Alfredo sauce

Whenever Darren and I go out to eat at an Italian restaurant, the one item on the menu that always, without fail, catches my eye is the seafood Alfredo. Doesn't matter if it has shrimp, scallops, or any other seafood combination. But as nearly the most expensive item on the menu, seafood Alfredo simply seemed out of our price range; it was an indulgence.

Then, one day, our local Smith's grocery store had scallops on sale. I figured I could get just enough to make a few servings of seafood Alfredo for about $2-3, add some bottled sauce, and put it over some pasta. The next day, though, as I was watching Rachael Ray's talk show (a recent "study break" habit of mine on campus), I watched her make Alfredo sauce from scratch. It was so simple! Butter, garlic, milk (and chicken stock, if you want), and flour--that's it!

And so I decided to make scallops in Alfredo sauce totally from scratch. Here's the process, my second time around making it. This time, I changed it just a bit, using cream instead of our regular skim milk, and adding in some grated Parmesan cheese.

Here's most of the ingredients, though I forgot to include the flour. And the butter. The resto f the ingredients: Cream (or milk, if you're a normal person), chicken stock or broth, chopped garlic, and a little bit of Parmesan cheese.

Oh, and if you're like me, you'll want scallops. You could also use chicken if you're not a fan of seafood. Darren wasn't crazy about the scallops last time I made this, so I made it with scallops for me and threw in some leftover chicken for his half.

Sautee the garlic in butter, then add in the scallops. I also add in a little drizzle of olive oil, but I don't know that it actually makes any difference. Get the scallops nice and golden-brown around the edges (these are not nearly dark enough).

Sprinkle in a little bit of flour. Sorry for the washed-out picture; I'm still new to this whole food-blog-photography thing. I'd say this is probably about a tablespoon of flour, maybe a bit more. Stir it around to soak up the butter and make the beginning of a roux (white sauce base).

Here's where it gets fun. And delicious. Pour in some cream! (or milk, again, if you're a normal person.) You don't need much--probably just a few tablespoons. Maybe a quarter cup. Ish. Can you tell I've spent a lot of time measuring this stuff?

Pour in a little chicken broth/stock -- about equal parts with the cream. Again, this is all approximate, so once you stir it all together, see if if needs a little more broth to thin it out or balance the flavor, etc.

Stir it all together until it's nice and creamy and coats the back of a spoon. (But not a non-stick spoon like the one I was evidently using. Nothing will coat the back of that thing!)

Now would be the time to add in leftover cooked, shredded chicken for non-seafood lovers. Ignore my freakish-looking hand; this is not a flattering angle.

Then plate it up over your choice of pasta -- I prefer fettuccine, but tonight we had bowtie pasta. It was delicious, with a side salad and some sliced peaches.

The short version: You can make Seafood Alfredo for two people for about $5 and it tastes delicious! You just need (approximately) a pat of butter, 1 clove chopped garlic, a tablespoon of flour, 1/4 cup of milk or cream, 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth, and a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese. Salt to taste and serve over pasta.

Enjoy!