I was working in a restaurant the first time I saw pasta Alfredo being made. A fast-moving line cook poured some cream into a sauté pan, set it over high heat, and threw in some garlic and Parmesan as it came to a boil. Then he dropped a handful of cooked pasta in the pan, tossed it, and plated it with a sprinkle of parsley. I hadn’t realized how incredibly simple the dish was until that moment.