Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Recipe Time

We are in the midst of getting ready for this weekend's celebration of my parent's 50th anniversary. The actual date was last Friday and we went out to a Japanese steak house. It was fun. The best part was watching my grandfather's face as he watched the cook on the grill.

Anyhow, I was looking for an easy Alfredo sauce because we are going to have a pasta bar. My sister was going to buy the jar sauce. Yucky! Well my friend Jen was telling me about an easy recipe she makes for Alfredo sauce that was easy but she couldn't email me until she got back home to TN to get the recipe. I started some research and found one. We tried it out Sunday, it was delish and we were dying for bread sticks to dip in our sauce.

After making this and it being so easy and delicious , it made me realize it really is ridiculous how much we pay for a meal at Italian restaurants. On average, probably $12 and I think that is low.

Here goes:

1/4 lb butter
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
pepper

Place butter and garlic in sauce pan. Let butter melt. Add cream cheese and use whisk to stir. When well blended add the milk and half and half. Whisk constantly. When it looks like it is well blended add Parmesan cheese and pepper to your liking. Remove from heat. Let sit a few minutes and whisk before serving. Makes enough for a pound of pasta. You can add chicken , shrimp or broccoli if desired.

Breakdown of cost. I had the milk, garlic and pepper. The butter, cream , half and half and parmesan cheese were $7.25 but it was enough to make 4 batches. One batch would feed four with a pound of pasta.

It took all my might not to eat it like soup because it was so delicious.

2 comments:

betty said...

interesting with putting cream cheese in the sauce, it does sound delicious though! you are absolutely right with how much things cost out in a restaurant compared to making them at home and they often taste so much more better making them at home.

good luck with the party; the pasta bar sounds like a great idea

I like those Japanese places too; always fun to watch the cooks "perform" as they are cooking our meals

betty

Marcia said...

I know this is going to sound weird, but my boyfriend and I are foodies.. thats not the weird part LOL! We dont eat out, EVER! We started dating a year ago, and because we live in "disney" area everything is marked up, its disgusting! Anyway, He is a Chef, and I have attended culinary classes but took to hospitality better. When we want to go out, we look at the menu of where we are thinking of going, and then pick the items we would eat there. We then, make a FEAST for the next 2-3 days because we always make recipies for 4 people (no wonder we are fat) It ends up being 90% cheeper in the long run, and I am much happier, setting the table in all my pretty "stuff" and he gets to cook for me new recipies. It is always a lot of fun, and makes us happier. ANyway, my whole point is, this started after we went to Olive Garden one day, and spend 60 Dollars for 2 people to eat dinner. PASTA DINNER, that is. NEVER EVER again! So, I hope you enjoy cooking, and the party, and If you need a recipie any time, let me know, i have TONS!