Title: Classic Alfredo Sauce Ala Kathy Pitts
Categories: Italian Sauce
Yield: 1 Text recip

		Pasta
		Butter
		FRESH parmesan; grated -OR-
		FRESH Romano; grated
		Heavy cream
		Freshly ground black pepper
		Red pepper (opt)
		Salt (IF needed)
		READ TEXT for REHEATABLE

Classic Alfredo sauce doesn't even need a recipe, Eric. To make it, cook as much pasta as you think you and your guests can eat. When the pasta is Al Dente, drain it well, and keep it as hot as possible.

Place a good-sized lump of real butter (about 2 Tablespoons per serving is good), in the bottom of a warm bowl (the pot you cooked the pasta in is fine). Dump the pasta back in the pot, and toss. Stir in a LOT of freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (NOT the stuff that comes from a little round can), and continue tossing. Now add enough heavy cream to make a creamy mixture. (Can't help with the quantity there, as I've never measured it). Grind some black pepper over this, maybe add a few grains of red pepper, salt if needed (if you use good Parmesan or Romano, it should need very little, if any), and serve immediately on warmed plates.

Easy, and IMHO the best of all.

For the Alfredo sauce beloved by restaurants in the U.S., you need to go to a little more work (of course, you'll be rewarded with a sauce that reheats within reason, and may be served over meats, or used however you like.)

For two-four servings (depending on your appetite), begin by making a basic Bechamel sauce.

First melt 4 Tbsp. of butter in a heavy saucepan.

When the butter has melted, but has not yet turned color, stir in 2 Tbsp. of flour. Stir the flour/butter mixture together and cook over low heat until the mixture begins to look like wet beach sand.

Now whisk in about 4 cups of half and half. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is hot and thickened. Add about 4 oz. (you can vary the amount according to personal choice) of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, white pepper, a few grains of cayenne, and salt to taste.

Cook over very low heat, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted.

Use as desired.

A good, and popular variation, of this is to add 6 oz. of cooked crab meat to the finished sauce. Cooked shrimp, lobster meat, whatever is good, too.

Kathy in Bryan, TX

... I am not aging, I am marinating.

From : Kathy Pitts 1:117/130 Tue 25 Jul 95 11:05

From: Teri Chesser Date: 30 Mar 97 National Cooking Echo Ä

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