Fettucine Alfredo

My father was an enthusiastic amateur cook; he worked in a bakery for several years as a teenager, and originally even intended to be a cook or baker when he joined the Navy. He'd do a recipe over and over until he'd gotten it right, even though by the time he got ones like this fettucine Alfredo recipe perfected, he was often facing a family mutiny from eating the same thing night after night.....

Make sure you make this in a warm casserole or chafing dish to keep the cheese from clumping up, and continue to keep warm while serving. Toss thoroughly after each addition in order to incorporate as much air as possible, but also do it as quickly as possible.

2 tablespoons salt
4 quarts boiling water
1 pound fettucine egg noodles, 1/4 inch wide
4 tablespoons softened butter
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup slightly-warmed heavy cream

Cook noodles in boiling salted water 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain in colander.
Pour hot noodles into a hot 2 quart casserole or a hot chafing dish over a warmer.
Add butter one tablespoon at a time, tossing each time until the noodles are well-coated.
Add cheese 1/2 cup at a time, tossing until well-coated after each addition. Add cream and toss.
Finish with several twists of freshly-ground black pepper.

Spatzle (Homemade German noodles)

This is an old recipe from my father's side of the family. Our grandmother used to always hover over us when my sisters and I were making spatzle, telling us that it was very important that we make nice THIN spatzle, because it was 'well known' that nobody wanted to marry girls who make fat spatzle!

There are different regional varieties of spatzle; ours is a longish thin noodle. By comparision, the Hungarians make it as small dumplings, about the size of a half-teaspoon.

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water

Beat egg in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, beat well to a smooth thin dough. Cover and let rest 1/2 hour, beat down. Bring four quarts of water to a rapid boil.
If you have a spatzel machine (similar to a ricer), dip it in the pot of boiling water, then fill it and squeeze the dough steadily into the water. Spatzel float to the top of the boiling water when they're cooked; remove them to a large pot of cool water. Continue until finished. (Make sure to leave the spatzel machine soaking in water until you do the dishes: you do NOT want to find out the hard way just how difficult cleaning a spatzle machine can be if the dough dries rock-hard!)

The older method for making spatzle uses a spatzle board (a thin wooden board, only about 1/4 inch thick, usually 7 or 8 inches wide by about 10 or 11 inches long, tapered on one end and with a handle on the other end) and a long straight-edged knife. Dip both the board and the knife in the pot of boiling water. Pour about half a cup of the dough onto the board; use the flat side of the knife to spread it thinly near the tapered end of the board. Use the knife to scrape thin rows of the dough off into the water. Again, the spatzle will float when done. Dip board into the pot of boiling water between each batch, and dip the knife frequently: this will keep the dough from sticking to them.