It’s PW Thursday – Fettuccine Alfredo

Yes I know this is probably one of the most unhealthy dishes on the planet, but in the words of Paula Deen, “I’m your cook, not your doctor.”

That’s all I have to say about that.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound Fettuccine Noodles
1 stick Butter
1 cup Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
4-6 slices of bacon (optional)



DIRECTIONS
Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium-high heat to the level of done-ness you normally like. I love my cast iron skillet for things like bacon!



Sit the bacon slices on some paper towels to absorb some of the fat then cut it into small pieces.


There was more bacon than this but certain little fingers kept stealing it!

Put the pasta on to boil, following the directions on the box. I like to add a splash of olive oil to the water before putting in the pasta because I find it helps keep the pasta from sticking to itself too much.



Over a medium heat, melt the butter.



Pour in the cream and bring to a gentle boil until combined.



Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.



Now this is where I changed things a little. Ree has you put half the parmesan cheese (1 cup) into a bowl before pouring the sauce from the pan into the bowl on top of the cheese. I decided to mix half a cup of cheese into the sauce in the pan first.



Then I put 1 cup of the cheese into a large bowl before pouring in the sauce.



Add the bacon to the sauce and stir to mix.



Drain the pasta and immediately pour it into the bowl.



Toss a couple of times, then sprinkle in the remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan.


Yes, I did forget to toss it before adding the cheese!

Toss to combine, thinning with some of the pasta water if necessary. I didn’t need to thin mine because I used 12oz of pasta instead of a full pound, so there was more sauce to go around.



Serve immediately as a main course or accompaniment to meat or salad.



We do like meat in our house and I think if I were to serve it on its own like this again I might add some chicken to it instead of the bacon. The original PW recipe didn’t have the bacon, I just added it on a whim to see if it would work and it would work well if you were serving it as a side dish. Another thing I would change in the future is to add a little garlic to it.

Criticism aside, it was mighty tasty!

I was watching my 2 year old inhale this dinner last night and was so pleased he liked it that I asked him “Who makes the best dinners?”

His response? “Mommy does…….and Daddy loses!”

Poor Daddy.


♥