For dinner tonight, Chris and I decided to make some Alfredo sauce. After some online digging, Chris found a recipe that was a 1:1 ratio unsalted butter and parmesan (which, on a side note, doesn’t come from a green can. or a red can. or any can). We ended up using 6 ounces of each, although for 2oz of cheese, we used pecorino romano. We mixed these at room temperature until it had formed a paste. We used 1lb of pasta, and a good ladle full (1/2-1 cup) of the pasta water in the sauce as well. It turned out very different from any restaurant style alfredo sauce we’d had, and exceptionally rich and filling.
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Fencers+Knives+Heat=Cooking? 
It has pecorino. How could it go wrong?
I agree – though I suspect the purist would cry foul. Personally, I like pecorino romano better than parmigiano, because of its sharper flavour and slightly higher salt content.
That said, it probably violates some rule of something or other. 🙂
I have to say this was a very different experience than the typical state-side cream alfredo sauces that have heavy cream and nutmeg in them. Giada’s book “Everyday Italian” has an alfredo recipe with heavy cream, a little lemon zest, and a touch of nutmeg in it.
She says the cream addition is a modification because American butter and the Parmigiano originally available weren’t rich enough – e.g., not enough butterfat. I think this is not the case anymore.
Personally, I think the heavy cream and nutmeg allow a person to cheat on the amount of parmigiano used, thus cutting costs. The nutmeg helps to give the slightly nutty flavour of the parmigiano, or so it is hoped. I honestly think that if I wanted to make newburg, I’d make newburg. No nutmeg or cream for me, thanks.