Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp and Mushrooms

My cousin's wife made this dish for him for Valentine's Day. I love anything that involves pasta, shrimp, and heavy cream, so when she posted a picture of it on Facebook I immediately asked for the recipe. I made it sometime last week and it was a hit. I've always been scared of cream sauces, but this one was no fail. It tasted great and the bf actually said it tasted like it came from a restaurant. I used shrimp and mushrooms because I had some left over that I need to use, but you can use anything you want in replace of that. Chicken and asparagus would probably be good, too.


I used 7 cloves of garlic, about 25 shrimps cut in half, and I had some mushrooms left over that I needed to use up.


Cook the mushrooms, shrimp, and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter (salt and pepper at this point, too) until the shrimp is pink and the mushrooms are cooked. If you're using any other type of vegetable that takes a little longer to cook, do that first and then add in the shrimp.


When everything is cooked, add in 1 cup of heavy cream (or half and half) and stir.


Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese in 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. Taste to see if you need salt and add accordingly.


When the sauce has thickened, dump in 1 pound (16 ounces) fettuccine pasta and stir. Be sure to reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining. You might need it to thin out the sauce a bit. I thought I didn't need it so I threw it out, but then my pasta sat for a little bit and everything thickened and I sure could have used it.


Top with a little bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I served it with garlic bread that I made by softening some butter and adding 2 cloves of grated garlic. I slathered it on half a French bread loaf and then cooked the bread for 15 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. I ended up setting it under the broiler for a couple minutes to get some color on it.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp and Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 pound(16 oz.) fettuccini pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound shrimp-peeled and deveined
8 oz. container of mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic (or 7), minced
1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan for topping

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package; drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

2. In a large skillet, sauté shrimp, mushrooms, and garlic in the butter for a few minutes until the shrimp turn pink and the mushrooms are cooked. Pour in half and half; stir. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese in one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. After all Parmesan is added, taste and salt accordingly.

3. When sauce has thickened, combine with cooked pasta noodles; serve hot.