Fettuccine All'Alfredo

This is commonly thought of as a northern Italian dish but it actually comes from Rome. It is named after a restaurant owner, Alfredo, whose trademark was to give his pasta a final toss with a gold fork and spoon before sending it to the table.

(For 1 lb dried, store-bought pasta)
3 Tbs butter
1 cup heavy cream
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (don’t be tempted to skip this ingredient)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshlly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.

Put the butter and cream in a large skillet over a medium-high heat and boil, stirring frequently, until the cream has reduce almost by half. Add the freshly grated nutmeg, some salt and a generous amount of fresh black pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta to the boiling water in the saucepan, stirring well. When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce in the skillet.

Add the freshly grated cheese to the skillet, then toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce, and season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.