The Traveling Epicurean

Chicken Alfredo & The Madison Cheese Shop

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Chicken Alfredo & The Madison Cheese Shop

Talk about a perfect sauce, well this homemade Alfredo sauce is right on the money! Not only can you make this Alfredo sauce in 5 minutes but it’s a delicate sauce, cheesy, but not too heavy, nutty, sweet and tangy all at the same time. Granted this sauce will come out good no matter which reggiano cheese you end up with but we go to The Madison Cheese Shop to get a three year old aged Reggiano Parmigiano which just takes the Alfredo sauce to another level, where it should be.

You can really taste the difference from a generic grocery store cheese to a specialty cheese shop cheese like this incredible Reggiano Parmigiano that I got from Fawn at The Madison Cheese Shop. With knowledgeable people like Fawn and Henry, Fawn’s assistant at Madison cheese, you just can’t go wrong making this one of your routine stops building on your own knowledge of cheeses and inventory!`

You can keep this fettuccine alfredo vegetarian or add in chicken and asparagus as I did in the show. A nice combination for this alfredo sauce is to add in peas and crispy bacon and you have yourself some fettuccine carbonara. Have fun with this one by adding in your favorites or just changing up the pasta shape because you have the perfect Alfredo sauce base already figured out for you!

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups heavy cream (1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups half & half)
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh grated Reggiano Parmigiano
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6 strips of Boars Head smoked bacon, cooked til crispy and then crumbled or sliced into 1/2″ strips (which ever you prefer)
  • 1 bunch fresh asparagus blanched for 4 minutes, then throw on grill for 3 minutes if grilling chicken just for extra flavor, then slice into 1″ pieces putting aside several tips for garnish
  • 1 lb. egg fettuccine pasta OR your favorite pasta
  • 2 grilled chicken breasts or sautéed chicken breasts ( click this link for sautéed chicken recipe)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Cook up bacon slices, cool and slice or crumble
  2. Grill up or sauté your 2 chicken breasts and dice up into 1″ pieces
  3. Blanch your asparagus and if grilling, throw onto grill just briefly for grill flavor, remove and slice into 1″ pieces
  4. Cook fettuccine according to directions on box
  5. Add heavy cream to a large sauce pan with wine and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes
  6. If chicken has cooled add in diced chicken and asparagus and simmer for 5 minutes
  7. Turn off the heat to sauce pan and whisk in 1 1/2 cup Reggiano cheese
  8. Place cooked pasta into a large serving bowl, pour over the Alfredo sauce and toss
  9. Serve and garnish with bacon and more grated Reggiano