Food Snob

I'm not a picky eater in most respects. But when it comes to Italian food, I'm picky... really picky.(Don't even suggest Olive Garden around me.) Recently, I was released from the YW Presidency and put on the Enrichment committee. Within two days of my sustaining, I was somehow volunteered to make an "authentic" alfredo sauce for our holiday activity. So I had a major problem. I take pride in my ability to make good authentic Italian food, especially sauces. There isn't much authentic about alfredo sauce. It's pretty much an American invention. In 18 months of living in Italy, I was NEVER served an alfredo sauce. So what do you do? I found a recipe from my favorite American Italian cook, Giada De Laurentiis (thanks Mom for the cookbook!). If anyone can make an American invention seem almost authentic she can.

So here's the recipe. I promised to post this for some ward members and it was an easy post for tonight. It is by no means healthy, but it is yummy!!

Fettucine Alfredo

1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
6 T unsalted butter
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt
9 ounces fresh fettucine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, more to taste

In a large, heavy skillet, stir 1 cup of the cream and lemon juice to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until the butter melts, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and nutmeg. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 4 minutes. Drain. Add the pasta, the remaining 1/2 cup cream, the Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to the cream sauce in the skilliet. Toss over lower heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to wide, shallow serving bowls and serve immediately.

Note: Because I made this recipe for a large group we did not follow the recipe exactly. We obviously didn't use fresh pasta, so I skipped the part about making the rest of the sauce with the cooked noodles. But it was still very good. I was also in a hurry to get it to thicken, so I added more cheese. Seriously, can you go wrong with more cheese?