Fettuccine Alfredo

Let's spice it up!!!

Good morning! I have the morning off so I decided to get a quick post in :)  I spoke to a friend from college a few days ago, who has a great food blog of her own.  She has tons of great recipes and I asked her where she finds the time to cook so often.  And what she said -- when cooking is a hobby you enjoy, it's not work -- really made me think about this blog.  I don't want it to turn into work. I love cooking so much and I want you all to know how much I love it!  I delayed the start of this blog because I was so busy with school. But medical school is not an excuse anymore!  I'm telling you now - I will make the time to cook most of the week, and I will try a new recipe at least twice a week.  Accountability!  And I'll cook even more when Mikey gets back in town, because it's way better to cook for two :)


I've also been thinking about ways to spice up this blog.  Here are some ideas: Posting weekly menus (planning makes cooking so much easier!), weekly themes, and some sort of challenge.  I read a lot of fashion blogs and I often read about "remix challenges", "color challenges", and even "no-repeat challenges".  I think that I can translate those challenges to food.. eek, I'm so excited now!  More details to come.. 


Ok, here's a quickie recipe for you all.  Fettuccine alfredo.  It's not the typical Americanized fettuccine that you have in the restaurant with thick and goopy (is that a word?) sauce.  Folks, this is the real deal. It's how fettuccine alfredo started in Italy.  That's right, Italy, not America. Here's a really interesting post on the original fettuccine alfredo. The ingredients are simple: pasta, butter, cheese.  What could be bad about pasta, butter and cheese?  Oh right, the fact that it's pasta, butter, and cheese :) But who cares?  We all need to indulge every so often. This isn't as heavy as restaurant fettuccine, but it is definitely rich - and absolutely delicious. 


I've said this before, and I will say it again because it is of utmost importance - since this recipe is so simple, it is important to use quality ingredients.  Parmigiano Reggiano, real butter, freshly ground black pepper.  You can use fresh or dry pasta, but I think that fresh pasta holds on to the sauce better. This recipe does have an option to add cream - for those of you who can't quite say goodbye to cream :). Bon appetit!

Fettuccine Alfredo (adapted from Simply Recipes)

Serves 4
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Ingredients

1/2 pound fettuccine noodles

3-4 Tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Black pepper

Additional, for creamy version:

1/2 cup cream

Nutmeg

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil and drop in your fettuccine.

2a. Plain version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat off.

2b. Creamy version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Add the cream to the butter as it melts. Stir often to combine the two, do not turn off the heat, but keep the heat at its lowest setting while the pasta cooks.

3. When the fettuccine is al dente (cooked, but still a little firm) lift it out of the pot with tongs and move the pasta to the sauté pan. Do not drain the pasta. You want it dripping wet with the cooking water. Turn on the heat under the sauté pan to medium and swirl the pasta and butter together to combine. Add half the cheese, then swirl and toss the pasta until it has incorporated into the sauce. If needed, add a few spoonfuls more of the pasta cooking water. Add the rest of the cheese and repeat.

4. Serve at once with either a little black pepper (for classic version) or nutmeg (for creamy version) ground over the pasta.

I ate this as a side dish, but if you add some meat and veggies, it would be a (very filling) entree. 

That is all.

xoxo <3

Nhu-Y

Roasted Garlic Risotto

Simple Luxury

A few days ago, I wrote a post about roasted garlic and the many different ways you can use it.  Today, I will prove it and use roasted garlic in a recipe! 

When I think of risotto, I think that it belongs with a very fancy meal that takes all day to make.  But the truth is, risotto is very easy to make.  It is a bit time intensive, but as long as you are able to stir, you can make risotto :).   The secret is continuously stirring the risotto as you add the liquid.  It helps the starch come out of the rice, making it very, very creamy with no fattening heavy cream at all!  This particular recipe uses water as the liquid, but traditional risottos use a beef or chicken broth.  Since water is essentially flavoring the rice from the inside, I would use filtered water.  I have also made this recipe with ¾ water and ¼ chicken stock, and it did not overwhelm the garlic.

If you start roasting the garlic first, and then prepare the risotto while the garlic is roasting, it only takes about 40 minutes to make the entire recipe since the garlic is stirred in at the last minute.  I don’t even puree the garlic – I just mash it up with a fork and it saves a few minutes (and a few dirty dishes). This is a great recipe because once you learn the technique you can make any kind of risotto you’d like!

Roasted Garlic Risotto (Adapted from the Bon Appetit Cookbook)

4-6 servings

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Ingredients

1-2 heads of garlic, roasted & pureed (depending on how much you like roasted garlic!)

4 cups of water (do not use stock, it will overwhelm the taste of the garlic)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Bring 4 cups water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and keep hot.

2. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes.

3. Add rice and stir until golden, about 3 minutes (toasting the rice helps prevent it from becoming soggy).

4. Add wine and stir until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Ladle in 1/2 cup hot water (or as much as your ladle will hold). Reduce heat to simmer and stir until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding hot water one ladle at a time, simmering until liquid is absorbed before each addition and stirring frequently, until rice is just tender and mixture is very thick, about 25 minutes. *Tip - the more you stir, the creamier your risotto will be.

5. Add in cheese, parsley, and garlic puree into risotto. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remember that the Parmesan cheese is salty, so be sure to taste before you add salt. Top with additional Parmesan cheese and parsley and dig in!

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as Mike and I did :). Bon appetit!