Food & Drink

Balsam Mountain Inn’s Fancy Fettuccine

Recipes with secret ingredients are our favorites—take this sauce from Desperation Dinners, for example. You’d never guess that the secret ingredient in this delicious, creamy fancy hotel dish is Knorr Fine Herb Soup and Recipe Mix. (Or that you can make this meal for 4 in 20 minutes flat!)

Photo © Fifth World Art

FANCY FETTUCCINE

Serves 4

This recipe comes from chef Noell Teasley of the Balsam Mountain Inn in Balsam, North Carolina. We sized it for home use and were thrilled to find that the sauce takes just minutes to prepare. You’ll only use half the envelope of soup mix, and since the sauce for this dish does not store well, pop the extra mix into a zipper-top bag and save it for another batch. The dish is so simple and satisfying, you’ll probably find yourself reaching for the remaining soup mix sooner than you’d expect.

8 ounces fettuccine
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts packed in water
1 tablespoon butter
1½ cups already-sliced fresh mushrooms
⅓ cup (½ package) Knorr Fine Herb Soup and Recipe Mix
½ teaspoon dried basil
1½ cups low-fat or skim milk
½ cup already-shredded Cheddar cheese
½ cup already-shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1. Place the fettuccine in 2½ quarts of already-boiling unsalted water and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, drain and coarsely chop the artichoke hearts. Melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan, over medium heat. Add the artichokes and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the soup mix and basil and stir well. Add the milk and the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and stir until the cheeses are melted.

3. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until the sauce is the consistency of warm pudding. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer, stirring occasionally, while the fettuccine finishes cooking.

4. Drain the fettuccine and place some on each serving plate. Top with sauce and serve.

If putting a family meal on the table in 20 minutes flat sounds impossible, think again. By using easy-to-master techniques and taking brilliant advantage of convenience foods like frozen chicken breasts, washed and cut vegetables, prebaked pizza crusts, and more, Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross finally solve the eternal conundrum of time versus dinner.

Get Desperation Dinners for just $6.99 this month!