Delicious. We made this right after Easter, and it was a great way to use up that ham! I substituted one cup milk and one cup reduced fat sour cream for the heavy cream, and I sprinkled in flour until it reached desired thickness. I sauteed some fresh garlic, mushrooms, and onion in the butter before adding the milk/sour cream. I think the fresh garlic and onion really added to the flavor of this creamy dish. Fresh grated Parmesan cheese was the perfect final touch.

This is a pretty basic recipe and as it stands is probably lucky to obtain a 3-star rating. I doctored it up a bit and it was pretty good in the end. Here is what I did: I followed the advice of another review and made a glaze using 3 Tbsp of brown sugar, 2 Tbsp of honey and 2 Tbsp of melted butter. I cubed a ham steak and baked the ham in the glaze for 20 or 30 minutes. While that is cooling, I sauteed about 1/2 cup each chopped onions and mushrooms, 3 cloves of garlic and 8 oz of chopped asparagus. I made the sauce using 1/3 cup butter and added about 2 Tbsp of flour (cook that for a few minutes to cook out the 'floury' taste) and then added 1.5 cups milk and 1/2 cup half-and-half, the cheese, a generous grating of fresh nutmeg (this is integral to any good white sauce), and salt and pepper to taste. Once the sauce was done, I tossed in the veggies and ham and combined everything with the hot cooked pasta. The end result was pretty good and definitely made more than 4 servings (more like 6).

I made this for dinner tonight and it was really good, I used evaporated milk (12oz) and then 2% milk instead of the cream and I added basil instead of the hot pepper, I also used bow tie pasta. Will make this again!

I've been making this recipe for years now. I dice up a steak of ham. I line a small glass baking dish heavily with foil. I put in the ham and add 2T Butter, 2T Honey, 3T Brown Sugar. I put it in a preheated oven at 350 and I let the butter and sugar melt together. I wrap the foil into a ball and let the ham get carmalized. I take the ham out of the foil and add it to the pasta sauce. YUM YUM YUM!

This was great! Estimated cooking time is increased if you trim the Asparagus. Next time I will thicken with flour as the other's suggested and use milk.

Made this with a few changes and it came out great. I used prosciutto instead of regular ham, and used 1 cup milk and 1 cup heavy cream instead of 2 cups of heavy cream. I had a whole pound of asparagus on hand so I used more than the 8 ounces called for. It also made more sense to use penne or ziti since they are the same size as the cut asparagus and easier to pick up.

I didn't change anything about this recipe and thought it was great! Definitely high in calories though.

Delicious, although I used previous reviewers' tips to modify this recipe. I sauteed chopped onions & mushrooms (1/3 C. each) in butter & crushed garlic, then removed pan from heat and added the ham, 1/3 C. chopped artichoke hearts, and the cooked asparagus (cut into smaller chunks, btw). To cut fat I used 2% milk (with 1 1/2 Tbsp. flour to thicken), then stirred the sauce into the veggie-ham mix before adding the whole thing to the cooked pasta. Tip: Top each serving with ground black pepper & slivers of fresh parmesan-- YUM! PS-- Made more like 6-8 servings for us. Great for freezing!

Very good. I used skim milk (thickened with flour) instead of cream.

I made this recipe with 2 cups 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream and only used half the butter called for and it was still very rich. The sauce seemed a little thin as I cooked it so I added a tablespoon flour to thicken the sauce. My 12 year old loved this dish but my husband and I both thought it was just OK. Not bad but not great, a little bland I guess but a good way to use up leftover ham. Maybe next time I make this I'll add a pinch more cayenne pepper to kick it up a notch.

Very good, different way to use leftover ham. I added sauted mushrooms and onions in butter and extra garlic, gave it some more flavor. My husband loved it, so I'll make it again.

Not the healthiest of meals, but as an indulgence once in a while you can't go wrong with this recipe. Serve with some crusty bread so you don't miss any of the delicious sauce! Thanks.

excellent - i used pork chop instead of ham.

My hubby wants me to make this constantly. Very tasty, the only change is we prefer spaghettini noodles instead of fettucini, and we like to double the asparagus.

As Rachael says, this was YUMMMM-O. I used 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup half and half and it was still very rich, but very, very good. Indulge yourself it's worth it!

Excellent and very versatile ! A keeper for even the times when you need some "comfort food"

Very, very, very good in our opinion! The best fettucini I've ever made at home...and it tasted like we were eating in a restaurant!! I didn't have any cream so I used whole milk with some flour for thickening. It worked fine in a pinch but think using the cream would even be better!! My husband doesn't usually even care for fettucini--but he LOVED this! Thanks for a fabulous recipe I'll make again and again!

I'm compromising with my husband on this one. I didn't care for it at all (WAY too rich, even using half and half instead of heavy cream), but my husband thought it good. If I make this again (doubtful), I'd definitely use regular milk, half the butter and go from there.