This is the recipe I make when I need to impress someone but I am also exhausted. It never fails. Here is the thing most people get wrong with mushroom pasta: they crowd the pan. Mushrooms need space and high heat to get golden and caramelized. If you pile them in, they steam and turn grey and sad. Nobody wants sad mushrooms. The sauce is a cheat — no actual cream. It is just butter, garlic, pasta water, and a mountain of parmesan. When you toss it all together, the starchy pasta water and che