Yesterday I worked on making quattro formaggi again and tweaked the recipe again. I used whipping cream instead of half and half. As the total of the types of cheeses used was ten, this would be Dieci (which means 10 in Italian) Formaggi.
This time I added another 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg for a total of 1/2 tsp., a 1/2 tsp of seasoned salt and 1/4 tsp of black pepper I still used the 8 oz pkg of Italian blend cheese (that has 6 different cheeses) but also added 1 cup of shredded Fiesta blend, which is Monterrey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheese).
The mixture came out a little too thick to put on the pasta, so I added two tablespoons of margarine (my favorite kind, The "I Can't Believe It Is Not Butter" Mediterranean blend). This was a mistake because it then became way too soupy.
I didn't try to doctor it anymore at this point, just poured it on the cooked pasta and stirred it up.The end result was it was more rich and a little more flavorful than the last attempt and tasted ok, but it was not stunning, and was also too fattening, cost at least $3 more and with too much competition between all of the cheeses to get tones of any one of them when eating.
I have decided I am going to give up trying to duplicate the one from the restaurant and use this as a base to just come up with something on my own that will not be as good, but more affordable and easier to make.
Next time I am going to try using a white sauce as a base, just adding the Italian Blend cheeses to that along with 1/2 tsp of nutmeg, 1/4 tsp of seasoned salt, 1/4 black pepper, 1 tsp Italian Seasoning and maybe 1 tsp of dill.
One our favorite dishes at a local restaurant is Quattro Formaggi but as the last time we went their it ran around $13 a plate. I searched the internet and found dozens of recipes and this was my attempt to try to copy it.
Quattro Formaggi means "four cheese" in Italian, but I used the Italian Blend Fancy Shredded Blend from Walmart and it contains six cheeses (Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Romano, Fontina and Asiago so that would be where the "plus" in the title comes in. I chose this as this as:
It contains all of the cheeses that were recommended in many of the recipes I researched: Mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano and Fontina (although several recipes contained Gorgonzola, Gouda, Ricotta, Gruyere or Marscarpone).
Walmart has a limited selection of cheeses and gourmet cheeses at other stores start at $7 lb. The in this bag were already shredded/grated and it saved time as I did not need to shred/grate it.
The bag of cheese was affordable at $1.67 for an 8 oz bag. The total cost to make this was under $5.00 for approximately 6 servings.
This is recipe I came up with which turned out to be closest without breaking the bank to make it:
Pasta
1 box Barilla Medium Shell Pasta
2 TBSP margarine
Cook according to directions on the box. When done, drain and place in an oven safe bow and mix in the margarine. Place in oven on low heat to keep it warm.
Sauce
1 16 oz box of Half and Half
1 8 oz bag of Walmart Fancy Shredded Italian Blend Cheese
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Slowly warm the Half-and-Half on medium heat and the cheese. Once all of the cheese is added, add the nutmeg. Continue to cook until the all of the cheese is melted. It will be a sticky consistency and look like this:
Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve.
This is part of Presto Pasta Nights being hosted over at Sweet and Savory. Go over and check out all of the other amazing pasta dishes!
