Recipe(tried): Fettuccine Alfredo

Dear Ben,

Ah, yes. Fettuccine Alfredo: everyone's decadent favorite! Melting cheese can be tricky because it can "seize up" and then never melt at all and you end up with a gluey, stringy mess. Not to worry. Fettuccini Alfredo is much easier than it looks. This method comes from Foods of the World "The Cooking of Italy" by Time Life. Making the sauce this way, as they do in Italy, is virtually foolproof and will prevent the seizing up of the cheese.

8 tablespoons (1 quarter pound stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese
6 to 8 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound fettuccine
1 canned white truffle, sliced very thin (optional)
freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
[fresh nutmeg]

Cream 1/4 pound of softened butter by beating it vigorously against the sides of a heavy bowl with a wooden spoon until it is light and fluffy [I use my KitchenAid for this because I no longer have the endurance that this requires]. Beat in the cream a little at a time; and then, a few tablespoonsfull at a time, beat in 1/2 cup of grated cheese. [Note to Ben: parmigiano reggiano is perfect for this -- you did good.] Cover the bowl and set it aside -- in the refrigerator if the sauce is not to be used at once. If you do refrigerate the sauce, be sure to bring it to room temperature before tossing it with the fettuccine.

Set a large serving bowl or casserole in a 250 degree F oven to heat while you cook the fettuccine. Bring the water and salt to a bubbling boil in a large soup pot or kettle. Drop in the fettuccine and stir it gently with a wooden fork for a few moments to prevent the strands from sticking to one another or to the bottom of the pot. Boil over high heat, stirring occasionally . . . until the pasta is tender. (Test it by tasting; it should be soft but al dente -- that is, slightly resistant to the bite.) Immediately drain the fettuccine in a colander and lift the strands with 2 forks to make sure it is thoroughly drained. Transfer it at once to the hot serving bowl.

Add the creamed butter-and-cheese mixture and toss it with the fettuccine until every strand is well coated. Taste and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in optional thinly sliced white truffle. Serve the fettuccine at once. Pass the extra grated cheese in a separate bowl.

[My own notes. In Italy cooks do not sauce as generously as we do, and this recipe reflects that practice. If American style saucing is more to your taste, you may prefer to use less pasta or increase the sauce proportions. Also, while I was in Italy fettuccine al burro (as it is called there) is often served with a whisper of fresh nutmeg over the top and I absolutely love it that way.]

Buon appetito!

Marilyn