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🌿💛 A Little Boy’s Favorite, All Grown Up
When Zach was just a little boy, my sister and I took him to an Italian restaurant and ordered him the children’s fettuccine Alfredo.
My little Zach practically inhaled it! 😊 He loved that pasta, and fettuccine Alfredo has been his favorite ever since.
So when he requested it for his 29th birthday, of course this mama was going to make it. But this year, he had something different in mind. He showed me a video and said he wanted to try the Roman style.
This version gets its silky sauce from butter, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and a little starchy pasta water. A short ingredient list, a little patient tossing, and a birthday dinner made with love.
We’ll be serving it with our family’s St. Louis–style Italian chopped salad—the other special request from the birthday boy. 🥬💛
🌿 ROMAN-STYLE FETTUCCINE ALFREDO
Zach’s Birthday Dinner
Serves 4 • Ready in about 25 minutes
🛒 INGREDIENTS
• 12 ounces fettuccine, such as Barilla Fettuccine
• 6 tablespoons Great Value Unsalted Butter, softened and cut into small pieces
• 5 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly and very finely grated from a wedge
• 2 cups reserved pasta cooking water—you’ll use only what you need
• Salt for the pasta water, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, optional, for serving
For this recipe, look for a wedge labeled “Parmigiano Reggiano” when shopping at Walmart. Weigh the cheese before grating, since cup measurements vary considerably.
👩🍳 DIRECTIONS
- Prepare the ingredients.
Finely grate the cheese and cut the softened butter into small pieces. Have everything ready before cooking the pasta. - Cook the fettuccine.
Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Salt lightly, remembering that the cheese adds saltiness. Add the fettuccine and cook according to the package directions until just al dente, stirring occasionally. - Warm your mixing bowl.
Fill a large heatproof mixing bowl with hot water. Once warmed, empty and dry it, then add the softened butter. Warm your serving bowls, too. - Save the pasta water.
Before draining, reserve 2 cups of the starchy cooking water. Transfer the hot noodles to the bowl with the butter. Add ¼ cup pasta water and toss until the butter melts and coats the noodles. - Make the silky sauce.
Keep the bowl off the heat. Once the butter has melted and the heavy steaming subsides, add the finely grated cheese in several small additions, tossing continuously. Add warm pasta water a tablespoon or two at a time until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and coats the fettuccine. - Serve right away.
Keep the sauce slightly loose because it thickens as it sits. Divide among warmed bowls and serve immediately, with black pepper if desired.
🌿 KITCHEN NOTES
• Freshly grated cheese is key. Choose a wedge rather than packaged shredded cheese for the smoothest results.
• Gentle warmth matters. Add the cheese off the heat; excessive heat can make it clump or become stringy.
• Keep tossing. That movement helps bring the butter, cheese, and starchy water together into a sauce.
• Too thick? Add a small splash of warm pasta water and toss again.
• Time dinner around the pasta. Prepare your salad first, then finish the Alfredo just before everyone sits down.
💛 A little RosemaryThyme note
Sometimes a favorite meal holds a whole chapter of family memories. I still picture that little boy enjoying his first plate of fettuccine Alfredo—and now I get to make it for his 29th birthday.
What a blessing it is to keep cooking for the people we love.
🛒 Browse my Walmart storefront:
https://walmrt.us/4xzgBgU
🏡 Visit RosemaryThyme Home:
https://rosemarythymehome.com
From my table to yours, with love.
Helene 😊
RosemaryThyme 🌿
Fall in Love with Home Again. 💛🏡
