Baked Fettuccini

The first thing I unpacked in my new house was...of course, my kitchen. Followed by my shoes, LOL.

We had a new gas cooktop installed, and the new house comes with a double oven, which means I can cook up a storm. And I've definitely been doing that! I've got all these recipes that have been stacked up, just waiting for me to be settled enough to have time to cook. For weeks, we ate lots of takeout, as we were running between two houses, packing and unpacking, both DH and I too exhausted to do much more than grab a burger and fries for us and the kids.

But now, in my own house every night, I can cook every day :-)

I've also been overindulging in watching the Food Network, and this week I saw Giada cooking baked fettuccini. Considering Fettuccini Alfredo is like my all-time favorite thing in the universe, I thought this sounded like a very good thing.

The problem with the recipe is that it called for creme fraiche. You all know my issues with my local grocery store. The place doesn't always carry shallots, for Pete's sake. You think they're going to have something like creme fraiche?

Yeah. Same answer I got.

So I had to substitute. I read all the comments for the recipe, and made some adjustments to account for the lack of creme fraiche (substituting a mix of heavy cream and sour cream). So here's my version of Giada's Baked Fettuccini...and let me tell you, this was the BOMB. Very good, and the kind of thing you can serve to dinner party guests.

Baked Asiago Fettuccini

1 pound fettuccini pasta
2 cups grated Asiago cheese, plus 1/4 cup reserved
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 cup grated Parmesan (use fresh, it's worth it)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water. Reserve one cup of the pasta water, and mix that with the 2 cups Asiago cheese, cream, Parmesan, thyme, garlic and salt and pepper. Toss with fettuccini and put in a buttered 9 by 13 casserole. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 Asiago cheese. Bake for 25 minutes, then let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

If you like Fettuccini Alfredo, try this one :-)

I'll be back with more recipes very soon!

Shirley