Tag-Archive for ◊ fettuccine ◊

11 Sep 2010 Zucchini Pasta
Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Meatless, Pasta, Seasonal, Teaching Boys to Cook Series, Veggies  | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,  | 11 Comments

I have debated back and forth about posting this recipe…  Pros: it uses up zucchini, which is very important this time of year.  The pasta recipe is good.  Simple, straightforward. Good.  Cons: It’s not GREAT; it’s good, but it’s lacking Emeril’s “Bam”!  I made this for the first time at my friend’s beach house this summer.  We all liked it, but we all thought it needed something else.  Garlic?  Shallots?  Lemon Peel?  Egg yolk?  Not sure…

When we returned from the beach my friend kept asking for the recipe and I kept thinking about making it again.  So it had to have something, right?  I sent my friend the recipe (I had no intention of posting it), and I made it again.  The results were the same.  The pasta was good, not great, but…

…for the last two nights I have had leftover homemade pizza, leftover beef rice bowl, and leftover ribs in the refrigerator, along with the leftover Zucchini Pasta.  Two nights in a row I’ve chosen leftover Zucchini Pasta over all my other choices.  So this dish has to have something, right?  Maybe it’s just comfort food.  End of the summer comfort food.  Yes, that must be it.

This recipe is from a Pasta Cookbook I received as a birthday present and took to the beach to read. (I read cookbooks like novels. Who’s with me on that?) The cookbook is called “Homestyle Pasta” by Bay Books (I don’t think that’s a person and I couldn’t find a link!!)  I’ve changed the recipe a bit, but only to reduce the amount of pasta.  The original recipe called for 1 lb. of pasta.  That’s too much pasta, and not enough zucchini and cheese.

Did I mention how easy this is to make?  While the pasta boils, stir up the zucchini…

Did I mention that my two year old grandson can’t stuff this into his mouth fast enough?

Zucchini Pasta

1/2 lb. fettuccine (the original recipe called for 1 lb of pasta)
1/4 cup salted butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb. zucchini (about 3 medium), grated
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the fettuccine in boiling salted water per package directions. Drain pasta and keep warm.  Melt butter in a large frying pan, saute the garlic for one or two minutes.  Stir in grated zucchini and saute until zucchini is soft, about 3 minutes.  Stir in drained noodles and grated cheese. Toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Good. Fast. Easy. End of the summer comfort food.  And you now have three less zucchini.  HEY! You could attach this recipe to the zucchini you drop off on your neighbor’s porch after dark tonight!

Enjoy these last days of summer.  Enjoy your harvest 🙂

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!

09 Jun 2010 Four Ingredient Fettuccine Alfredo
Author:  |  Category: Pasta, Poultry, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , ,  | Leave a Comment

My intention to teach my 19 year old son how to cook this summer was not met with great glee. The son didn’t want to. The son didn’t need to. The son is not getting an apartment this year ANYWAY (finger pointed at mom…) Yada, yada, yada, yada. He should know better than to argue with me when I have made up my mind to do something in his own best interests. (I am woman hear me ROAR!) In spite of all the negativity, it’s really going quite well. He’s catching on fast. He’s already had a dinner party! Really!! He made Spaghetti and Meatballs (but he couldn’t find the recipe, so he had to wing it…). This afternoon he made Fettuccine Alfredo for his friend, his sister, and his nephew. No body died. Tomorrow he’s testing out three baked salmon recipes…

This recipe is so easy a 19 year old boy can do it while entertaining friends, watching TV, wrestling with his nephew and arguing with his mother. It’s good. It’s fast. It’s way better than a re-hydrated box of powdered chemicals and preservatives.

Maybe your 19 year old son can learn to cook, too!

Four Ingredient Fettuccine Alfredo

½ cup butter, at room temperature
4 oz. grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (about 1 ¼ cups)
1 lb fettuccine noodles
1 tablespoon salt

Bring 1 large pan of water to a boil. Stir in salt and fettuccine noodles. Cook according to package directions (probably for about 12 minutes). Drain—RESERVE about ½ cup pasta water, just in case you need it to thin the sauce.

While the noodles are boiling. In another bowl, with an electric mixer (or a strong arm), beat the softened butter and the grated cheese together until creamy.

When the noodles are cooked, drain, and then return the drained fettuccine to the hot pan. Stir in the butter-cheese mixture. Toss and stir until noodles are coated with a creamy sauce. IF NECESSARY, stir in the reserved pasta water, one tablespoon at a time, to thin the sauce. Serve immediately. Makes four hearty servings. Leftovers can be refrigerated and then reheated in the microwave.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Stir in 2 cups cooked cubed chicken to the hot drained noodles. Add cheese mixture and stir to combine.

Veggie Fettuccine Alfredo

[Don’t forget to eat your veggies!] Adding cooked asparagus, broccoli or peas to the Fettuccine Alfredo mixture or the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo mixture would be a very good idea. Mom would be pleased.

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