Quick and easy, super fatty and oh so tasty. Never eat the fast food version again!

I am the biggest Splendid Table fangirl. Recently their email newsletter featured a super simple fettuccine alfredo recipe I just had to try. So here it is, in standard step by step instructa-format - just because I think more people need to know about the goodness of homemade fettuccine alfredo. :D

Step 1: Gather Your Bits and Bobbles!

For this recipe, you will need:

1 cup heavy cream
1 pound fettuccine
6 tbs. unsalted butter
2 cups grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

You'll also need a large pot for boiling the pasta, a grater, a strainer, and a large frying or saute pan to toss everything in and melt the butter.

Step 2: Grating the Cheese!

I do this the old fashioned way because I lack money for fancy food processors and I like the physcial act of grating the cheese. It smells amazing!

Unwrap your cheese and cut the rind off. Put the rind in a plastic bag. You can keep this in the freezer and use it in soups! I recommend putting it into a herby bean soup - those are the best!

Then, cut your cheese into two smaller pieces if it's especially large.

At this point, either tear off a sheet of parchment paper or use a large plate to set the grater on. That way, you'll be grating onto a surface that will allow you to dump the cheese right into the pot.

So grate away! Eyeball the amount. Use less or more according to your level of cheese desire.

Step 3: Pasta Cooking and Butter Melting.

Fill the big pot with water (I'm using a stockpot) and throw in a couple of generous pinches of salt. Bring this to a boil.

As soon as the water comes to a boil, dump your pasta in. You need to cook the pasta so that it is slightly underdone. You want it to still be able to accept some liquid so that it'll soak up the cream later!

Put the 6 tbs. of butter into the saute pan over medium/low heat and start it melting while the pasta cooks. As soon as it's melted, turn off the heat. You don't want the butter to brown.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and we'll move on to the next step.

Step 4: Making the Sauce!

When the pasta is draining, reheat the butter. You'll want the heat to be medium high.

Now, turn the pasta into the pan and pour the cream over top. You'll fold this mixture together for a few minutes until the pasta soaks up nearly all of the cream.

Then, add the cheese and fold again. It'll take a little elbow grease to get it all combined.

Once it's combined, taste test and add pepper and salt as desired. I like a ton of pepper on mine. :D