We had a special birthday guest at the McGee Creek Lodge on my last trip to the East Side...The Wine Predator. She requested the fettuccini alfredo that evening, so I thought it to be only appropriate that I offer up the recipe for her birthday meal. Gwendolyn has also written a rather favorable blog post about my wines (and my cooking) that I would encourage you all to read.
Thanks so much Gwendolyn!
ALFREDO SAUCE
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 clove of garlic
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of salt
A dash of Nutmeg and parley for garnish
1 Egg yolk (optional)
4 ounces fettuccine
Crush the clove of garlic and set in a pan with all of the heavy cream to render the garlic flavor while the cream heats up, roughly 5 minutes on medium heat. Discard the garlic. Add your black pepper and salt to the pan. When the fettuccine is not quite al dente, add all of your pasta to the cream and turn up the heat and begin incorporating the pasta and the cream sauce together, about 1-2 minutes.
Take you pan with your pasta and cream off heat and add the Parmigiano cheese, continue to toss the pasta in the pan...then add your cold butter and your nutmeg and continue to toss the pasta until the butter is melted and incorporated.
The Final Step...adding the egg yolk. The egg yolk must be tempered and not simply dropped in the middle of the hot pasta. Add the yolk to a space cleared of pasta in the pan and begin to vigorously stir the yolk in with the cream sauce; you'll know instantly if the egg is too hot, it will look like scrambled eggs...if not, it will look like creamy custard. If the yolk looks like creamy custard, begin tossing the pasta in the egg yolk mixture for a silky smooth and super rich fettuccini alfredo. Serve in a bowl immediately and garnish with parsley and more Parmigiano.
