Make this dish!

This is super fast and easy, plus it is damn tasty.

The base of this recipe is taken from the Joy of Cooking, which you should really consider buying if you don’t already own a copy.


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1 lb of fettuccine noodles
1 stick of salted or unsalted butter, room temperature (It depends on how much you want to control the amount of salt in the dish. I personally use salted butter, and think it works well.)
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese*
1 cup of heavy cream
1 – 1 ½ pounds of chicken breast, cut into medium sized chunks
10 oz of cremini or baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

Start boiling your big pot of salted water for the pasta. Meanwhile heat a pan and sauté the mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil until the water has been cooked out of them. Set aside. In the same pan add a touch of butter and some more olive oil and sauté the chicken. Meanwhile cook the noodles, following the instructions on the package. It usually takes me around 13 minutes to cook the noodles, and that is plenty of time to cook the chicken through. When the chicken is done, drain out any excess fat from the pan and add the mushrooms back in. Drain the noodles, and place the pot back on low heat. Throw in the stick of butter and let it melt. Put the noodles back in and add the cream. Stir to coat, and then start adding the parmesan cheese a little at a time. Once the noodles are nice and coated, add the chicken and mushrooms and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Seriously, try this dish. It is indulgent but SO much better than most of the Fettuccine Alfredo you get in restaurants. Of course it is rich, but not overly so. You can also easily adapt this in many ways. You can just go plain, more mushrooms, seafood, etcetera. Essentially whatever strikes your mood that day. It is also easily doubled, just in case you need to feed a crowd.

* PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not use crappy parmesan cheese for this dish. I’m looking at you Kraft stuff that doesn’t come refrigerated. You will notice the difference in the final product. It will not be as creamy, and the flavor will somewhat resemble kindergarten paste. If your supermarket offers BelGioioso parmesan cheese, go with that. If you live in Pittsburgh, Giant Eagle carries this at most stores. And it is available either in a wedge form or pre-grated.


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Hi, I like wine that lives in a box.

As W.C. Fields once said “I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” When a fairly regular occurrence in your household is to prepare dinner will sipping on some wine, the cost has to enter into the equation. While I would love to be able to crack open a moderately priced bottle of wine whenever I felt like it, I know that does not fit in my budget. Where to turn then? The fine world of boxed wine … or “casks” because that is a lot classier.

When I’m looking for a budget selection I almost always (unless I need to buy a 1.5 of white for a place that is BYOB) select reds. In my opinion the margin for error is so much greater. A cheap red wine can be “meh,” a cheap white can taste like jet fuel. Therefore I almost always end up selecting a Red Burgundy wine, not from the actual region in France, just the nice imitation our friends in California produce. It certainly has body, but the flavors are not as deep as a Cabernet Sauvignon or spicy as a Shiraz. It easily compliments most dishes, and is most excellent for cooking. The best thing, though? I can purchase five whole liters of it for around 15.00*!

My favorite for the longest time was Inglenook Burgundy. But then the asshats that run the state stores decided to stop ordering this variety about a year ago. Below is a search of the PA wine catalogue. It doesn’t appear anywhere in the state. Nice.



With Inglenook being impossible to find, I was forced to switch to Almaden Mountain Burgundy.


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That beauty above can almost always be found in my fridge. And yes, I prefer all my wines chilled. Suck it, snobs.

It certainly isn’t fantastic, but it is pleasant enough and works well in all my recipes. What is your favorite budget wine selection? Also has anyone had success creating a special order at a PA State Store?


* Here is some trivia for you. Five liters of wine is officially called a “Franzia.”