[recipe] one pot alfredo pasta

I wasn’t really feeling like doing a restaurant post today. My grandfather, who moved out here to live with us from Massachusetts just a month ago, has been in the hospital. He had gall bladder surgery but is now having a hard time recovering. Things haven’t been going so great the last couple of days so I haven’t felt like blogging too much.  I’m just going to do a “quickie” for a recipe I made for dinner. Inspired by seeing Kirbie’s latest one pot recipe for creamy tomato pasta, I peeked around in my fridge and found I could probably do a quick Alfredo pasta. I didn’t want the hassle of lots of pots and dishes so this seemed like a good time to try it out. It’s very few ingredients and very little prep time so you can have this whole thing done in 30 minutes or less.

I used homemade chicken stock that we already had on hand, half & half (cream would be richer/more flavorful but I only had half & half), a mix of cheeses (mostly Parmesan), chopped garlic, butter, olive oil, salt and pepper. I started by sauteing the garlic in olive oil and butter for about 1-2 minutes before adding the stock, half & half, and pasta right into the pot. Salt and pepper for seasoning and the cheese was added off the heat and  the whole thing cooked for about 15-16 minutes.

Really simple and really tasty – I didn’t let all of the liquid evaporate and upon standing the sauce thickened right up. A little sprinkle of basil (or in my case, a few sprigs) helps to lend a little additional flavor and freshness.