Dracula’s Drunken Pasta

Place a large saute pan over medium heat. Drizzle in the olive oil and add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.

Once the butter has melted, add the minced shallot. Saute the shallot for 3 minutes, stirring often, until it begins to soften. Add the minced garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute for about 2 minutes until the garlic begins to turn golden in color.

Turn the heat off from under the saute pan and carefully pour the bottle of red wine into the pan. Turn the heat back on to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for 15-20 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, boil the pasta in salty water according to the package directions, minus 1 minute. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the water.

Once the red wine sauce has reduced, cube the cold butter and add it into the saute pan. Stir the sauce to melt the butter into it. Add the boiled noodles, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss to coat the noodles in the sauce and to stir in the cheese. Cook the noodles in the sauce for 1-2 minutes until the sauce has absorbed into the noodles and the cheese has melted.

Stir a few turns of freshly cracked black pepper into the noodles. Serve these drunken noodles with extra grated parmesan cheese on top and enjoy!