Fettucine, Jambon & Comte

Sharon reminded me of pasta French-style with butter and emmenthal or gruyere I would have at mamie's growing up. One imagines that this is still a quick lunch or dinner of choice among French households across the land. The distinctive feature here is that you put the cheese and ham on at the very end, so that the cheese and ham don't get all bundled up into little messy clumps.

fettucine
butter
3 cloves garlic, halved
jambon de Paris, sliced and chopped
comte, cubed
maldon sea salt
fresh ground pepper
chopped chives
half cup chicken stock
1 tblsp medium sherry
EVOO

1. saute garlic, remove when golden
2. add half cup of broth, then sherry and reduce
3. boil pasta, remove from boiling water 1-2 minutes before
4. drain and put into pan with broth, adding about half cup of pasta water
5. add butter to taste, and stir so that everything emulsified
6. take off heat, add ham and cheese
7. season with salt and pepper, chives and serve
8. have olive oil handy to drizzle right before eating