Fettuccine Alfredo

Hold on to your hats folks for I have some news. Somehow I made it to the age of 46 and never ate Fettuccine Alfredo. Do not ask my how or why, it just happened. I was so used to red sauces only, that I thought that a cream sauce could never rival my beloved tomato based sauces...never. Well I was disproved, thanks to my daughter. See, we can learn from our children, so moms, keep an open mind when it comes to your children.

As my daughter suggested a cream sauce pasta dish, I began to cringe on the inside, but outwardly I gave her my full support, hoping beyond all hope I would not lose my dinner at the table. I even helped her to prepare the dish. Simple ingredients...right up my alley. Well, low and behold, that dish rocked, and as we dub them in our home, it is a keeper. So please enjoy this dish we snagged from none other than Giada De Laurentis from the Food Network. We figured if you want good Italian, then go to her. You want good Southern, you go to Paula Deen, and so forth. Well it paid off and I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as we did.

18 ounces fresh fettuccine (We of course used 1 pound boxed)
2&1/2 cups heavy cream(We used whole milk)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice(We would cut back to 1/4 cup)
12 T unsalted butter(We used salted, it is what we had)
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 t grated lemon zest(We used 1 t)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
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Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite(I prefer a more cooked pasta, but that is me. And watch the fettuccine, it has a tendency to stick, which my daughter found out. Stir it more frequently). Drain.

Stir 2 cups of the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy large skillet to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Now here is where we had to improvise. Since we used whole milk, we had to let our sauce render down a bit...to thicken up, but it came out fine.

Add the pasta and toss. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, and Parmesan cheese to the cream sauce in the skillet. Add the lemon zest, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Toss the pasta mixture over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Serve hot. Enjoy

**This dish was elegant and fragrant, and aromatic, and...well you see my meaning. We only have to tweak it a bit, and we like to keep dishes as true to their original format as possible. For changing it too much takes away from the integrity of the recipe. I know that sounds silly, but that is how we feel. Not every recipe is going to fit every home, and that is what makes us special and unique. Hope you enjoy this dish, whether you use the original recipe or our tweaked recipe.