Alfredo Sauce? Your tips and recipes.

[MarciMellow]

by cream do you mean heavy cream? or whipping cream? because that's all that I've been able to find.

but I have been having problems getting the cheese to melt... is there a good way to get the cheese to fully melt? I've only made it a couple times so I'm still pretty new at this.

 

[kitchenelf]

I went shopping today and somehow have 2 cents left So here's mine!

There's the original way where you toss some freshly cooked fettuccini on a plate with butter, garlic, Parmesan cheese and sometimes an egg yolk. Toss together and you have an original version - or so they say.

The version I use, customary for here, is I saute some chopped garlic in a bit of butter, add heavy cream and reduce, reduce, reduce - keeping foaming down by blowing on it when it forms. Add salt, white pepper, Parmesan cheese. Let it cook down. Adjust seasoning. If it needs more salt add it; if it needs more Parm add it, etc.

Toss in noodles to heat through and serve. Top with additional cheese if that's what you want.

To add some variety I will make this with cheese tortellini and while cooking I will add chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Somewhere along the line I started adding frozen English peas and it turned out quite tasty - I feel sure it was a way to get a vegetable in there. If you have a stove top smoker smoke some diver scallops, saute some andoulli sausage - at the end add those two things and heat through. THAT is a real treat. Add the sausage early enough to impart the flavor in the cream.

These are all variations while still using the original Alfredo recipe - since this isn't baking, experimentation is a wonderful thing! The smoke scallops and Andouille was a real winner.

 

[kitchenelf]

by cream do you mean heavy cream? or whipping cream? because that's all that I've been able to find.

but I have been having problems getting the cheese to melt... is there a good way to get the cheese to fully melt? I've only made it a couple times so I'm still pretty new at this.

I'm not sure the cheese fully melts - it's not like a bechemel for macaroni and cheese. It's not going to be quite that smooth. Just heat it a little longer while stirring frequently is my best suggestion. Some alfredo sauces are smooth because the add cream cheese to them - DON'T - just let the Parm cheese melt as much as possible.

 

[shannon in KS]

Here is my no-fail recipe:

Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 to 2 cups cream, depending on desired consistency
2 cups real parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
crushed garlic
parsley
fresh lemon
cracked pepper

Saute garlic in butter. Add cream and parmesan and heat until cheese is melted. Whisk in egg yolks and heat another 5 minutes until glossy. Add fresh chopped parlsey, squeeze of lemon juice, and pepper.

Here is another one I have been meaning to try:

White Wine Alfredo

4 tablespoon butter
3 large shallots, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups white wine, divided
3/4 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 lemon, juiced
salt or cracked or white pepper to taste

Cook shallots and garlic in butter until they become translucent and tender. Add 1 cup white wine, and bring to a simmer. Once it is simmering, add the remaining 1/2 cup wine. Simmer for 10 minutes then reduce heat to medium-low. Season with white pepper to taste. When sauce is no longer boiling, slowly stir in cream, lemon juice and salt. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.

 

[velochic]

I love the ideas I'm getting, but I'm feeling like we got a bit more than Alfredo going on here.

I just hope my family doesn't get sick of all the different pasta dishes I'm going to be making in the near future.

 

[Andy M.]

...The version I use, customary for here, is I saute some chopped garlic in a bit of butter, add heavy cream and reduce, reduce, reduce - keeping foaming down by blowing on it when it forms. Add salt, white pepper, Parmesan cheese. Let it cook down. Adjust seasoning. If it needs more salt add it; if it needs more Parm add it, etc.

Toss in noodles to heat through and serve. Top with additional cheese if that's what you want...

This is the recipe I use as well. For variations, I'll saute some mushrooms and add some crumbled bacon along with the garlic.

 

[Home chef]

Andy and others,

Do you leave the bacon in the sauce or just use it for the fat? I've never has Alfredo sauce with bacon chunks in it. Sounds good though.

 

[Andy M.]

I leave the bacon in. It's not there for the fat, it's there for the flavor and texture.

There is an endless list of stuff you can add to the basic recipe. Try shallots and mushrooms. Try roasted red peppers.

When I do these variations, I don't call them Alfredo sauces. The basic garlic, butter, cream and parm recipe is what I call Alfredo (even though it's not the original recipe).

 

[Chef Wil]

by cream do you mean heavy cream? or whipping cream? because that's all that I've been able to find.

but I have been having problems getting the cheese to melt... is there a good way to get the cheese to fully melt? I've only made it a couple times so I'm still pretty new at this.

