Thursday, July 15, 2010

Carbonara

I've dreamed of Pasta Carbonara for years. Every time I read a recipe for it, I close my eyes and think....this is what heaven must be like. (Just ask Ryan, I talk about it A LOT). So I decided that this was the time to make it and savor it. It really is delicious, but probably not something you want to add to your weekly menu....it's quite "heavy" to say the least. It's the celebration type of meal. This is from Pioneer Woman

For this recipe, you’ll need:
* 1lb linguine pasta
* 4 eggs
* 1 pound bacon
* 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
* 8-12 cloves of garlic
* 1 large onion
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 1 cup white wine (or substitute another cup of stock)
* 1/2 stick of butter
* 1 handful of parsley
* 1-2 tablespoons black pepper

THIS SHOULD EASILY FEED 4 ADULT HUMANS.

First, slice up 1 pound of bacon into pieces about one inch wide. Once they’re sliced, just toss your bacon pieces into a stainless steel pan. Cook until browned and crisp.

While the bacon’s cooking, set a pot of salted water (I use about 2 tablespoon of salt for a gallon of water) on the stove for our pasta. When it comes to a boil add your linguine and cook until al dente, tender-firm.

Next, chop your onion. When the bacon is cooked, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and set it onto a plate. Reserve the bacon grease! We still need that stuff. Throw the diced onions into the bacon grease. Give the onions a quick stir and let them cook down over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.

In the meantime, thinly slice the garlic. After the onions have cooked for a couple of minutes, throw in the garlic. Adding it after the onions have cooked a little will prevent the garlic from burning. After the onion and garlic have cooked for another couple of minutes, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Discard the grease.

Place the pan back on high heat until it starts to smoke a little. As soon as the pan begins to smoke, pour in the white wine (or chicken stock). Whisk until pan is thoroughly deglazed and all of the brown bits have come off of the bottom of the pan. Add 1 cup of chicken stock. Return bacon, onion and garlic back to the pan. Let simmer over medium heat.


Crack four eggs into a large bowl. Add most of the Parmesan cheese, and rough chop the parsley, adding it into the eggs as well. Leave a little Parmesan and parsley out for a garnish. Mix well with a fork.

Drain the water from your pasta. Be sure the pasta is very hot. Add the pasta to the egg mixture and then add the bacon/onion mixture. Finally throw a ½ stick (1/4 cup) of butter in there. Mix it all together well. Pepper to taste. Garnish with Parmesan and parsley. And you’re done!