Today we celebrate National Fettuccine Alfredo Day. So I ask you, what is Fettuccine Alfredo? At it’s most basic concept, it is Fettuccine Pasta that has been tossed in a sauce of heavy cream and fine Italian Cheeses. This year, I thought we’d take it one step further.
I’ve been thinking about my sister a great deal lately. I think her sudden death in October is beginning to sink in. We had talked about taking a vacation together this summer. I had shared pictures with her of our trip to Monterey to celebrate Kiddo’s birthday. We were looking at dates that would work for all of us, and I was researching routes that best suited her phobia of narrow coastal roads, cliffs and bridges. All these needed to be avoided in the drive from her home in Eastern Oregon down to Monterey. Before anything could be finalized, she was hospitalized yet again. It’s funny how you can become acustom to certain things. My sister has had breathing and lung issues most of her adult life. In recent years, she’s been hospitalized and put on oxygen numerous times. This was nothing new, so when she was in the hospital again in October, I really didn’t feel alarmed. This time was different. This time she didn’t come home. It was so sudden, that there are times when I need to remind myself she is gone.
For National Fettuccine Alfredo Day, I had originally planned to resurrect a recipe that has no pasta, but is in the style of an Alfredo Sauce since the chicken is smothered in a rich, creamy and oh so cheesy sauce. When Hubby and I first moved to our home in the central valley of California, my sister and her husband drove down for a visit. The Alfredo Smothered Chicken was my choice for the evening, served with a simple Garlic Linguine. That would have been a nice menu to share. However; it is Fettuccine Alfredo Day, not Garlic Linguine Day. So I decided to include my Fettuccine Alfredo as part of the main course this time around.
As for the prawns, it’s a recreation of a dish Hubby and I have enjoyed at a quaint Italian restaurant. I shared the recipe with my sister, promising to make it next time they came down. That, and the Chocolate Mousse. I never did get that chance. So I’m sharing with you all the dishes I wish I had shared with her. For National Fettuccine Alfred Day, I want to celebrate an amazing Italian Dish and also to celebrate my beautiful sister. I’ll set an extra place, because I know she is with me.
Rejoice and be glad. For there is no sorrow in death. The tears we shed are not for their loss, but ours, knowing that we have a hole in our lives that can not be filled – not here. But someday, that too will come to pass as all is made anew in the Lord.
An Alfredo Day Feast
Creamy Tiger Prawns
Alfredo Smothered Chicken
Simple Fettuccine Alfredo
Warm Bread
Choice Wines
Simple Caesar Salad
Mousse au Chocolat et au Brandy
Creamy Tiger Prawn
1 lb Black Tiger Prawns (16 large)
6 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Kosher Salt to taste
White Pepper to taste
4 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup White Wine
1-1/2 cups Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Italian Parsley, chopped for garnish
Roasted Baguette Slices, if desired for serving
Peel and devein prawns. These prawns can be served with or without their tails, it’s all a matter of personal style. Pat dry and set aside.
Peel and finely mince garlic cloves. Set aside until ready to use.
Heat oil a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season prawns with salt and pepper and sauté for about 2 minutes on each side, until just cooked through and pink. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.
Melt the butter in the now empty skillet. Sauté garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the white wine; allow to reduce to half while scraping any bits off of the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes.
Reduce heat to low-medium heat, add the cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
Add the Parmesan cheese and allow sauce to simmer just long enough for the cheese to melt and the sauce to thicken. Stir to blend smoothly.
As the sauce thickens, chop the parsley and set aside. Once the sauce is ready, add the prawns back into the skillet. Taste test sauce and adjust salt and pepper, if needed. Simmer until the prawns are warmed through.
If desired, slice baguette. Brush with olive oil, roast until warm on a baking sheet in a moderate oven.
To serve, ladle sauce on a rimmed serving plate or shallow bowl. Arrange shrimp on top of the sauce. Garnish with the chopped parsley. Place warmed baguettes around the edge of the platter and serve.
