Spaghetti alla carbonara, alla Debangel ;)

[Debangel]

So, at the risk of not getting invited to exotic locales in order to prepare dinner in person...my personal, has-never-failed-yet, much-requested recipe for carbonara:

1 lb. of spaghetti.  I personally like the thick stuff, but the most important thing to remember is  DON'T USE THE CHEAP STUFF.  De Cecco and Barilla are my faves.

3 eggs, at room temperature.  In other words, as soon as you decide this is what you want to eat, take 'em out of the fridge.

3/4 c. of the very best grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese you can get your mitts on.  (For those of us who are in the U.S., Costco's version of the block cheese is pretty darn good, and reasonable to boot.)

3 T. extra virgin olive oil  Again, don't skimp on this.  Plenty of cooks don't use EVOO to actually cook with (they go with "light", which is both lighter in the olive flavor and cheaper, but in this case, it's not the cooking oil so much as it is part of the sauce.)

3 large cloves of garlic, peeled, and sliced in half.

5 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2" strips.  I use kitchen scissors for this- it's much quicker.  Use good bacon! None of the cheap "ends",   and not "center cut", because it doesn't have enough fat.  (Center cut is great for a lower-fat breakfast sandwich, but not for this dish.) My favorite bacon is the thick-cut variety.  I know, paging Dr. Freud..

fresh cracked pepper.  (a few grinds, "to taste")

Order of events:  1) Decide you're in the mood for carbonara.  Take out the eggs.

2) Set a large pot of water on the boil, along with a tablespoon of salt.  Some people salt it after it boils, but I'd forget, and I've been doing it this way since I started cooking at the age of eight, so there ;-P)

3) Heat the olive oil in a saucepan large enough to hold a pound of pasta, and gently sauté the garlic.   You want this on LOW heat- if you burn the garlic, you need to start over.  If you do it nice and slow, you'll infuse the oil with the taste of the garlic, so you can then discard the actual cloves and not be overwhelmed with garlic breath after.  Right after the cloves have begun to warm, throw in the bacon, raise the heat a touch, then finish the garlic until it's light golden brown.  Discard the cloves, and finish cooking the bacon. You can turn off the heat when it's done, but make sure the pan stays on the stove, so it can be warmed back up for the final step.

4) While the bacon is cooking, crack the eggs into a bowl, whisk, add the grated cheese and black pepper, and whisk again to combine.

5) Throw in the pasta when the water is at a full rolling boil.  I time my pasta now, because I am distracted by small children demanding my full attention.  I'm at 5400' and it takes 11 minutes.  Try subtracting a minute from the cooking time suggested on the package, and fast the pasta at that point.  It should be "al dente".  Mushy pasta= you are WOP-deficient, and should put me on your speed-dial, or even better, invite me over to do it for you.

6) Pasta almost done?  OK..take a measuring cup or coffee mug and scoop up a little of that starch-rich, boiling water, just in case your "sauce" needs to be a little looser before serving.  (This works with all kinds of sauces)  Heat that bacon pan up to "warm".  Drain the pasta she it's done, throw it right from the colander into the bowl with the eggs and cheese, and scramble the whole mess like you mean it.  This is what cooks the eggs themselves, so be thorough!  Dump the whole shebang into the pan of warm garlicky bacon, mix, and throw it back into the bowl...or, if you have company, it's nice to have had a separate, pretty bowl warmed in the oven just for that purpose. That's it!

7) Stuff yourself.

Comment back on this pot and tell me how it went!  Or, just come to my house for dessert

[sherylsbuys]

Sounds wonderful!  I am coming over for dessert, too!!!

[clgwli]

Oh heck you are still invited even after that.

How garlic-y is the dish?  This sounds horrible... I love garlic but a lot of garlic doesn't love me.  Same with onions   I usually alter dishes by using a bit of onion or garlic powder since I can handle that but not the real thing.  It stinks  

Otherwise it sounds really good!  I might have to try it sometime soon!

[Debangel]

Squigs..how exactly does it not love you, if it's not too TMI, LOL.  Does it upset your stomach, or just make you burp?   The garlic just seeps into the oil and infuses it.  Considering how much garlic it takes to make garlic powder, I should think you'd be ok.  Ever tried roasted garlic?

My dear departed Oriental shorthair cat, Vinnie, used to sneak up onto the counter and steal the bacon-infused discarded garlic cloves and eat them right out of the spoon rest.  The first time he did it, I didn't know where the garlic reek was coming from (he was a 7-lb cat, and they were 3 really big cloves), until BUUUURPED, and my hair about straightened

[clgwli]

Upsets my stomach and gives me a horrible sinus headache   Onions are the worst and I so love the taste of them.  It stinks.  My husband will buy onion rings and let me eat the breading only just so I can have a taste w/o being in pain.

