Basic(ally) Garlic Cream Sauce.

Truly "traditional" Alfredo sauce is just butter and Parmesan cheese, but I'm partial to the cream-based kind.  So you can imagine my dismay when the first time I wanted to try making Alfredo sauce, my refrigerator had neglected to magically produce heavy cream.  As any perfectly reasonable person living less than ten minutes away from a grocery store would do, I skipped the extra trip and went in search of alternatives in my Great Guide to All Things Food-Related (ahem, the Internet). While it was agreed that using a roux and milk (aka Béchamel) does not a "real" Alfredo sauce make, most reviews of sauces made this way were positive. So I melted butter, added flour, and whisked in milk and cheese. When I was through, it tasted... well, not terrible.  

This.  It tasted like this, OK?

What I did wrong: 

1) Didn't add enough flour or thicken the roux enough.

2) Added too much milk too fast.

3) Left out extra flavor (good butter and cheese is great on its own, but in a sauce, I think something extra is needed?  Like garlic, or you know, even just salt and pepper...)

After a couple tries, though, I got down a basic "cream" sauce that is easy, quick, and can be adapted to various dishes.  

First, let's talk Parmesan.  If you just have prepackaged grated or shredded cheese on hand, you can use it, and it won't have a bad flavor.  But I've found that most prepackaged cheeses lend a gluey, almost chewy texture to the sauce.  A block of good Parmesan cheese is a nice staple to have around, and grating enough for this recipe shouldn't take much time.

Now, on to the other ingredients.  To make enough sauce for 1/2 pound of pasta (feeds ~6 people depending on how hungry everyone is), I use:

1 clove garlic, minced (1/8 tsp garlic powder if you prefer)

3-4 tbsp salted butter*

4-5 heaping tbsp flour

~3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2-2 cups whole milk*

Salt & pepper to taste (roughly 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper for me, but I like pepper)

"How precise!"  You're probably thinking.  As long as you have roughly these amounts, it all comes down to how you add them together.  Depending on how hot your stove top gets, none of these steps should take more than a couple minutes.

1)  Melt the butter in a sauce pan or sauté pan over low/medium-low heat.  I add the garlic just after the butter has melted, but you can add it with the flour, too.

2)  Add about a tablespoon of flour at a time, using a spoon or whisk to stir, until the mixture is thick and clumpy, continuing to stir so the butter doesn't brown. I've found that it takes roughly a tablespoon more flour than butter to get it to this stage. It should all look like the clumps around the whisk in the picture below (I couldn't get a picture of it at the final stage because whisking and picture-taking was more of a challenge than anticipated).

3)  Whisk in milk slooooowwwwly.  I add a splash first, then add about 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture is thick but creamy.  You'll probably have some milk leftover.

4)  Whisk in the cheese.  After whisking in cheese, you can add a bit more milk if the sauce seems too thick or heavy for your liking.  

5) Add salt and pepper to taste, and you're done!  

I like to add a handful of fresh spinach to the sauce at the end and let it wilt slightly, then serve it with pasta, but you can serve it over chicken or use it in any other recipe that calls for cream sauce. 

Or you could just add meat to the pasta and have the best of both worlds.

Italian sausage works very well.

DEEMS THIS RECIPE:
Definitely easier than pie.

*You can use reduced-fat or non-fat ingredients if you prefer it or for whatever reasons cannot eat the full-fat versions.  I do think a higher percentage of milk fat and real butter gives a better texture and richer flavor to the sauce, but others might disagree.  My personal philosophy: a smaller quantity of really good full-fat food > a larger portion of OK lighter food.  It's like chocolate. One square of high-quality chocolate is better than any candy bar.  Except when you just want a Twix. Or multiple squares of really good chocolate.  No judgment here.