Alfredo Pasta

I got this recipe out of a cookbook my mom passed down to me, and in it, they claim to have "the" Olive Garden Alfredo sauce recipe. Not so sure if this is exactly what you get at Olive Garden, but it sure tastes like it! The only variation I like to make is I add a little more garlic powder and salt then what is shown in the book. You may like it just the way it is though. This makes the perfect side with any Italian dish or the perfect main coarse with some fresh grilled chicken (You could even throw in some steamed broccoli - yum!) Hope you like it as much as we do!

Alfredo Pasta

-1 box of Fettuccine pasta
-1 stick of unsalted butter
-2 cups heavy cream
-1/4 cup grated Parmesan
-1/8 tsp. ground pepper
-1/4 tsp. garlic powder
-1/4 salt

In a large pot, bring salted water to a rolling boil and cook pasta to al dente. *Generously salting your water can add great flavor to your pasta since this is the only opportunity you get to infuse flavor directly into the pasta. When I cook a box of pasta, I generally add about 1-2 Tbsp. of salt to the pot.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until thick. (Depending on the strength of your stove top, this can be a time consuming process - be patient, it will thicken and it will pay off =) If you absolutely have to speed things up, combine 1/4 cup of milk and 1 Tbsp. of corn starch. Stir until smooth and add it to the cream. Just be careful because once you add the corn starch mixture, the cream should thicken up fairly quickly. Keep a close eye on it!)
When the Alfredo sauce has reached your desired consistency, stir in the Parmesan cheese.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it. Serve the pasta on plates with Alredo sauce poured over the top and lightly garnish with freshly grated Parmesan. YUM!

*Serves 3-4 as an entree