Fettuccine Alfredo

Spaghetti's other, better looking cousin

I very rarely see anyone making their own Alfredo sauce at home. It’s either from a jar or you’re just ordering Alfredo in a restaurant. I don’t know where this fear of making Alfredo comes from. Maybe it’s just that when most people think of a pasta dish, it includes a red sauce? I don’t know, but this Alfredo sauce recipe is hands down the best I’ve ever tasted.

And, you can create it with only a few ingredients from your local Trader Joe’s.

When I made it this week, I used linguine noodles. You can use fettuccine. You can use whatever you like. It’s really up to you. My wife likes linguine so, that’s what we used.

The base is heavy cream. Lots of it, too. But, it’s the butter and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese that create the flavor you’re longing for. And, the secret weapon is something you’d probably be surprised by – nutmeg. Yep, the same nutmeg you use to top off your rum and eggnog. This is the show stopper.

This recipe is so good and so easy, it’s almost unbelievable. Not to mention, it’s super affordable. You could order a $20 plate of fettuccine Alfredo from a nice Italian restaurant, and I guarantee you that you’ll be more impressed with the results from this recipe, than anything from a guy named Guido or Tommy.

It’s just as appropriate for a middle of the week, after soccer practice dinner as it is on a Saturday night with a glass of wine and your someone special. Everyone will love it, including the kids.

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This recipe feeds about 4-5 people.

Ingredients:

16 ounces fettuccine or linguini

12 ounces heavy cream

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Nutmeg to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Start your sauce with the heavy cream in a medium sized saucepan. The bottle of heavy cream I use from Trader Joe’s is 16 ounces so I don’t use the whole bottle. I use about ¾ of the bottle or about 12 ounces. (I usually just eye it and then save the remaining heavy cream for my coffee for the rest of the week. My favorite coffee shop, Peet’s Coffee, uses heavy cream instead of regular cream and it’s so much better.)

Warm the cream on medium heat and add the butter, stirring occasionally. Once the butter has completely melted, add about 1/3 of a cup of your cheese and stir it in with a fork, allowing it to melt completely. Repeat again with another 1/3 cup of cheese, saving the final 1/3 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of each plate before serving. Once everything is completely melted, turn the heat down slightly, so you don’t burn it.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, salting the water generously. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the package, until al dente. Drain pasta when done.

Place pasta in each person’s bowl, along with a healthy serving of sauce, topped with remaining cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

I usually serve this dish with steamed cauliflower. There’s something about the combination of the cauliflower and the Alfredo sauce that just seems perfect. You can eat the pasta all by itself or with chicken or your favorite steamed vegetable.

Enjoy!

Thank you and I hope you love this recipe. If you have any questions, email or DM me, or leave them in the comments of this post. Have a great week and I'll see you next Saturday with another amazing recipe.