When Nikki Boyer’s best friend, Molly Kochan, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Nikki’s life changed forever. She began to document Molly’s final years in earnest, culminating in an award-winning podcast Dying For Sex. Today, Nikki discusses what that journey was like for her, her love of pasta and carbs, how conversations surrounding death sometimes make for the best discussions, and her new podcast Near Death. 

You can follow Kelly Rizzo on all platforms @eattravelrock for clips or BTS footage from the podcast. Nikki’s podcast Near Death is streaming now on all podcast platforms and you can follow her on socials @nikkiboyer.

Penne a la Vodka Recipe

1. Add some oil into a hot pan with some finely diced onion. 


2. Once the onion cooks down a bit and becomes translucent, add some garlic and chili flakes and let that cook for a couple minutes - we don’t want the garlic to burn so keep an eye on it. 


3. Add some tomato paste and stir that in. Let it cook down for a couple more minutes so we get that nice earthy flavor. 


4. In the meantime, boil some water with a lot of salt and cook your penne - when that’s done be sure to save some of your pasta water. 


5. Once everything in the pan is nice and combined, we’re gonna add some vodka. 


6. Let that vodka cook down, we want to cook out all the alcohol so it doesn’t taste like a cocktail! 


7. Then, stir in some heavy cream, add your pasta, pasta water, and a whole bunch of parmesan cheese and you’re ready to eat!

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