Just because a recipe is published somewhere doesn’t mean it’s a GOOD recipe. I’ve made plenty of 'em that don’t work for shit.
As for the first one, it doesn’t have near enough parmesan to work. I’ve no doubt it’s just watery. Personal tastes vary, but I like my parmesan to cream ratio to be about 1:1.
The second one is the opposite - not enough parmesan.
And I’d bet that neither work well even if you get the proportions right. Cooking the sauce with the pasta is key IMO. If you see “alfredo” poured over pasta (not cooked together in a pan) I’d be willing to bet money that’s it’s really a morney sauce as 1010011010 describes.
Oh for fuck’s sake. I knew I shouldn’t be mixing ranting with recipes.
The proper ratio is 1T butter to 1/4 cup cream to 1/4 cup parmesan to 1/4 pound pasta. So for a pound of pasta, it’s 4T butter, 1 cup cream, 1 cup parmesan. Although adding more parmesan is always a good thing.
ya ya ya, I know it’s a legend. But unlike a lot of them, like you state, the chef really did exist. Most sources agree on the same story I linked to, and also agree there’s no real way to verify it.
Hell, if I can’t bend the truth to my liking in the pit, where the hell can I?
Leaper - I’m with Athena on this. Your recipes aren’t calling for enough parmesan, and that’s why it’s coming out runny. I don’t, generally, measure my cheese out - I just add it until it’s thick enough to suit my tastes, stirring the entire time. Then I add my pasta and any meat or veggies I might be putting in, and give it a minute or two over low heat, still stirring until it’s mixed. I’ve found this works pretty well.
Cooking really isn’t all that hard - I used to think it was impossible, until I tried it. But you can’t be afraid to fuck up once in a while, and you can’t chain yourself to a recipe like it’s holy writ. Food is fun. Play with your food.
I can’t recall ever making a plain alfredo sauce, but i do make a creamy pasta dish in which the sauce ends up being pretty much an alfredo sauce with vegetables. My SO and i love this dish on cold winter nights.
Here’s what i do:
Put pasta on to boil (usually spaghetti or fettucine).
Put a few tablespoon of butter in a large frypan. Add some asparagus, cut into 2 inch lengths, and fry for a minute or two.
Add a bunch of crushed garlic.
Add a chopped red bell pepper (capsicum, for the Aussies).
Then, a minute or so later, add some snow peas (mange tout, for the Brits) and some choppped green onions.
Then add some sliced mushrooms.
Just as the mushrooms are softening, add a cup of cream. Allow to bubble, and let it reduce a little, then add about the same amount of finely grated parmesan, and stir it in until you have a think sauce. I also like to toss in some chopped fresh parsley and ground black pepper at this point.
Chuck the cooked and drained pasta into the pan, stir until it’s completely coated, and serve.
You rule, Athena! Jarred afredo is icky, yucky stuff. Hell, jarred “spaghetti sauce” is pretty nasty, too. It’s my theory that the advertising industry has convinced the average American that he/she cannot cook. [tangent]I mean, pancake mix? Who the fuck needs pancake mix? If you can make pancakes from a box, you can make 'em from scratch. Takes but an extra 30 seconds, maybe.[/tangent]
And don’t even get me started on that sawdust masquerading as cheese in a green can.
You don’t need an equal amount of cream to cheese to make it thick enough. You can use half as much cheese if you want. I use a ratio of about 1 1/2 cups heavy cream to 2/3 cup Parmesan (or mix Parmesan/Romano) cheese.
Tips: Make sure you’re using heavy cream. Generally, you want something that 40% milkfat. Real cream should contain just that: cream. However, most of what you’ll find in the store is about 37% milkfat, mixed in with polysorbate crap and carageenan and stabilizers. It’ll work, but if you can find some pure cream, it’s all the better. (Much better. Trust me.)
Second, do not be afraid to cook the cream over high heat. The first step in alfredo is heating the butter and cream over high heat (yes, boiling it) for about 5-8 minutes. (Use about 3 tablespoons unsalted butter to 1 1/2 cups heavy gream.) Keep cooking it until it’s thick enough to coat your spoon. If you draw your finger through it, it should leave a trail. Cream is not like milk. Do not be afraid of boiling it to make it reduce. The only problem you might run into is if you have pretty bad pots. If your pots are not good, the cream may burn along the sides. I use pretty basic pots that are fairly thick, and I’ve had no problem.
If it’s still too runny, keep boiling it! Really, don’t be afraid.
Cook your pasta, and add it to your sauce. You are supposed to let the pasta cook with the sauce (as has been mentioned.) The noodles absorb a bit of the cream this way. (Therefore, you might want to cook your pasta a shade under al dente.) Add parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Adjust.
Many herbs are good in alfredo. I’m not partial to dried parsley, but fresh parsley looks good and adds some flavor. Fresh basil also works, as does many others depending on what taste you’re looking for.
Easy enough to add other stuff, too, as others have mentioned. Ham or chicken diced and added with the noodles is good. Scallops or shrimp and a bit of bacon is nice too. Salmon and dill… prosciutto and basil… the list goes on forever.
Maybe it’s a Michigan thing? Maybe Athena and I just like our pasta really cheesy? Look, maybe loads of other people have tried those recipes and gotten what you describe, Leaper, but that’s the way they like their alfredo. But if you follow the recipe exactly and it’s not coming out the way you want it to, alter the recipe until you get what you want. I don’t think there’s some sort of curse on you that will keep you from ever cooking a decent alfredo. I just think the recipes you’re using aren’t designed to give you what you want. So why keep using them?
I’ve got to say, Athena, I made your alfredo sauce tonight and it was fantastic. I used a bit more cream and a heckuvalot of cheese, and it was like eating a grilled cheese sandwich.
Leaper - I went back to your recipes and read the reviews. Five reviews on one, ten on the other, which means it’s Athena and myself versus fifteen people. Granted, fifteen is more than two, but it’s not all that overwhelming. It’s not Athena and look!ninjas against the entire Western world. And two of the reviews for the chicken recipe mentioned that they had problems with the consistency, so you’re not the only one to have trouble. Maybe your tastes are closer to ours than they are to that guy who substituted chicken broth and 2% milk for real cream. Why don’t you give Athena’s or a similar recipe a try, and see if it works out better for you?
woowoo! It’s not MY sauce, though, it’s a standard recipe for alfredo sauce.
On the subject of recipes, like look!ninjas says, it’s not like they’re written in stone. Many, many recipes I’ve tried - both in books and off the web - simply don’t work. I’ve also read many that I’ve known will be bad, just from looking at the recipe. Why is this? Well, I think novice cooks tend to blame themselves, not the recipe, when a recipe doesn’t work. Alternatively, they just eat it and think it’s correct, even if they don’t like it. A third idea is what I said above - most people simply don’t have tastebuds. Look at all the crap sold as food lately - you can’t tell me that people with tastebuds eat all that junk.
It’s not just me who thinks that, either. Cook’s Illustrated magazine reviews cookbooks, and part of the review is that they test about 10 recipes from each book. It’s amazing at how many recipes they find that don’t work, even when prepared by a professional kitchen and trained chefs.
I don’t know man…I make a cream sauce infused with shrimp shells, and it requires no cheese, yet is thick enough to hold onto the noodles. (In fact, when I make alfredo, I don’t add parmesan until after the noodles are mixed in with the cream sauce.) At no point should it turn into any kind of film. It should have the consistency of thick buttermilk. If it doesn’t, then either you’re not using heavy cream (see my note) or … well … I can’t imagine what other problem there could be. Be sure to whisk throughout the process, as well.
