Thanks for the tip on the chevre! The logs I get from local farmer are firm enough to grate, they just take a gentle touch. And the pasta water… I use some to smooth it out but hadn’t considered it for reducing cream, thanks for the tip!

Um. Upon re-reading: a touch of pasta water might be a good way to minimize the cream needed if desired. It would help in no way with the grating of the goat cheese.

I’m trying to limit cheese right now so I’m gazing at this one from afar, but I can’t resist adding my two cents: tossing the chevre in the freezer could help it grate more easily, and a touch of pasta water might help, too. =)

I poured the wine in first (which was at room temp) and let it come to a quick simmer on its own before adding the pasta, butter, cheesy goodness, etc. Worked out great.

Hooray! I’m glad to hear it worked out. Did you heat the wine before you added it or add it chilled You know me, I know wine like I know Chinese. The language. So not at all. But I feel this project may result in at least learning to cook with it. Glad you enjoyed it!

Last night Lauren and I gave this recipe a try with a few minor changes. We subbed out chevre for fontina, as one of us has a strong aversion to chevre (that would be me). We also subbed the heavy cream for white wine in an attempt to lighten up the dish, so as to elicit a greater volume of wolfing down (and because we really like wine). Besides some small cookery mishaps involving a burnt noodle and some overeager pasta water-pouring, the results were delicious! Cheesy and smooth, blending nicely with the notes of the wine (a chardonnay). Even without the heavy cream, the sauce clung nicely to the noodles and wasn’t too thin. And that little trick with the garlic clove – fantastic!

The leftovers will be wolfed down very shortly for today’s lunch. Thanks for a great recipe!