Pasta with Alfredo Sauce

Thank goodness my cooking phase started before Chinese New Year because I realised that there is no cooked food (not even the usually reliable leftovers) in the house and all the nearby food centres are closed. But the trusty Cold Storage remains open so I acceded B's request for alfredo pasta.

When giving his comments on the Alfredo Pasta Attempt Numero Deux, B channeled his inner physicist saying,

"It has depth and resonance..."

Then explained that I am mistaken and that 'depth' and 'resonance' are terms to describe wine, not physics. Oh. Excuse me.

Pardon my ignorance.

But what I do know is that...

I can do a kick-ass Alfredo Pasta now!

Sorry I said ass.

I believe studies have shown that people are 80% more prone to saying 'kick-ass' when excited about their accomplishments.

Alfredo Pasta Attempt Numero Deux is a success! Mainly I implemented the list of what I would do differently from Attempt Numero Uno but followed the same recipe below (so scroll down for condensed recipe), except for increased pepper and adding herbs.

Here's how I did it.

Better than Olive Garden Alfredo sauce
Printable recipe

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic cloves , minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Handful of parsley for garnishing
3/8 cup mozzarella cheese
Wholemeal pasta (for 2)

Add pasta to boiling water.
Cook pasta until al dente, which means that when you cut the pasta, there is no longer a white dot in the middle.

Strain pasta and set aside.
Melt butter in medium saucepan with olive oil over medium/low heat.

Add the garlic and fry in olive oil and butter til some pieces turn light brown.
The butter will foam.

Add cream.

Add white pepper and distribute it evenly around the sauce i.e. not in one plop like me. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring often.
Add the Parmesan cheese and simmer sauce for 8-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened and is smooth.

When sauce has thickened add the Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth and turn off the flame.

Stir to distribute the melted mozzarella evenly.

Add oregano and basil herbs, or whatever you have on hand.

Place pasta on serving plates and spoon sauce over pasta.

Add chopped parsley.

Serve.

Look at the cheesy goodness!

Then smell the cheesy goodness!

At the same time also wonder why you cannot cut the parsley properly.

After indulging the senses of sight and smell, now's the best part. Time to taste!

While I have become better at doing the alfredo sauce, I noticed that the butter separated from the sauce when I microwaved it the next day. So if I do have leftovers or need to reheat it, I probably need to microwave it on low.

Here's how smooth the sauce was on the night I made it.

Compare that to the curdled sauce the next day after microwaving.

Didn't do too much damage to the taste though. Thank goodness for the small things in life!

Below is my post on how I did it the first time.

Attempt Numero Uno:

After doing the prawn aglio olio several times, I’ve pretty much gotten the hang of it. It was time to graduate. It was time to do another, more complex dish. It was time to up the challenge. Turns out it was also time to up the calorie intake.

As the baked rice did not finish up all the cream I had, I decided on making alfredo sauce, choosing to follow the Parker's Mom Better than Olive Garden Alfredo sauce.

Because I am only cooking for two, I halved the recipe. Because I didn’t have that much cream leftover, I had to do a substitution of

1 cup heavy cream = 3/4 cup milk + 1/3 cup butter

So here's how I made it:

Better than Olive Garden Alfredo sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic cloves , minced
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup milk and butter combination with cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/8 cup mozzarella cheese
Wholemeal pasta (for 2)

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan with olive oil over medium/low heat.
2. Add the garlic and fry in olive oil and butter til fragrant
3. Add cream, followed by white pepper and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring often.
4. Add the Parmesan cheese and simmer sauce for 8-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened and is smooth.
5. When sauce has thickened add the Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth and turn off the flame. Stir to distribute the mozzarella evenly.
6. Place pasta on serving plates and spoon sauce over pasta.

What would The Failed Chef do next time?

• Because of the substitution, I could see some butter had separated, so it was pretty disconcerting aesthetics-wise though not taste-wise – it was yummy! So if I were to attempt making alfredo sauce again the next time, I would use only bona fide, honest-to-goodness cream.
• Also, while the flavours of the different cheeses were apparent, I might need to add more herbs next time, other than just chopped parsley.