
This is, perhaps, one of our new favorite pasta dishes for the cold months. The goal was to infuse some winter spices and herbs into a savory dish that would, ultimately, make you feel like you were in the Italian Alps. IMO…goal achieved! This Fettuccine with Winter Spiced Cream Sauce and Rosemary Sage Meatballs is full of all the flavors you love to enjoy this time of the year!
Homemade Fettuccine
Let’s start with the pasta, shall we? Fettuccine is a perfect noodle to soak up a beautiful sauce. That was not too tough of a decision, but I must say, there are a ton of options when it comes to pasta shapes you can enjoy with this dish. Our Multipurpose Pasta dough is velvety and provides the perfect mouthfeel for this dish. This pasta is the foundation of the dish.
Winter Flavors
Acorn squash seems to get forgotten when winter squash varieties are talked about, but we really love the subtle-sweet and slightly earthy and herbal flavor that it brings to every dish. It also really helps bring another element to the pasta that is complimentary, background, but also delightful.

Before we talk about the sauce, we should address the amazing meatballs that complement everything and really bring out the winter season. With rosemary and sage, and the right amount of seasoning, these meatballs explode with flavor! The recipe makes plenty since who doesn’t need to “try one” when they come out of the oven? Yup…we all must have a taste to make sure they’re OK, right?!
All about that Sauce
If this dish was a football team, the sauce would be the quarterback for sure. No matter what else happens, you’ll remember it and talk about it. And this is an easy technique-driven cream sauce that you can adapt, manipulate, and customize for many other dishes. But we’re talking about THIS dish and THIS sauce and holy poo-poo, it’s nothing short of astounding.
The sauce is infused with a lesser-used winter spice combination for the sauce, as well. There are so many “winter” spices to choose from, but we settled on just two and a fresh herb to make this perfection. Mace, allspice, and fresh sage do the trick and will make you very happy to be snowed in! Mace is the covering surrounding the nutmeg seed and it has a nice subtle nutmeg flavor without being too overpowering in this dish. Allspice has a unique flavor that absolutely compliments the mace and fresh sage. The final ingredient is a small amount of Pecorino Romano cheese. There is not enough of it to turn the cream sauce into a cheesy sauce, but the flavors really add the finishing touch to the dish.

A three-step process of reducing the wine, then the stock, and then the cream will give you a lovely, thick sauce that will probably make you a happier person! The cream is just soaking up a beautiful base of flavor while being infused by some amazing spices. The sauce is the showstopper of this dish, and once you make it, you will see why!
Food and Wine Pairing
We paired this wintery dish with Iron Side Cellars Reserve Pinot Noir. This wine sips so nicely with the pasta dish with its notes of black cherries and plums along with some earthy layers. This California Pinot Noir is fruit forward and full-bodied with an energetic freshness that excites the tastebuds. It’s a lovely pairing for this Fettuccine with Winter Spiced Cream Sauce and Rosemary Sage Meatballs.

Enjoy!
We hope you enjoy this recipe for Fettuccine with Winter Spiced Cream Sauce and Rosemary Sage Meatballs. If you give it a try, leave us a comment below, or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!
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