Ingredients 1 pint half and half 2 pint whole cream 6-8 oz parmesian cheese (parmigiana reggiana if you desire - get good stuff from a deli - this is the dominant flavor of the recipe so use quality) 1 lb or so of pasta (your choice, fettucinni is traditional; angel hair is nice too) Your choice of the following to your taste: veggies (brocolli, zuchinni, yellow squash, sliced carrots, red, yellow and/or green peppers (gorgeous colors) Italian sausage (mild/sweet cut into 1 inch chunks is nice) Shrimp (peeled and deveined) Ham (chunks) garlic cloves fennel seed olive oil (extra virgin or second pressed) Procedure Describe procedure here Set up your double boiler...you DO have a double boiler don't you? Alright, put one saucepan half full of water on to boil, DO IT NOW!!! Ok, now take another saucepan, not the one you just put on silly, get a fresh one and place it on top of the one already lovingly placed on the stove, you did place it with love did you not? Remember, it DOES taste better when made with LOVE. or if someone else does the dishes... Put the half and half into the top pan of your mocked up double boiler, and turn the heat down to a medium low, you just want to get the sauce warm enough to reduce, and to SLOWLY melt the cheese you are about to grate into it, trust me, it will be alright in the end..usually. When the half and half begins to steam slightly, slowly add the Whole Cream, you may be forgiven if you taste the whole cream at this point, I usually lick the carton afterward, silly lactose intolerant me. You want to keep the whole mess-uh-SAUCE just below simmering, WATCH the water in the lower boiler, top it off with more if it gets low, when the whole of the sauce is just giving off whisps of steam, get out the cheese grater (I use a rotary grater, or 6 inch belt sander but whatever you have on hand is fine) and SLOWLY grate the cheese into the cream sauce use the finest grater you have on hand, and the cheese works best for this at room temperature, no worries, it is a hard cheese and will work well at room temp., add and stir, add and stir, you will be doing this for a while, all the time keeping an educated eye on the temperature of it all, remember, if it boils, it scorches, you do not want that, it can be an expensive mistake and one that I have made all too often in my impatience. Keep adding cheese, using a fine grater until you have added about six (or eight…your choice) ounces, you want the sauce to dissolve the cheese you grate into it, but if for some reason it gets 'Grainy' do not worry, it will taste just as well. at about the mid point of all of this, set up a saute skillet (with a cover would be great) and over a medium heat, pour about three ounces of Olive Oil into the pan, then add the garlic and then crush and add the fennel seed, let it get good and hot then add the Meats of your choice, cook them until they are done and set them aside (remember, you have a sauce going, tend to that while you are doing this OR delegate delegate delegate) add a little more olive oil and saute the vegetables, just before they are finished (not quite soft) put the cover on the skillet and turn down the heat and let them finish to the texture you most like in a cooked vegetable. Hows the sauce doing? keep stirring the thing, it really likes that, reduce it all by about one third, and it should be done, it will thicken up as it sits once you remove it from the heat. set yet another pan on the stove (this meal is best for those winter months not just for eating, but for heating the house) In this pan add Olive oil (keeps the pasta from sticking together) some crushed fennel seed, (about a pinch) and a DASH (not much) of salt your choice of pasta (as much as you would need for you/your family, I cannot tell you how much you/your family will eat, so I leave it in your care) and boil until done (just this side of floppy, I prefer it to be just a touch 'al-dente' or firm...like my women) PASTA TIP: rinse it in COLD WATER to stop the cooking process or it will go to mush especially with the finer more delicate pastas. Just as the vegetables are finishing, add the meat that you set aside earlier. it is Ok to toss it all together if you choose. that should be about it... to serve it all, put the meat/vegetables on one serving bowl, the pasta in another serving bowl and the sauce in yet another bowl, take it all to the table and you may then dish out the items/quantities of your choice. This is served best among friends, with laughter, and all that stuff.
Created on ... July 19, 2005