It's all about the sauce

Here's the story. My mom first had this dish at Avanti's restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona. She absolutely loved it and would make people take her there whenever she could manage it. One day, much to my mom's joy, the recipe was printed in the Phoenix paper. She says she tried twice to make the dish (as written) and it just never turned out the same - even with the addition of some white wine.

Fast foward about 30 years to Christmas 2007. For some really long, complicated, and not too interesting reasons my mom just happened to have four key ingredients sitting around as surplus from all the Christmas food preparations - portobella mushrooms, walnuts, Parmesan, and cheese ravioli. She was trying to figure out what to make for dinner and remembered the recipe from Avanti's. She decided that third time is a charm and gave it a shot. Well hallelujah it's a Christmas miracle. This sauce ROCKS. It's brilliant on cheese ravioli with Italian sausage and I even made it to put on steaks - also phenomenal. This is the easiest thing to make in the world and it tastes amazing.

Sauce Portofino (Avanti's Restaurant - Phoenix, AZ)

1/4 lb butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese (We've done 1/2 Parmesan and 1/2 Romano. The important thing is that you use really good quality cheese.)
1/4 lb fresh portobella (or cremini) mushrooms, sliced and sauteed until slightly soft (This is vital - the 2 times she tried to make it before, she used regular white button mushrooms and it was not the same. You must use portobellas or creminis.)
2 ounces walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter slowly in saute pan. Add cream, cheese, walntus and slightly softened mushrooms. Season. Stir until all the butter is melted and the cream and cheese have combined into a golden creamy mixture. Add wine and heat until warm enough to serve. (DO NOT BOIL).

Serve over cheese ravioli, your favorite pasta, steak, or anything to keep you from embarrassing yourself by just eating this straight out of the pan. :)