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.
Bolognese sauce is often used for lasagna, whereas in Bologna (and elsewhere in Italy) "ragù alla bolognese" is used. Bolognese sauce Bolognese sauce (, ; known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese, , ragù bolognese, or simply ragù) is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna, Italy, hence the name. In Italian cuisine, it is customarily used to dress "tagliatelle al ragù" and to prepare "lasagne alla bolognese". In the absence of tagliatelle, it can also be used with other broad, flat pasta shapes, such as pappardelle or fettuccine. Genuine "ragù alla bolognese" is a slowly cooked sauce, and its preparation involves several