SAY (CREAM) CHEESE!
Make your own Earls’ pasta
Robust, relaxed and good to enjoy with beer or wine — such is the cuisine in Earls: The Cookbook (Appetite by Random House, $35). The book tells the story of the family-run restaurant chain and offers 110 customer-approved recipes.
Earls is a cosy and informative read. And it’s user-friendly thanks to the home-testing of the recipes by chef Fay Duong.
The first of the chain’s 68 restaurants opened in Edmonton in 1982 with a burger-and-beer focus. Earls now extends through Western Canada, Ontario and into the U.S., offering what the owners call “premium casual” cuisine with dishes from many culinary traditions.
Each recipe has a lively introduction and usually a tip, often a recommendation for a particular ingredient.
This pasta dish is made more succulent by adding cream cheese to the traditional cream and Parmesan. You could add hot diced chicken breast or shelled shrimp to the fettuccine, or go with the book suggestion and serve it with a bacon cheddar burger.
FETTUCCINE ALFREDO
Serves: 6 1 lb (454 g)
dried fettuccine, uncooked 2 cups (500
mL) whipping cream 4 oz (114 g) cream
cheese at room temperature, cubed 1 tsp (5 mL) fine
salt 1/4 tsp (1 mL)
ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp (1 mL)
ground white pepper 1/2 cup (125 mL)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp (15 mL)
finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1. Cook the fettuccine in a large pot of boiling, salted water just until al dente or beginning to be tender.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 cup (250 mL) of the cream with the cream cheese, whisking continually until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
3. Add the remaining cup (250 mL) cream, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Lower heat to low and cook, whisking, until sauce simmers. Remove from heat.
4. Drain cooked fettuccine but do not rinse it. Add pasta to the hot sauce, tossing to coat the noodles with sauce.
5. Serve in heated bowls, each topped with grated cheese and the hot, cooked chicken or shrimp, if using. Trim with parsley and serve at once.