How to make Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo sauce is one of the easiest things to make and the result is so superior to anything you can buy pre-made, there is just no excuse not to make it from scratch. Now, traditional Alfredo sauce is a mixture of butter and parmesan cheese. In the original process, cheese would be added to melted butter, then the pasta would be added, with perhaps a little of the starch water the pasta was cooked in. The pasta, butter and cheese are tossed together until the butter and cheese begin to emulsify. Then more cheese is added at the end, and it is served immediately.

The version I am making today is a more "Americanized" version of the dish, and it is the way the sauce is made in most upscale restaurants. It is a lot easier to get correct and tastes every bit as good.

If you want to make a chicken or seafood Alfredo, cook the meat or seafood in the Sautoir pan, prior to adding the garlic, then follow the recipe as normal. If your using delicate seafood, like scallops and shrimp, you may want to remove them before the sauce is finished, so they do not get over cooked.

Note: It is important to realize that these recipes are merely guidelines to follow. They'll taste great as they are, but I encourage you to play with them and make the recipes your own.

Note: It is good practice to read the entire recipe, while paying particular attention to the "Notes", before you try to make the dish, as there are often subtleties that can be easily overlooked, which sometimes, can make all the difference in the world for the outcome. 

Makes 4 Servings

Skill Level: Beginner

Prep time 10 minutes, or less.

Ingredients:

• 1 pint  Heavy Cream (You will not use it all)
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
• ½ cup White Wine
• 4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
• Pasta of your choice
• Kosher salt
• Pepper

Tools needed:

• 1 Medium/Large Sautoir Pan
• Chef's knife
• 1 Large Spoon

Mince your garlic.

Sauté the garlic, on low heat, adding a little salt.

Note: if you want chicken or seafood Alfredo, then sauté those items golden brown, on high heat, then remove them from the pan, reduce the heat, add the garlic and proceed as normal. 

When the garlic has been sweated, crank the heat on high and deglaze the pan with the white wine. Allow to reduce for a 3-4 minutes on the highest heat setting.

Add your chicken stock and again, allow to reduce for 3-4 minutes on high heat.

Add whatever type of pasta you like. I am using frozen beef ravioli I bought at Winn Dixie. Let pasta cook in the wine/chicken stock mixture for 3-4 minutes, on high heat.

Note: Your pasta, whichever you choose should be prepared "al dente" ahead of time. You may even cook your pasta the day before and keep refrigerated until needed. 

Cover the pasta with heavy whipping cream and let reduce on high heat.

Note: Just barely cover the pasta in the cream. You DO NOT want the pasta to be swimming in cream, simply covered.

Using a spoon, check the nape of the sauce.

Note: a sauce which is "nape" will coat the back of a spoon, and a line drawn trough the sauce will remain clear even as the spoon is turned around.

When the sauce has reached a thin nape, it is time to add the cheese, about ⅔ of a cup, reserving the last ⅓ as a topping to garnish the dish.

Note: Whenever your making any kind of sauce, or gravy, checking the nape is the way to make sure you have the perfect thickness every time.

Once you add the cheese, the sauce is susceptible to burning, so reduce the heat a bit. Stir constantly to fully incorporate the cheese.

Note: The cheese will thicken the sauce considerately, so be careful how much longer you cook the sauce, as you may over thicken the sauce, making it pasty on the pasta.

Note: You want to wait until the sauce is nearly complete before adding the cheese. AVOID adding the cheese early.





Check the nape again. You should have a nice thick nape now, but it should still be fluid, not pasty.



Note: The trick is to remove the pasta from the heat before the sauce has reached the desired thickness. As the pasta cools, and sits for a minute or two, it will continue to thicken, so if you brought the pasta all the way to the desired thickness in the pan, it will over thicken itself by the time you serve it. 

Serve immediately.

Garnish with some more parmesan cheese and parsley.

Enjoy!