Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo sauce is by far my favorite pasta sauce. I like it served simply over some fettuccine, sometimes even with some grilled chicken and steamed broccoli on top. It makes a great dipping sauce for bread sticks. It tastes great as the sauce on a pizza with garlic and spinach. It even goes well in a pan of lasagna with mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini.

The keys to a good Alfredo sauce are quality ingredients and patience. By quality ingredients, I mean whole butter and an excellent quality Parmesan cheese. Stay away from the pasta aisle in your supermarket when looking for the cheese. Instead, head over to the deli and get the good stuff. This is definitely the time and place to splurge. In addition to tasting better, the real stuff will melt better and leave you with a smooth sauce, whereas the cheap stuff from aisle 6 will leave your sauce gritty.

This sauce needs to cook slowly. I never let the sauce boil. I cook it over very low heat and stir it continuously to prevent scorching the cream. I also add a little cream cheese to help smooth out the flavor and thicken the sauce slightly. If this sauce gets too hot, it can curdle or separate, neither of which is appealing to look at or taste.


Alfredo Sauce

2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic (optional for some, a must for me)
12 oz heavy cream
2 oz cream cheese
8 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In medium saucepan over very low heat, melt butter. Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes, or until garlic is softened. Add cream.

As soon as cream mixture begins to steam, add cream cheese and stir continuously to melt. Add Parmesan cheese and continue stirring until completely melted and sauce is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg and pepper (no need to add salt, the Parmesan has plenty of that). Use immediately.