Source: FOSS Cooking (community recipes)
Salt your pasta water aggressively — it should taste like the sea. Bring it to a rolling boil and add the fettuccine. Stir immediately to prevent sticking. Cook until al dente, about two minutes short of the packet's guidance; the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. This matters because overcooked pasta turns the dish starchy and dull. Reserve a mug of pasta water before draining.
While the pasta cooks, heat butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once it foams, add the shrimp. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook for two minutes until the first side turns pink, then flip. The second side takes another minute — shrimp toughens fast, so stop when the flesh is opaque throughout and the tail curls tight. Remove the shrimp to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add cream cheese in thumb-sized chunks directly to the pan. Stir constantly as it softens, scraping the base to lift the browned bits (fond). This takes three to four minutes. Add the milk slowly, stirring to avoid lumps. The acid in the milk — even at this dilute level — helps break down the cream cheese's proteins into a smooth emulsion. Once the sauce is loose enough to coat a spoon, add the grated parmesan in a handful. Stir until it melts completely. Taste and adjust salt and pepper; remember the pasta water is salty, so go light. The sauce should be silky, not gluey.
Add the drained pasta to the pan along with a splash of reserved pasta water — start with 50ml and add more if needed. Fold everything together over the heat for thirty seconds. The starch in the pasta water thickens the sauce and helps it cling to the pasta|fettuccine strands. Return the shrimp to the pan, fold through, and remove from heat immediately. Plate straight away. A butter-sauce|cream-based sauce breaks and splits if it sits — the fat separates from the water as it cools. Serve with extra parmesan on the side.
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