Variation on a Classic: Short Ribs alla Vodka

Sometimes it's all about satisfying a craving. It could be a jones for a particular flavor: the deep spiciness of smoky chiles in a rojo sauce. Or the creamy, cheesy, oozy texture of mac and cheese or the aroma of a bolognese sauce simmering for hours on the stove. There are a few restaurant dishes that I get all dreamy about, too, like the beef tartare at Old Salt Marketplace, the Phnom Penh soup on Fridays at Ha & VL or Eric Joppie's pork chop with celeriac mash paired with whatever Randy has on cask at Bar Avignon.

Three Doors Down penne alla vodka.

One dish that knocked me off my feet the very first time I had it and still calls to me when I see it on their menu is the penne alla vodka at Hawthorne's Three Doors Down. Ignoring the fact that whenever I go there I also have to order their house Negroni, this pasta dish of penne smothered in a rich, creamy, tomatoey sauce with lovely, mild sausages that have simmered in that sauce for hours assuages a comfort craving like few others. The owners generously shared the recipe for that signature dish several years ago, and I've made it several times since.

Grass-fed beef short ribs from Old Salt.

Recently I had a couple of pounds of short ribs—my latest braised meat obsession—and wondered how they would work in place of the sausages.

In short? Like a dream. Simmering the meat in the sauce took a little longer, but once the ribs were fall-apart tender, all I had to do was remove the bones and chop the meat into bite-sized pieces before adding the cream to the sauce for the final simmer.

In this case, messing with a classic had a rewarding, and very duplicable, outcome.

Short Ribs alla Vodka

1 lb. penne
2-3 lbs. short ribs
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 28-oz. cans Italian tomatoes
1 c. vodka
1 c. heavy cream or sour cream
1 1/2 c. Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated

Salt and pepper the short ribs on all sides. In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or deep skillet, heat the olive oil until it shimmers. Add the short ribs and sear. Remove the short ribs to a separate plate. Over medium-low heat, add the onion and red pepper flakes to the remaining oil in the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the meat. Sauté until onion is translucent. Return the short ribs to the pan and add the vodka and tomatoes with their liquid and bring to a simmer for two hours.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the short ribs from the sauce. Remove the bones and any big chunks of fat. Chop or shred the meat into bite-sized chunks. Add the meat back to the sauce. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer, continuing to cook for another 30 minutes.

During this last stage of simmering the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain well and put the cooked pasta back into the pasta pot with the sauce and 2/3 cup of the parmesan. Combine, then put in serving bowl or serve in individual pasta bowls. Serve the remaining parmesan in a bowl at the table.

Drunken Noodles, Italian Style

There are some items on a menu that I simply must have or I kick myself for days afterward for not ordering: Kevin Gibson's deviled eggs at Evoe; the cornmeal crusted oysters at Bread & Ink Café; the charred brussels sprouts at Ned Ludd.

Another item on that list is the to-die-for penne alla vodka at Three Doors Down which, depending on the time of year or the whim of the chef, can change to tortiglioni or some other pasta, but the rich, reduced tomato sauce and outstanding house-made Italian sausages remain reassuringly the same.

They also considerately deemed to put the recipe for this addictively luscious dish on their website so that we may have it any time we've a mind to and there are Italian sausages in the fridge. This fortunate confluence of events happened here just last night, and the resulting dish was a fit-for-company triumph.

If time is an issue, the sausages could be boiled ahead of time and kept in the fridge, and the spoon-lickingly delicious sauce could be assembled to the point of adding the cream and then held for the final simmering and baking. But I'm telling you, whether you make it at home or see it on the menu the next time you go to the café, you'll be putting it on your must-have list.

Three Doors Down Penne alla Vodka

1 lb. penne
6 mild Italian sausages
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 28-oz. cans Italian tomatoes
1 c. vodka
1 c. whipping cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 c. Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
Fresh oregano, finely chopped, for sprinkling (optional)

In a large pot, bring water to boil. Add the sausage links and boil for 10 minutes. Remove the links and set aside. In a heavy-bottomed saute pan or skillet, melt the butter and add onion and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-low heat until onion is translucent. Stir in the whole tomatoes with liquid and simmer for one hour. Add the sausage links and vodka and continue to cook at a simmer for another hour. Turn the heat to high, add cream and tomato paste and stir constantly for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook for another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook, stirring frequently until molto al dente (about 1 minute from al dente-which is tender but firm to the bite). Drain well and toss pasta and sauce in casserole dish with 2/3 cup grated cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup cheese on top. Sprinkle with oregano and serve.

Make sure to serve with a nice crusty italian como or ciabatta bread for dunking in the sauce. We like to drizzle a tiny bit of extra virgin Olive oil over the top right before serving. This is a great dish for company.

Eating Well and Doing Good

As I've said innumerable times before, any excuse to not have to make dinner is good by me. So when I got an e-mail from my social-activist friend Sue that Basic Rights Oregon was having a Bites for Rights event where participating restaurants would donate 15% of their proceeds to the organization, I knew I'd hit the jackpot for that evening. I fired off an e-mail to my family and suggested it was our duty to head out there and rack up some serious charges.

And since we hadn't been to Three Doors Down in ages and I'd been looking for a reason to go, I was more than happy to find them on the list. We called ahead and put our names on their waiting list (hint, hint) and, once there, sat down at the bar to start our tab off with a bang. Two perfectly-made cocktails later (a negroni and a dry martini), we were seated at our table and the serious check-bulking began.

We started with two of their fine selection of extremely reasonably-priced appetizers. First came boquerones, or small, fresh anchovies, that were served on top of a crostini with pickled onions. These were beautiful little bites of fresh fishiness and the mild onions gave it just the right tang. The plate was drizzled with an incredible reduced balsamic syrup, but since there was no way to get this on the crostini, we had to use our fingers to taste it. The second plate was beef carpaccio (right, below) topped with shaved parmesan cheese and savoy cabbage with a lemon dressing and capers. The beef was meltingly sweet and so thinly sliced it practically melted on the tongue, though we pushed the salad aside to eat separately.

And now I need to admit that, while so far everything had gone well and we were more than happy, at this point we had finished our appetizers and now had to sit for a full hour until our entrées arrived. Tables that were seated after us were served and were practically finished, we'd nursed a glass of wine from our excellent bottle so as not to waste it before our food came and, to make it complete, our server was avoiding eye contact with us. And when our food actually got to the table all we heard was a cursory, "Gee, sorry it took so long." Fine.

That said (whew!), our entrees were quite wonderful though, sadly, it was too dark to take pictures. My citrus-marinated chicken on a bed of chard and polenta was mouth-wateringly good. Dave's pork chop with grilled asparagus was medium rare as it should be and they'd been happy to substitute roasted potatoes for the mashed, since he's off dairy these days. Mr. B was practically orgasmic over his penne alla vodka with sausages, the soft, creamy tomato sauce in a happy menage a trois with the mild sausages and pasta.

And though it took longer and was a bit more frustrating than we'd planned, we left feeling well-fed and socially redeemed from our evening's repast. And that's pretty good for one dinner out.

Details: Three Doors Down Café, 1429 SE 36th Ave. Phone 503-236-6886.