December 4th: Mushroom Alfredo

Who knew Alfredo sauce is so simple? It’s just butter and cream heated together. Seriously. Why do they sell jars of this stuff? I found this basic recipe on epicurious: Fettuccine Alfredo, and made my own riff on it:

Mushroom Alfredo

350 g fresh fettuccine

1 tbsp each unsalted butter and olive oil

1 lb assorted mushrooms, sliced

2-4 garlic cloves (to taste), finely chopped

¾ cup half and half (10%) cream

6 tbsps unsalted butter

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions, approximately 5 minutes. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain pasta.

Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add cream and butter and heat through, simmering gently. Stir in ¼ cup reserved cooking water, cooked pasta, and Parmesan cheese. Thin with more water if necessary.

Serve and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

 

 

Greg thought this was good enough to sell (as in, in a restaurant). Booyah.