my birthday. I was all like “When can I come back? Oh, tomorrow? Cool.”

So I did. I went back the next day and Mama P made rigatoni with chicken in vodka sauce.  At that point in my life,  I had the mentality that pasta was the devil. So what now? This vodka sauce is staring me in the face and it smells DELICIOUS. So I ate a few bites.

Then I ate a few more.

Then I had two plates.

This is one of my very favorite dishes of hers and while Mama P. has shared a lot of coveted recipes with me, she never gave me the vodka sauce recipe. But at my bridal shower, my mother started a book of recipes and asked all the guests to fork over their favorites. When I opened the book, there it was. Mama P’s vodka sauce. I almost died. Since then, I’ve made it twice and it just doesn’t taste as good as hers does. I don’t know if it ever will, to be honest, but I’m okay with. It gives me an excuse to go over her house and beg for vodka rigatoni and hot chocolate.

Being part of Mama P’s family now, I can’t share the EXACT recipe with you. But I will give you a close variation of it for you to enjoy.

1lb prosciutto, diced small

2 tbsp. butter

1 pint of light cream

1 jar Prego tomato sauce

Few dashes of hot sauce

¼ grated cheese

Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

1lb rigatoni or tubey pasta of your choice

Boil and cook pasta till al dente.

Brown prosciutto in butter and garlic powder. Add tomato sauce till heated through. Add light cream and heat through again. Add grated cheese, hot sauce, salt and pepper and mix through.  Add pasta and mix together.

You’ll notice the real secret to vodka sauce according to Mama P is NO vodka! Suckas! This recipe is also great with shrimp, chicken and peas.