Alfredo Smothered Chicken
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper
4 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
1/4 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1/4 cup Basil Pesto or more to taste
1 (15 oz) jar Alfredo Sauce
Heat oven to 350-degrees.
Stack the bacon strips, chop then fry in skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to paper towel-lined plate, leaving drippings in skillet.
While the bacon is frying, core; seed and dice the bell pepper. Set aside.
In the now empty skillet, cook the bell pepper in bacon drippings over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender and just beginning to blister. Remove peppers from the skillet with a slotted spoon.
Season the chicken breasts with black pepper. If the breasts are large, cut in half to make 8 breasts. This will also help the chicken cook faster without drying out.
In same skillet with bacon drippings, cook chicken breasts over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per side, until brown. Place chicken breasts in ungreased 11-inch by 7-inch (2-quart) baking dish. Set aside.
In medium bowl, stir bell pepper, Basil Pesto and Alfredo sauce until well blended. Pour sauce over the chicken. Cover with foil.
Bake in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and juice of the chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (at least 165-degrees). Remove from oven. Sprinkle chicken with chopped bacon.
Simple Fettuccine Alfredo
8 oz uncooked Fettuccine
1/2 cup Butter
Parsley for garnish
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Romano Cheese
Pinch Nutmeg
Kosher Salt to taste
White Pepper to taste
Additional Parmesan Cheese for garnish
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook and drain fettuccine as directed on package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
While the pasta is cooking, cut butter into small pieces. Chop the parsley and set aside.
In large skillet over medium heat, heat butter and heavy cream, stirring frequently, until butter is melted and mixture starts to bubble. Reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
Once the pasta has drained, add to the skillet. Swirl pasta in the sauce, toss to coat well. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a little pasta water until desired consistency is reached.
Transfer Fettuccine Alfredo to large bowl, garnish with chopped parsley and additional Parmesan Cheese as desired. Serve and enjoy.
Warm breads and a selection of choice wines complete the main course of the evening.
Simple Caesar Salad
1 head Romaine Lettuce
Favorite Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing
Parmesan Cheese as desired
Caesar Garlic Croutons as needed
Fresh Pepper as desired
Tear lettuce leaves into large bite-size pieces. Place in a bowl and add a small amount of Caesar Dressing on lettuce leaves, just enough to lightly coat leaves, toss to blend.
Plate the salad on chilled salad plates, top with Parmesan Cheese and croutons. Add fresh black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.
Mousse au Chocolat et au Brandy
Mousse
6 oz chopped Dark Chocolate
4 tablespoons Butter, soft
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons Brandy
4 tablespoons Sugar, divided
4 separated Eggs
Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Whisk the butter into the melted chocolate, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in the vanilla, Brandy and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir until well incorporated.
Whisk in the yolks one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next. Set the mixture aside.
Stir the egg whites in a mixing bowl set over a saucepan of hot water until the whites are slightly warm (1 to 2 minutes). Remove the bowl from the saucepan, then beat hard until stiff peaks form. Slowly add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue to beat until shiny. Whisk a quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the rest of the remaining whites. Be careful to not overwork the mixture.
Spoon the mousse into individual Martini Glasses. Refrigerate for several hours for mousse to set.
Whipped Cream
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Brandy
Chill mixing bowl & beater for 30 minutes.
Pour heavy cream into the well-chilled bowl. Add sugar and brandy. Whip on low speed until just beginning to froth. Increase speed to medium and whip until soft peaks form. Increase to high, continue to whip until stiff.
Finishing Touches
Chocolate Curls as desired
Hazelnut Pirouette Crème Filled Wafers
Using a vegetable peeler, shave curls from a chocolate candy bar, set aside.
Top each serving of mousse with whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate shavings and wafer cookies as desire.
Commit to the Lord your way;
trust in Him, and He will act.
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