Homemade Alfredo Sauce

A long, long, long time ago (someone just mentioned "15 years ago" on my Facebook page) I found a homemade alfredo recipe in our local newspaper...my hometown Jacksonville Journal Courier. Every Wednesday the JJC had a food/recipe section that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. This Alfredo Sauce recipe has stood the test of time.

Now, the original recipe called for heavy cream, full-fat cream cheese, and 6-8 cloves of garlic. I know, I know...serious garlic. I have since refined the recipe to be a little more to my liking and a little (very little) more heart-healthy. This is not the type of sauce one would want to serve weekly, or maybe not even monthly. But, moderation...blah blah blah. Sometimes it's so good to be bad.

Here's how to be bad:

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

2 cups half-n-half
1 8 oz. block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/2 cup to 1 cup (or more) grated parmesan cheese
1/2 to 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste

Instructions:

In a heavy saucepan, add the half-n-half and begin to heat over medium. Add one half (4 ounces) of the cream cheese. Stir frequently with a whisk to melt the cream cheese. Add parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Continue to heat until cheeses are melted, and sauce is smooth.

Again, I pretty much made up the above measurements, because I like to experiment until I'm satisfied. So taste, stir, add more (in SMALL increments) of any of the above ingredients. More half-n-half will result in thinner sauce. More cream cheese...thicker sauce.

Note: you can use fresh garlic, but even when I put it through a garlic press, it still leaves little pieces in the sauce for a texture I'm not fond of.

As always, this is a sauce that is open to MANY variations:

• Sometimes I add some basil pesto for a pretty green Pesto-Alfredo sauce. You can buy pre-made, delicious pesto in almost any grocery store. I like the "Classico" brand. Add a couple of tablespoons to start, then taste and add more if necessary.

• "Classico" also makes a Roasted Tomato pesto, for a rose-colored tomato-y tasting alfredo sauce.

• Finally, one of my FAVORITE variations: Roasted Red Pepper alfredo. Add a few roasted red peppers (again, you can buy this product in jar at the grocery store) and use a hand-blender to mix into the alfredo sauce. LOVELY over cheese ravioli.

Finally, feel free to use the full-fat versions mentioned above, but don't hold me responsible for your cholesterol levels. I just made the recipe last night with heavy cream instead of half-n-half, because I was trying to use up cream before it expired. My husband RAVED about last night's Alfredo Sauce a little more than usual.