Okay, this is Chewbacca. I'm Samin.
You may have seen my Netflix show. "Chewbacca and Samin."
No *laughs*
I'm Samin Nosrat of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat on Netflix.
Today I'm gonna make Fettuccine Alfredo.
Before we get started though, you should click below to subscribe.
Now it looks like this kitchen's super nice...
but something's going on.
I'm Jess welcome to my kitchen.
I know it looks really beautiful and I love cooking in here,
but there are a few things that make it less than ideal.
Our gas is off, so the stove isn't working.
*laugh*
I also used to have a rolling pin, but an ex-roommate stole it.
Should I ask why?
Alright, good luck, have fun.
*sustained laughter*
Alright.
My challenge is really gonna be to make the pasta by hand,
and to make the sauce and get the pasta cooked.
It's really cooking without a stove that's freaking me out.
I guess I'm cooking with a microwave today.
Which I've never really done before so that'll be fun.
Senior week, we can use that.
Cheez-Its!
Oh, my apron! Awesome.
This is kinda fun guys, I'm pretty excited.
So, I know I can make pasta. Flower and eggs, that one I'm good.
My ratio for making pasta, it's hard to forget
It's one cup of flour, one egg, one egg yolk.
This is the thing you've seen a million times
in every, like, Italian old time-y video.
You make a little well.
I just crack into the well.
And egg yolks.
And the idea is I'm breaking up the egg whites,
breaking up the egg yolks.
As I'm doing that, flour is starting to incorporate in.
Flour is slow to absorb liquid,
if you go slowly and work it in slowly it gives the flower
time to absorb the eggs and turn into dough.
Pasta is never the same twice.
So, you really have to use your senses.
When I'm rolling by hand it's better to have it on a little of a wet side.
Ope, that was a whole white.
This is so gross guys. *laughs*
You know when you open play-doh it's really soft,
and like, it just came out of that extrusion machine.
That's what you want, is like a brand new play-doh.
And let it rest for, I don't know, ten minutes.
At home I have a little hand-cranky guy that I clip to the counter.
We don't have that.
The next choice down is a rolling pin.
We don't have that.
So, I'm just gonna use this wine bottle.
I've definitely been in a rental home with no rolling pin.
So, this is not totally unfamiliar.
Also, I didn't make this up, it's a classic.
Like many an Italian grandma have done this.
I'm more nervous about the sauce.
*laughs* I'm pretty nervous about the sauce guys.
I'm just gonna cover it with a damp towel, and let it sit for a few minutes
before I get to the next step.
Oh, it's already so much floppier, and softer.
Floppy is good.
When I work on a machine, I like to roll the pasta out into one long strip.
But I think by hand I'm really just gonna, sort of
roll, roll, roll, always from the center out,
and then turn it.
Alright let's see if we're gonna be able to do this.
I had to cut that, because I wanna go thinner now.
My mentor, Benedetta, taught me to do this.
I'm using my hands to pull outward as I roll.
Alright, that's good.
basically translucent, at least in parts.
I'm gonna call that good enough.
I like to use a lot of flour in this step.
This is gonna be Lady and the Tramp style. They're really long.
I'll just cut it into noodles,
and shake off the excess flour.
Alright now we have to go into our new terrible territory.
To make the sauce first I'm going to bloom the garlic.
So, I'm gonna chop it up super-duper finely,
and soften some butter in the microwave.
Gonna have to do a lot of starting and stopping,
and beeping buttons.
Beep beep beep, boop boop boop.
Oh god!
Mmm, I think it can keep going.
I just want that very raw smell to be gone.
Your food is ready.
Okay.
It smells good, let's taste it.
Check! Okay.
I'm googling how to grate parmesan without a grater.
Oh, you can rub two pieces together?
*laughs*
Somethings happening.
Yeah it makes little weird clumps of cheese,
but it seems disrespectful so I'd rather do it like this.
I really don't think you can use too much parmesan,
especially in Alfredo.
I'd rather have more than less.
Now what I'm afraid of. The cream.
I wanna use a nice wide bowl.
When you heat liquids in the microwave
there's like crazy chemical reactions happening underneath
what appears to be a perfectly still surface.
It's basically boiling, or sometimes I think even hotter than boiling
underneath.
I think the way to prevent that whole surface tension insanity,
to encourage simmering, is to stop it pretty often
and like break the surface tension to let heat out.
We're just gonna be doing this for like thirty minutes guys.
Oh, something's happening, I just saw a bubble.
It's steam. Oh yes, oh god, oh god.
Alright it's fully simmering
Look, how crazy is that, when you put the spoon
and break the surface tension.
It's like a crazy science experiment.
I can't believe it worked.
I wanna make a little bit courser pepper than this.
Anything with a flat bottom that's nice and heavy,
you can just sorta smear it.
Smells good.
If I can make this into something that tastes pretty good.
I mean it's not gonna taste bad, it's cheese and cream.
We add our garlic, and black pepper.
You know what I haven't added any of? Salt.
I think Fettuccine Alfredo tastes like the most
luxurious, elegant macaroni and cheese you ever had.
I think people think it's kind of a trashy thing maybe.
But that's a mistake.
It's good.
More cheese.
I mean I feel like you could just eat this by the spoonful, it'd be so good.
Let me get the water going, because that's gonna take a minute.
Sup.
Now I have to take it out, salt it, and put it back.
Like salty as the sea is what I always say.
Aw man, I was so dumb.
I could have used the water boiler to boil the water.
Ugh!
Going in. Oh god, please. Oh god!
So, it almost boiled over, it didn't boil over,
it's not that much more water than pasta which freaks me out.
I'm like it's gonna cook into a whole clump at the bottom of the thing.
So, that was in there for maybe two and a half minutes.
That's what you want your pasta to be like, ya know?
Flippity floppity.
Now I have two important things.
I have the salty pasta water,
and the nice, like, creamy sauce.
You want that creamy yummy sound.
Honestly, I'm really pleasantly surprised that I got all the steps done.
I bloomed the garlic, I reduced the cream,
I made the whole sauce, I cooked the pasta.
I was able to do it and it wasn't disastrous,
it didn't separate, it didn't turn into like an oily mess.
It didn't sizzle and fizzle, and like sputter in there.
I didn't make a huge overflow like lava bomb in the microwave.
I'm not leaving this place totally destroyed.
I'm pretty proud.
The only think I'd do differently next time is use a stove.
The kitchen really needs a stove.
And honestly, I think the whole thing was a scam, I bet you it's working.
*laughs*
There we go, microwave mac.
*slurp*
Now can you give us some privacy so Chewie and I can eat our lunch.
Thank you.
Ready? Woah! *laughs*
Thanks so much for watching.
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I guess, now I'm just gonna eat my lunch.