Spicy Zoodle Alfredo

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I have been cooking for as long as I can remember. Cooking always starts out on the bottom rung whether in the professional kitchen or the home one. I truly believe it’s there in the midst of the kitchen support jobs that you learn the most. Some of my fondest memories are being in the kitchen with my Grandmother and I was her little helper and runner, essentially her souz chef. Once I got down what ingredients were needed and proved that I could listen in the kitchen I graduated to being a little cook too. Of course I still had the grunt work to do. I didn’t care. I loved every minute I would watch how she would chop, dice, slice, batter, and how exactly many stirs she did until everything was combined. She probably didn’t realize but I watched everything she did, asked a million questions and still to this day when I fry up zucchini I can’t help but smile and think how much she would enjoy it.

I have moved up from kitchen runner to head cook now. I love cooking and entertaining. Cooking over the years has taught me so much, about myself, short cuts, tricks of the trade that only come with time and experience. People eat with their eyes first. If it doesn’t look pretty on the plate then people are less likely to try it or eat it. I have become a bit obsessed with high quality cookware. I would rather own a few high quality pieces than a lot of not so good cookware. One brand that I have come to trust for its quality and beauty is Calphalon.

I have used the gamut of cookware over the years and bar none, nothing cooks like a great stainless steel skillet. One that has even heating throughout the pan, I can literally take it from stovetop, induction top, gas or electric, into the oven and then straight to the table. Not all cookware can boast that and it’s absolutely a necessity for me. I was shopping on Macys.com and came across the Calphalon signature series stainless steel 12″ Omelette pan.

This pan is a thing of beauty. It gleams right out of the package and will go from oven to table in a beautiful presentation style. I knew I had to have it. People eat with their eyes first right? This pan will add beauty to whatever you are making and presenting.

I decided that I wanted to make a spicy zoodle Alfredo. Zoodles?? What are they? They are zucchini noodles. I like to focus on quality ingredients but hiding a little extra nutrition in there as well. The trick when making these noodles is to get the appropriate sized zucchini for your zoodle maker. Too big and it won’t fit. I also like to do one full turn of the zucchini and stop and let the zoodles fall. Otherwise you end up with really long noodles. There are plenty of ways to prepare them. You can put them directly into the sauce and cook them for literally a minute or two or you can quickly blanch them in boiling water for 60 secs. This has become my go to for when I want a tasty pasta dish but I don’t want all the carbs.

So How do you make Zoodles?

You must find a vegetable spiralizer. Research and find one that works for you. There are many different kinds on the market, you need one that it hearty enough to handle both soft veggies and hard ones as well. When selecting your veggies for zoodles or sprializing others, make sure they are the right size and fit into the hole of your spiralizer, if its too big the “noodles” won’t come out.

As you place the vegetable into the hole turn the veggie against the spikes and it will create noodles. I stop after a few rotations and cut the noodles off. Other wise you end up with several massively long strands of veggie noodles.

I decided that I would make the Alfredo sauce and add in the zoodles at the very end.  So before I began cooking anything I got out my zoodle maker and using 2 zucchinis I made a bowl full of noodles. I have gotten the Alfredo sauce down to a science. The trick  honestly is to not skip the heavy cream. If you want a great tasting alfredo, deal with calories and enjoy every glorious bite. To begin this beautiful masterpiece I placed 2 sliced hot sausage links in the pan with 1 tsp of butter. I let them brown and then added in 3oz of sun dried tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic diced and 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper. Its important that all of this is done over medium to medium low heat. If the pan gets too hot then when you add the cream it will break and that will not be beautiful or delish.  Once the sausage is browned to your liking pour in the heavy cream. Allow the mixture to just come to a bubble. You must stir this constantly. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all those delicious bits up. Once the mixture bubble stir in the parmesan. It won’t take long for this to start to thicken. Once it begins to thicken add in your already made zoodles and cook for 1-2 minutes, no longer!!! Remove from heat and serve immediately!

The Calphalon 12″ Omelette Pan is a pan I will continue to use over and over again. Check out all the Calphalon products on Macys.com and in store at Macy’s

Enjoy! Remember to connect with Caphalon on social media:

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Ingredients:

4 oz of hot sausage sliced

2 cups of heavy cream

1 cup of parmesan (or more if you like)

1 tsp of butter

3 oz of sun dried tomatoes diced

4 cloves of garlic chopped

2-3 small zucchinis

Directions:

In a pan over medium heat melt one tbs of butter and add in the sausage, garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Allow the sausage to brown on both sides. While that is cooking, get out the zoodle maker and using 2-3 small zucchinis turn them in the zoodle maker stopping after one turn as to not make the zoodles too long. You don’t have to do this step its a personal preference. Once sausage is browned add in two cups of heavy cream, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Once the cream comes to a bubble add in the parmesan cheese and allow to thicken. Once the mixture is thickened add in zoodles and cook for no longer than 1-2 minutes.