Ok now I have one of my favorite bases I would like to share with you. This is my starting point for making Alfredo sauce which is what I made with it in the following pictures.
You can also use this base to make an outstanding cheese sauce. To make that alternate you just add a blend of cheeses at the end and stir them in.
This particular recipe I learned while being a first line cook at a gourmet restaurant and have not found one that is better.
You will have to do a little experimenting with the proportions to get it the way you like it as I don’t measure this particular recipe, just go by feeling.
What you will need is the following for the base;
Clarified butter (no top or bottom cream as it will scorch out due to the high heat).
Minced Garlic
Onion (optional)
Heavy Whipping Cream
Ground Pepper
Here is how you make the base: Take a large non stick frying pan and put a coating of clarified butter in the bottom and get it hot. Add some minced garlic (onion is optional) and fry it until it turns a golden brown color.
Add heavy whipping cream. On the highest heat bring to a strong bubbling boil across the whole pan.
At this time you can add some ground pepper or my favorite is some fresh multi colored peppercorns (can’t find any here in the US L) Stirring constantly the mixture will begin to thickening. When you start to see a 4-7” trail behind the spoon you are reaching the consistency you want.
Alfredo Option: Continuing on high heat and while stirring add some shredded parmesan cheese and this will thicken up the sauce very nicely. Now you can add the cooked and drained noodles and fold in to coat well. Turn off the heat and immediately serve.
I like color in mine so I steamed up some carrots, broccoli, and red peppers to lay on the side of the dish. I made up a nice chicken breast, cut it up and laid it across the top of the Fettuccini Alfredo. A nice lemon pepper chicken breast gives a great taste compliment to this dish.
Now for some outstanding variations:
Pasta Blackshear; make same as above for Alfredo, but add fresh multi colored peppercorns to the sauce after you add the cream. At the end fold into the Fettuccini Alfredo a blend of steamed vegetables (red pepper, green pepper, carrot, broccoli, and cauliflower), some medium to large shrimp scampi, and at the very end some sweet cherry tomatoes. When these sweet little darlings pop in your mouth the flavor combines with the rest of the dish for a truly amazing taste.
Seafood Alfredo; cook up a great seafood melody (small shrimp, squid, mussels, scallops, etc) and right after adding the parmesan cheese add the cooked seafood to the sauce and cook through for a couple of minutes. Fold the pasta into the sauce and immediately serve with a melody of steamed vegetables wrapped around the outside to “frame” the dish in a multitude of colors.
Charcoal Grilled Walleye Seafood Alfredo; make up the same as the Seafood Alfredo, but at the very end lay a charcoal grilled walleye fillet on top. To make the walleye I use a closed wire basket made for this purpose. I brush the fish with a white wine and butter sauce, sprinkle it with herbs, salt and pepper. Grill over high heat until done.
Cheese Sauce Option: Same as Alfredo, but add a good amount of your blend of cheeses, for example Cheddar, Colby, and Jack to make a nice cheese sauce.
Notes on this dish and warnings; you have to keep the sauce boiling in a rapid manner. If your dish separates into oil and cream globs, you probably have too much butter and not enough cream. Have every thing ready, this dish is extremely demanding of your attention and will not tolerate being ignored even for a minute.