There’s a lot more to being Italian than the typical stereotypes that we have come to know from movies, television and books. From the Catholic mobsters who kill during the week but always make it to mass on Sunday, to the “how you doin” views of Joey from the television show “Friends”, people often forget the more important parts of being Italian. It is a culture like no other, full of history, art, and most importantly, their passion for food. Italian food, in my opinion, is the best in the world. Italians put so much into everything they make that the time and effort is tasted with every single bite. One of my favorite dishes would have to be fettuccine alfredo and it just happens to be a fairly easy, but extremely delicious, dish to make.
Trust me, if I can make it, you can make it. The most important part of Italian cooking is the ingredients. Quality makes a huge difference in the outcome of any dish. For fettuccine alfredo you need: one pound of uncooked fettuccine, two cups of finely grated parmesan or romano cheese, one pint of either heavy cream or half and half, one egg yolk and one teaspoon of butter. This will make enough food for four people so keep that in mind when you are shopping for ingredients. For the best outcome, use heavy cream and the best cheese you can find.
These choices make a huge difference with the outcome of the sauce. Using half and half is a good way to cut some calories, but the sauce will not come out as creamy as it would if you were to use heavy cream. Another delicious addition to this recipe is add pieces of chicken breast to the finished product. Purchasing already cooked chicken breast strips, found in your grocers freezer, will save you a lot of time in the making of this dish. With our ingredients all selected, it is time to get cooking. Grab your favorite sauce pan and fill with six to eight cups of lightly salted water on high heat.
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Bring that to a boil and add your pound of fettuccine, lowering the heat to medium and stirring frequently. You can either follow the instructions on the box to figure out when your fettuccine is ready or you can go by the more traditional, old fashioned way. My Grandma taught me at a young age how to tell when pasta is ready. Pasta is supposed to be cooked al dent e, which translated means to the tooth, meaning the pasta should be cooked until it is nice and soft on the outside but still a little hard inside. To tell when pasta is at this stage, simply take a strand out of the pot and toss it against a wall. If it sticks, it’s al dent e and ready to be drained.
If it falls to the floor, give the remaining pieces a little more cooking time. Now that your fettuccine is sticking to the wall, drain it and place the pasta back in the pot adding the teaspoon of butter. Stir the butter until it has completely melted, as this keeps the pasta from sticking to itself. Now place your pot back on the stove with the heat off for now. Before continuing make sure all your ingredients are out, nearby and ready for use because the next few steps happen quickly and the outcome of the whole dish resides on the making of the sauce. If you do not follow these steps exactly, the ingredients will not mix and you will end up with buttered noodles swimming in cream accompanied by cheese chunks, as I have experienced on a couple of occasions.
Turn the stove back on high, and immediately add the pint of cream to the buttered fettuccine and stir. Add the egg yolk, and keep stirring until it completely mixes into the cream. Eventually, this will start to boil. Once you notice this it is almost time to add your cheese. I suggest allowing the cream to boil for an extra minute because if it is not hot enough you will end up with swimming noodles.
When it is time grab your cheese in one hand, spoon in the other and slowly begin to add the cheese, making sure that you never stop stirring your pasta. Keep this up until all the cheese is in the cream and keep stirring. After all the cheese has melted, turn your heat off. This is the point where you add the chicken to your sauce, stirring everything together. The sauce might look a little bit watery at first, but that is completely normal. Place a cover on the pot and let it stand for a couple of minutes while it thickens.
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When the sauce is nice and thick, it is ready to eat. Sprinkling some black pepper on the alfredo adds a little zest, and garlic bread is a wonderful side to this meal. There you have it, fettuccine alfredo. Please do not get discouraged if it does not turn out properly on your first try, it takes a while to perfect this recipe. If you work at it, making this dish will become a second nature to you. Trust me it’s worth the time and effort.
I invite you to try this recipe and bring a little piece of Italy into your kitchen. As we Italians say, tutti a tav ola a man gare, which means everyone come to our table and eat. I hope you enjoy this recipe. Ciao!
