Crawfish Fettuccini in Vodka Cream Sauce

This came about after a long shopping trip to Wal-Mart on Easter Sunday afternoon...  we had originally planned on having lasagna but we stumbled across a large freezer of seafood and it threw our plans rather askew...  we made everything up from that point - the result (below) turned out surprisingly good.

• 12 oz Crawfish Tails (fresh preferred, but frozen work pretty well - I found some decent ones at a Wal-Mart Superstore)
• 1 Package/Box of Fettuccini (any good brand - or your favorite Pasta)
• 2 Cloves of Garlic (crushed or minced)
• 1 cup (or good handful) of chopped/ sliced mushrooms 
• green, red, yellow bell peppers - 1/4 of each pepper (diced)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (white or Vidalia)
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil (or however much you feel like at the time)
• 1 tsp ground Black pepper or to taste
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt  or to taste
• 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper or to taste
• 3/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese
• 3/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 3/4 cup heavy cream( can be replaced with plain yogurt - this might make it creamier)
• 3/4 cup of good Vodka (if you want an bit of a flavor, Lemon or Citrus flavored Vodka adds a nice bit to the sauce)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Add Olive oil to a medium/large pan already heated to medium.  

Add garlic, onions, peppers and mushrooms and sauté until the onions begin to caramelize.  
Some good additions to this also include some diced chili peppers and tomatoes, okra, black olives - 
at this point you can add a wide variety of veggies that would go well... improvising is fun!

Add the Crawfish tails (thawed if frozen), pepper, salt, paprika, cayenne, sugar and allow to simmer with the veggies and garlic until cooked.

Lower the heat and add the Vodka, cover and let simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes - stir frequently  - keep an eye on it while you're finishing the rest of the ingredients and don't let it get too dry. Let it simmer uncovered for the last minute or so - before you add the other ingredients. 

While the vodka and meat are simmering-  prepare the fettuccine according to the box or to your taste.  A typical box of dried fettuccine takes about 9 minutes to cook al Dente so get this going and let it cook while you mix the cream sauce...

Cream sauce -  mix the parmesan, Ricotta and heavy cream (or yogurt) together... I used a whisk to make sure it was mixed and fluffy but as long as it's mixed well you should be fine.

When the Vodka has simmered for 10 or 15 minutes (as stated above) add the cream sauce and blend it well with the meat.   Let this simmer on low for a few minutes (no more than 5 or so). 

I'd suggest at this point adding the cooked pasta and parsley to the sauce and mixing until the pasta and meat are covered.  Remove from the heat and serve warm.  Another suggestion is to toss the pasta and parsley with Olive Oil in a serving bowl and add the sauce on top.