Vodka sauce Vodka sauce Vodka sauce is an American cuisine sauce made from a smooth tomato sauce, vodka, typical Italian herbs and heavy cream, which gives the sauce its distinctive orange coloration. It gained popularity in the 1970s, when a variation won a national recipe contest in Italy, although it may well have been a sauce before its popularization in the 1970s. It is a key ingredient in penne alla vodka. The vodka's function is, ostensibly, to release flavors in the tomato that are normally inaccessible; using alcoholic beverages for this purpose is common in Italian cooking, although usually accomplished with wine.
Garlic sauce in various cuisines. Mujdei is a spicy sauce in Romanian cuisine made from garlic cloves crushed and ground into a paste, salted and mixed with water and vegetable oil. Sunflower oil is almost always used. Skordalia is a thick puree (or sauce, dip, spread, etc.) in Greek cuisine made by combining crushed garlic with a bulky base—which may be a purée of potatoes, walnuts, almonds, or liquid-soaked stale bread—and then beating in olive oil to make a smooth emulsion. Vinegar is often added. Ta'leya is a garlic sauce in Egyptian cuisine made by frying garlic and adding vinegar and spices.