Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram My mom cuts my dad’s hair, and he loves to calculate all the money that he’s saved over the years. I tried to cut Eric’s hair once, in the early days. “This will be fun! Just like my parents! 40 years from now we can count the thousands of dollars we’ll have saved!” The haircut took 3 hours and then we didn’t speak for a few days after that, so we decided if we wanted to hang onto our marriage we should cough up the money for real haircuts. (and I’m totally joking, the fight wasn’t that bad!) Who here loves a good Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo? I told Eric that I wanted to make it, and to tell the story about Michael from the Office “carbo-loading” right before running a 5k, but he told me not to, it would gross people out. So I will refrain, but go watch that episode if you haven’t already. Also it’s the first episode where Jim and Pam hold hands, so I mean that’s worth it right there. (The Office is only available on Netflix until January! Cue the tears! What will we watch now when nothing else sounds good??) We drove up to Seattle to see our friends Sarah and Brian, who just moved there after 3 years in Japan (Brian’s in the military). It was so fun! We have 9 kids between us, so anywhere we went you could see people counting. I told people they were all Sarah’s. (Why would I claim these rapscallion children as mine??) The kids had tons of fun, we had tons of fun, and I even got to experience my first Dungeons and Dragons session. Nerd alert! I go by Nerwenye now, by the way. First we need to sear our chicken. Start by slicing your chicken in half horizontally into cutlets, like this: Rub it with salt, pepper, and a bit of smoked paprika. You don’t have to add the paprika, but I love the subtle flavor it adds! It also adds nice color to the chicken. Sear your chicken over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Do not move it once it’s in the pan! This is how you get a nice brown sear. When you flip the chicken, add in a little butter. This adds flavor to the chicken and helps it brown. (If you cook the chicken in all butter instead of oil, the butter will get too brown and smokey.) Remove the chicken and make the sauce in the same pan. Add in a whole lotta butter. This is not an apology. I mean, if you are on a diet, you probably just shouldn’t make chicken Alfredo. Add in 5 cloves of garlic. You can add less if you are a wimp. Just kidding. But do not underestimate the power of garlic! Don’t be afraid of it! The other thickener is parmesan. Shred your own parmesan cheese. Don’t buy pre-shredded cheese, and for heaven’s sake don’t use the powdered stuff. They add anti-caking ingredients to the pre-shredded parmesan that makes it not clump up for packaging and shipping, but if you add it to your Alfredo, it inhibits melting and your sauce won’t be quite as smooth. Slowly stir in the parmesan cheese. Don’t add it all at once. This will help it melt. In the photo above you can see how much I sprinkle in at a time. Add the cooked pasta in increments so that it is easier to stir in and get it all coated. It kind of tends to clump on you if you dump it in all at once. Honestly we could just stop right here. Look at this beautiful fettuccine! But how can we say no to this sear. YUMMMM. Bring on the chicken. However, the chicken is totally interchangeable with other ingredients! Here are a few ideas to make this dish your own (and feel free to mix and match, adding more than one):
Sauté some shrimp with the same seasonings as the chicken (but expect a MUCH shorter cooking time–shrimp only needs to turn light pink all over, and it’s done). Sauté scallops in place of the chicken (again, watch the cooking time!). Steam broccoli until crisp-tender, then lightly toss with salt and pepper before adding. Roast asparagus spears and roughly chop before adding to your dish. Sauté mushrooms (button or baby bella) in butter, salt, and pepper/. Ask your butcher for beef medallions to sauté (now THIS is getting fancy).
And fresh bread is always a good idea, like this One Hour French Bread or The Best Garlic Bread of Your Life, to mop up all that Alfredo sauce!
The only challenge is reheating it without causing the sauce to separate. I am good friends with my microwave, but it will give you noodles in a weird pile of greasy butter if you use it to reheat fettuccine Alfredo. Instead, heat up your desired portion in a saucepan or pot on low to medium heat, stirring gently, until it’s warm.
Do NOT try to freeze fettuccine Alfredo. Nothing good will come of it. The sauce will separate and you will not be able to preserve the sauce’s consistency.
