Recipe #1 - Fettuccine Alfredo

Hello And welcome to the GRAND OPENING of Cooking With Chaos!

Check us out! Our very first recipe together! We're super psyched to be doing this! And away we go!

The Recipe:

Here's the recipe we used if you would like to try this at home:

FETTUCCINE ALFREDO

1 1-lb. box fettuccine noodles
1 stick butter or margarine
¼ c. cream cheese
1 pt. heavy cream 1 1/4 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 T. fresh garlic, minced
garlic powder

Cook noodles according to package directions. When noodles have been added to water, in a medium saucepan, melt butter & cream cheese over medium heat. Whisk gently to blend. Add cream and whisk to mix, stirring until hot. Add 1 c. Parmesan cheese. Whisk gently until well blended and cheese completely melted. Add a few shakes of garlic powder. Whisk until blended. Add fresh garlic. Whisk gently to blend. Serve hot over noodles. Sprinkle bit of remaining Parmesan over top for garnish.

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Cira’s Attempt:

Cira here to start this post. Cissa was nice enough to lend me her recipe for this one. I have to say that even while I was growing up, more than 95% of the pasta I ate had one form of red sauce or another on it. I have only had Fettuccine Alfredo a few times, and this was a first for me making the dish at home.

I got my ingredients ready and realized I had not printed the recipe out. Chaos at my house as usual, the printer was not working and the boys were running in and out of the kitchen. Picture me trying to throw ingredients into a sauce and stir with one hand, while holding my Droid in the other to see what I needed to do next. In between that and trying to get the boys to stop running through the kitchen, I missed a step - throwing in the Parmesan before the cream. Which explains why it looked like this.

Thankfully I was still able to salvage it. Mmm, how good does that look?

Results? 3 out of my 4 boys (husband included) Loved it! Here's one satisfied customer.

The littlest guy? Not so much. Look at that side eye he's throwing his Dad when told to keep eating.

Yeah. It was like that.

Ruling:While I would rate this an overall success (that littlest one throws that side eye frequently), I have to say that I thought it was just OK. I felt like it could have used more flavor.... like something was missing. And I won't lie, as someone trying to take a little extra weight off, thinking of all that butter and cream I used didn't make me love it more. There are very few things I make that require ingredients like that. I was however amazed at how easy it was to make. And quick too which was awesome for nights where I'm running short on time.

(Cissa here and I wanted to add - Cira, I usually do a taste test, if it seems lacking, I add more cheese and/or garlic powder ;-) Something to remember next time!)

(Cissa! Didn't want to mess with your recipe! Lol)

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Cissa’s Attempt:

Cissa here -- I would have to say that a major majority of Rhode Island population is of Italian American decent. Thinking of all the Italian last names of my classmates growing up (Miss Cira included here), its easy to assume that many a night in Rhode Island households dinner was classic Italian fare. It is with that in mind, that we bring you a recipe for our first week that is a staple in many Rhode Island homes, my own included (and yes, I am actually part Italian, go figure!).

Since I’ve been making this recipe for about 12 years now, it’s really hard to screw this recipe up. My biological mother would make this on very rare occasion, and it took years to find a recipe that matched the taste since she never bothered to write it down for me.

Here’s how it went for me…..

Whisking the butter and cream cheese.

Adding the Parmesan cheese

Garlic Powder added

Adding fresh garlic

The finished product, ready to be added to the pasta!

Fettuccine Alfredo with Parmesan garnish!

The Minions ate it all of course :-)

Ruling:

Most definitely a SUCCESS! My family loves this recipe, and I love to eat it myself!

Words of caution: I recommend that you use GRATED Parmesan cheese for this recipe. Shredded will work fine, but it takes longer to melt, and sometimes gets congealed in the sauce, throwing off the taste because it doesn’t get distributed evenly. You can get grated Parmesan in the “fancy cheese” section of your grocer’s deli section, where they keep the delicious Brie and other kinds of cheeses with names I can’t think of at the moment (that I don’t normally eat).

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Tune in next Wednesday when we bring you another Rhode Island dish!

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