Fettuccine Alfredo

I made this for my daughter yesterday because she’d requested it for her twelfth birthday back in June and I’d told her “No! You’ll get nothing and like it!” Then yesterday, three weeks after that dark day, I felt a little bad. So I decided to make her favorite pasta in the whole world. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I was craving Fettuccine Alfredo like a sonofagun.

Fettuccine Alfredo. There’s nothing good about it, except for how good it is. It’s evil, ridiculous, and an affront to good sense…but look at the bright side: one recipe will feed over 800 people! It’s true. One bite pretty much fulfills a 200-pound human’s daily caloric requirements.

This is close to “real” Fettuccine Alfredo, though I think reports vary as to what “real” Fettucine Alfredo is. I remember reading the original recipe, which was made by a man in Rome named Alfredo. Isn’t that just a CRAZY coincidence? Anyway, Alfredo’s wife had morning sickness and couldn’t keep anything down, so he mushed together a bunch of softened butter and grated Parmesan cheese, tossed it in warm pasta, and she ate herself through her entire pregnancy.

Or so the story goes.

The first time I had “real” Fettuccine Alfredo, however, I was in New York City, which might as well have been the Fettuccine Alfredo capital of the world, it was so darn divine. I was in the seventh grade and I watched as the waiter wheeled a cart to our table—a cart holding four ingredients: a platter full of piping hot pasta (drained only seconds earlier), a plate of butter, a pitcher of cream, and scads of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. And I watched a miracle occur as the waiter carefully added the ingredients to the piping hot pasta, swirling the pasta gently with a large fork and its heat melted and warmed the other ingredients into a sauce the likes of which I’d never imagined was possible on this earth.

I’ve been attempting to recreate the experience ever since.

(And could I please say “Fettuccine Alfredo” one more time today?)

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

You need butter. Regular, salted butter.

FYI, I never use unsalted butter except in the occasional cake or cookie recipe. But cooking? NEVER!

Cream. Heavy cream. Not milk. Not half and half.

You need plenty of Parmesan cheese. Aside from the obvious inconvenience of making me go up a jean size, I love Fettuccine Alfredo because it allows me to clean my fridge out of all the miscellaneous Parmesan pieces.

You’ll also need…Fettuccine!

I’ve talked before about my weakness when it comes to collecting fancy, artisan dried pasta. It hasn’t gotten any better.

Okay, go ahead and grate the Parmesan. You’ll need abut 2 cups.

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta, and cook the pasta until al dente.

Then grab a skillet or saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. (Low if your stove gets hot.)

Melt 1 stick of butter in the skillet…

Then pour in an equal amount of cream.

You might as well just surrender and let this happen.

Whisk it together gently, and just allow the mixture to warm up and get happy.

At this point, I’ll season the sauce a bit—a dash of salt (though with all the Parmesan, it doesn’t need much), plenty of freshly ground black pepper. I don’t like to do much more than that, as the standalone flavor of the Parmesan is enough!

I do sometimes sprinkle in just a little bit of nutmeg if I’m not making it for my girl. But she’s not a big fan of nutmeg in savory dishes.

Ungrateful little urchin!

Just before the pasta is ready, stick in a metal measuring cup and retrieve some of the pasta water. We’ll use it later to thin the sauce if it’s a little gloopy.

Now, grab a big serving bowl. We’re just gonna do this right here.

Sprinkle half the Parmesan right into the bowl.

Then just pour the warm, creamy butter/cream mixture right in.

This is so criminal.

Don’t stir it. Just let it sit and get acquainted.

Now drain the pasta…

And immediately pour it, steaming hot, right into the bowl with the other ingredients.

Then, with tongs, gently toss it to combine.

After you give it a couple of tosses, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan.

For obvious reasons, this is really fun to make for company. Just mix it all up right at the dinner table!

Important: if it gets overly thick and gloopy, splash in some of the warm pasta water. It’ll bring it to the perfect consistency.

I give it a sprinkle of black pepper just before serving. You could certainly sprinkle it with chopped parsley or chives…but I really like just leaving it unadulterated.

Keep in mind that this is very, very rich. Honestly, as a main dish, this quantity would serve at least six. As an accompaniment for tenderloin, steaks, or grilled chicken, it’ll go even farther.

If you like Fettuccine Alfredo, you’ll fall in love with this one.

Enjoy!

Fettucine Alfredo

1 pound fettuccine
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
dash of salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a saucepan or skillet, warm butter and cream. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Grate Parmesan cheese and place half of it into a large serving bowl. Pour warm butter/cream mixture over the top.
Drain pasta and immediately pour it into the bowl.
Toss a couple of times, then sprinkle in the other half of the Parmesan. Toss to combine, thinning with pasta water if necessary.
Serve immediately as a main course or accompaniment to meat or salad.

