Pasta with Butter and Parmesan

It's a rainy St. Patrick's Day in Kansas and I'm thinking about comfort food. One of my favorite quick Italian comfort foods is Pasta with with Butter and Parmesan. This recipe is very easy to prepare, and melt-in-your-mouth good. Accompany it with a tossed salad dressed lightly with your favorite vinaigrette.

Ingredients
1 pound of long, flat pasta -- I use either linguine or tagliatelle
1 cup of grated, fresh parmesan
3-4 tablespoons butter
Nutmeg, to taste
Salt and Pepper, to taste (optional)

Preparation
Grate the parmesan and set aside. But keep the parmesan out and ready in case anyone wants extra.
Boil your water for the pasta, throwing in a couple of tablespoons of kosher or sea salt. Add the pasta once the water is boiling, and cook until al dente.
Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the pasta water.
Return the empty pasta pot to the stove and throw the butter in. Once the butter is melted, add about one-half cup of the pasta water and let it reduce for a couple of minutes.
Add the drained pasta to the pot with the butter and toss. Add extra of the reserved pasta water if you need a little more moisture.
Add the grated parmesan and toss well with the pasta.
Sprinkle nutmeg to taste and toss again.
Serve the pasta in individual bowls. At this point, folks can add extra parmesan or nutmeg, if they like.
Add salt and pepper, as well, if that's your preference -- I personally like a little salt and pepper on my helping.

Variation with Sage
Follow the recipe above, adding this step:
While the butter is melting, add a cup of loosely packed, chopped fresh sage leaves and saute until the sage shrivels. Proceed as above.