Ron's home made Alfredo sauce...

This one is not for the low-calorie, low-fat, low-carb dieters out there... but it sho'nuff is a good'n... and very easy.

Basic list of ingredients:

You'll need a medium saucepan

One stick of lightly salted, sweat cream butter (yes... an entire stick, and don't use margarine or any other imitation spread as it won't come out right)

One quart of Heavy Cream (not milk, and especially not Skim Milk!)

2-3 average sized cloves of crushed garlic (you can roast the garlic beforehand if you prefer - it adds a good flavor) I love garlic...

Dried Italian seasoning

Grated Italian cheese blend (Romano, Parmesan, asiago, or any combination of the three - or just one of the three - make sure it's grated fine and nor 'shreaded'). The amount is based on your preference, however, I would recommend 8 ounces.

Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:


Start out by melting the entire stick of butter in the saucepan, on medium low heat.


Crush the garlic (the absolute best garlic press ever - Zyliss <~ click there) into the melted butter and bring the heat up a little to turn the garlic slightly golden.


Add the grated cheese slowly in small batches of two or three tablespoons at a time.


After the grated cheese is dissolved, the butter will thicken to look like slightly yellowish cream, with some graininess. That's the time to add the quart of heavy cream. Slowly pour it in as you stir the mixture to combine and keep it on medium low.


Keep stirring slowly. When you stir, be sure to force the spoon along the bottom slightly to keep the cheese from settling too long.


Add your herbs (Italian seasoning)


Keep it on medium low for about 5-7 minutes to ensure all the ingredients have combined. If you let it go longer, it will thicken up a lot. If it gets to that point, you can always cut it with some half-and-half to thin it out slightly, and if you don't have any half-and-half, you can use milk as a last resort (no non-dairy creamers! and definitely no water... ).


Salt and pepper to taste now, as any salt in the cheese will have been mixed in already. Salting too early can be a MAJOR mistake depending on the salt level of the cheese.


This is great on tortelloni, tortellini, fettuccine (I like both spinach and regular fettuccine - mixed - with this), or any broad noodle pasta. Linguine and other types of spaghetti, IMO, are better with red sauces.


This is also great on Italian Nachos.