Homemade Fettuccine with Garlic and Oil

Well, after the ravioli, we had the paster maker dusted off and were ready to use it again. We ditched the idea of more ravioli, as they are not the quickest things in the world, and went with a plain fettuccine. The difference between fresh pasta and dried is huge… once you’ve made some you’ll have a hard time going back. Trust me.

This recipe was very simple, and quite good. Sometimes you don’t need gobs of sauce with tons of spices and flavors, and such is the case with this pasta.

Homemade Fettuccine with Garlic and Oil

Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS
For pasta:
4 eggs
3-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

For sauce:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground pepper
smoked paprika & parmesan for garnish

DIRECTIONS
To make pasta, either build a well out of flour and slowly stir in eggs (more info here) or mix in a food processor or stand mixer. You want the dough to just barely stick together into a smooth ball, but do not add any more liquid than necessary. Split into two, form into balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Roll out with a pasta roller until thin, then cut into fettuccine (follow manufacturers directions for whatever pasta roller you have.) Add pasta to a pot of salted, boiling water and stir to break up. Cook until al-dente, about 4-5 minutes.

For sauce, heat the oil and garlic over medium heat in a heavy saucepan until the garlic begins to turn pale gold, about 1-2 minutes (Do not burn!). Remove the pan from the heat and add 3/4 of the parsley, salt & pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce in a separate bowl and toss until all the pasta is coated.

Serve and sprinkle with the remaining parsley, Parmesan, and smoked paprika. Serve immediately.

Baby Portobello Fettuccine

Now this would have been the recipe to break out the pasta maker. It was delicious, but could have been even more so with freshly made pasta. Maybe we’ll make it again this week, and post about the results.

We added thyme and hazelnuts to the original recipe, and used baby portobello mushrooms instead of Porcini (for affordability reasons and the fact our store didn’t have porcini… it’s not like we even had a choice). I’m sure any mix of mushrooms would suffice for this dish – which is true proof that pasta doesn’t need to be slathered in sauce to be good.

Baby Portobello Fettuccine

Makes 4 servings.
Recipe inspired by 101cookbooks.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 fresh porcini mushrooms, chopped (1-2 cups)
fine grain sea salt
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound fresh egg fettuccine noodles
scant 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in your largest skillet over high heat. Add the mushrooms and a big pinch of salt. Saute the mushrooms until they release their liquid and begin to brown. Now stir in the garlic and 1/2 of the thyme and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Remove from heat and set the skillet aside.

Salt the pot of water generously and cook the fettuccine noodles according to package instructions. Drain. Transfer the noodles to the skillet with mushrooms, and stir in the black pepper, cheese, lemon zest, hazelnuts and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and thyme. Sprinkle with cheese and enjoy!

Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Bacon

I swear, once you’ve gotten used to fresh, homemade pasta, it is awfully hard to go back to the dried stuff.

This recipe originally called for thick sliced pancetta, cubed and cooked until crispy, like croutons. Too bad for us the only pancetta in the store is paper thin and way overpriced. So we used some bacon, cooked until crispy. Not bad, though I do wonder how the pancetta croutons would improve it? It’s a little short on flavor – and if it weren’t for the fresh pasta, we might have deemed this one a failure. The potential is there, it just needs some work.

We make a good team in the kitchen, Taylor and I. For this recipe, you have Taylor at the stove dealing with the pasta water and bacon – anything cooked, boiled, or protein-packed. I sometimes call myself his sous-chef—I do all the chopping, dicing, slicing, washing, prepping, dressings, sauces, marinades, pasta-making… and he does all the heavy lifting. It works, and we’re not stepping on each other’s toes trying to man the same stations in the kitchen. Even more perfect is when the food is finished, I plate it and scurry away to photograph the dish by the sliding glass door (hello, natural light!). By the time I’ve got the money shot, he’s got the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned and sparkling. Yes, a man who does the dishes. Isn’t it a wonderful thing? I should get a photo of it to prove it’s not a myth…

Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Bacon

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit. Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
4 oz. bacon or thick sliced pancetta
5 1/2 cups 1-inch broccoli florets (from 1 pound broccoli crowns)
9 ounces fresh or dried fettuccine
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Sauté bacon or pancetta in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until almost crisp and brown. Transfer to paper towels.

Cook broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to medium bowl. Add pasta to same boiling water; cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta; return to same pot. Add next 5 ingredients. Toss over low heat to coat. Add pancetta, broccoli, and cheese; toss to blend. Season pasta with pepper.