Are you using real parm cheese or the grated stuff in a can? If the later, toss it..... please. That stuff is real parm but from the rind usually and I use rinds to boil in Italian soups and stews. It never melts at all, just gets soft and flavors the soup wonderfully. I suggest using a good quality cheese and get a micro plain to grate it with, I think you will see a world of difference in your sauce.

 

[jennyema]

Marci,

Heavy cream must by law have at least 36% fat and whipping cream must have at least 30% but less than 36%.

But they are interchangeable in an Alfredo recipe. In fact, I usually make it with half and half to cut down on fat and calories.

Here's some interesting Dairy Info from the USDA

 

[Ishbel]

Somewhere along the line I started adding frozen English peas and it turned out quite tasty - I feel sure it was a way to get a vegetable in there..

Hello Kitchenelf...

Just out of curiosity - what are 'English' peas? Do you mean the green, podless petit pois type of pea?

I add them to a lot of the Italian pasta dishes that I cook - my favourite is a kind of bolognese sauce with lots of petit pois.

 

[mudbug]

Ishbel, my southern-U.S. born and bred HH refers to peas as English peas all the time and I have no idea what he means. Maybe smaller (petit pois)?

Whatevah...they would compliment an Alfredo sauce in any dish, IMO.

 

[Ishbel]

Mud
Another example of us being separated by a common language?! Thanks for your input.

 

[marmalady]

Mud and Ishbel, I believe the naming of green peas as 'English' peas is because in the South folks also eat a lot of 'field' peas, ie black-eyes, crowder, 'pea beans' (go figure that one out!) and the like, so 'English' is just a word used to identify the green peas in a pod.

On the same note, DH's North Carolina family grew up calling baby potatoes, especially red ones, 'Irish' potatoes!

 

[mish]

Here is my no-fail recipe:

Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 to 2 cups cream, depending on desired consistency
2 cups real parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
crushed garlic
parsley
fresh lemon
cracked pepper

Saute garlic in butter. Add cream and parmesan and heat until cheese is melted. Whisk in egg yolks and heat another 5 minutes until glossy. Add fresh chopped parlsey, squeeze of lemon juice, and pepper.

Here is another one I have been meaning to try:

White Wine Alfredo

4 tablespoon butter
3 large shallots, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups white wine, divided
3/4 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 lemon, juiced
salt or cracked or white pepper to taste

Cook shallots and garlic in butter until they become translucent and tender. Add 1 cup white wine, and bring to a simmer. Once it is simmering, add the remaining 1/2 cup wine. Simmer for 10 minutes then reduce heat to medium-low. Season with white pepper to taste. When sauce is no longer boiling, slowly stir in cream, lemon juice and salt. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.

WHOO-HOO, Shannon. The white wine Alfredo looks like heaven... and shallots... who could ask for anything more! TY!!

 

[shannon in KS]

WHOO-HOO, Shannon. The white wine Alfredo looks like heaven... and shallots... who could ask for anything more! TY!!

Glad you liked this!!! Let us know if you try it, how it turns out, and any necessary modifications!!! I have a problem cooking with wine, I tend to drink any remaining unused portions while cooking then forget to eat dinner!

 

[mish]

Glad you liked this!!! Let us know if you try it, how it turns out, and any necessary modifications!!! I have a problem cooking with wine, I tend to drink any remaining unused portions while cooking then forget to eat dinner!

My modification may be eating it out of the pan and forget about the pasta I know there's a getting sauced joke in there somewhere, hahaha.

 

[mudbug]

Mud and Ishbel, I believe the naming of green peas as 'English' peas is because in the South folks also eat a lot of 'field' peas, ie black-eyes, crowder, 'pea beans' (go figure that one out!) and the like, so 'English' is just a word used to identify the green peas in a pod.

On the same note, DH's North Carolina family grew up calling baby potatoes, especially red ones, 'Irish' potatoes!

Oh, marm, I'll bet you're right about this. thanks for the tip.

Just to further confuse the issue, there's a famous jamaican dish of rice and peas in which the peas are really beans.

 

[jrsjunecleaver]

It's not necessary, but if you really want a smooth alfredo sauce, use a hand blender to blend the sauce just before tossing with the noodles. It will look like the jarred sauce when you're done.

 

[Ishbel]

Marmalady - thanks for the clarification!

We call those peas 'peas'.... or if they are picked very young and small (and sweetest) they are known as petit pois (even the frozen version!). The smallest pod peas, where you merely top n tail the small pods and cook the unopened pods with their teeny-tiny pods inside are know as 'mange tout' here! So many of our cooking terms still use the French words, rather than the Italian term, which is more commonly used in Australia and the USA (and Canada, too, maybe?) eg we use courgette vs zucchini, aubergine vs eggplant etc!