This might sound nuts but the powder in both onion and garlic doesn't affect me near as much.  A lot of people who have onion and garlic intolerances/allergies say the same.  Something about drying it takes out the stuff that hurts me so bad. 

Roasted garlic is just as bad as minced or other fresh garlic types.  Trust me I hate having to do this.  I might be okay if I discard it, but usually even handling garlic can do me in.  Though not as bad as onions... I can't even be in the same room as someone cutting them up

OMG on the cat!!!!!  That would have freaked me out since both garlic and onion can harm cats.

[Debangel]

Ouch!! That sounds like an allergy to sulfites..how are you with wine? I have, to my shame, actually run out of garlic before, and used garlic powder in this recipe..just sprinkle it on while you're cooking the bacon.

I'd never heard garlic was bad for cats..just onions, and for dogs as well. I have hears of many pets being given garlic as a preventive medicine against fleas!

You don't have fleas, do you?? =)

[clgwli]

I have no issues with wine or any other type of  sullfites in foods.  That was suggested to me to check and it causes no issues for me.  Just the Allium family of foods.  Never been tested because I just know to avoid it.  Even if it is a real allergy allium allergies are rarely fatal.  Beyond a mild headache I never have anything that might be considered a real allergic reaction anyway.

It kind of stinks while out and eating because onion and garlic is in everything.  Mix in my dislike of mushrooms and I get screwed sometimes LOL  Usually I do okay and it isn't all that hard to ask w/o onion.  If the onion touches I try to eat around it.  I've also gotten very good at knowing my limits.  As soon as a certain taste hits my mouth I just stop eating.

As for garlic and cats, it is still bad, but not near as bad as onion.  Both can cause severe anemia which is life threatening.  Onions are just more potent of the two.

Grapes are another one that an cause issues (raisins too) that I thought was odd.  I don't remember the details on that one though.  I have two big kitties in my house that I treat almost as well as the humans so I try to keep up on what is safe or not for them

oh and no fleas at the moment LOL  They are indoor only cats which help.  though I am sure my son might help bring them in the way he loves to play and dig outside

[DiamondsAreForever]

Squigs, I have the same intolerance as you, and it's absolutely true...I like garlic but garlic (and onions) don't like me.  I also have food sensitivities that cause whopping migraines.  The recipe sounds divine, though. I may try it. 

[clgwli]

DAF I used to think I was a crazy for having the intolerance until I read on the internet how relatively common it is.  Sorry you deal with issues as well, especially when it is a food you like.  That IMO is always the worst.  Sorry about the other inensitivities too.  My only other "issue" is really spicy food which is also easy to avoied LOL  The rest are my own perferences so at least I only have the one to worry about - although it is found in a ton of foods.

Are you also able to do a little garlic or onion powder too?  That seems to be a common substitute for many with intolerance or even allergies.  Not always true but rather common.  You are the first person I have met though who has the same issue as I do.

[Mrs Mitchell]

Debangel, THANK YOU!!!!

I can't tell you how pleased I am to see this, written by someone who actually cooks in a regular domestic kitchen. I have so many versions of this recipe, but this is more of a technique and that's exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm going to make this one night during the week, it is going to be heavenly. I can just tell!

I'll use bacon and not pancetta - I think that was part of my problem, it overwhelmed the delicate flavour of the sauce. Also, I tried to make the sauce then add the pasta, rather than using the hot pasta to bring the sauce together. I'm excited to try this and thank you so much for taking the trouble to write it out step by step.

Awesome!

[Diamondsbylauren]

I totally love the sound of this..but I do have one question...why toss the garlic cloves?
They're totally delish when toasted like that..

I will try this and report back!

[Diamondluvr]

This sounds wonderful! 

Have you ever tried using a really good quality garlic infused EVOO instead of infusing your own in the pan for this recipe?

[PtyMom]

Thanks so much for posting this recope!
This is one of my favorite dishes! I love how you throw the pasta in with the egg mixture before throwing into the bacon pan. I never did it this way and it makes so much sense! I was always scared I´d wind up with scrambled eggs if the bacon fat was still too hot. Awesome!
I´ll try this next weekend and let you know how it went. 

[Debangel]

I totally love the sound of this..but I do have one question...why toss the garlic cloves?
They're totally delish when toasted like that..

I will try this and report back!

David, I always knew I liked you

So..my post for yesterday somehow didn't show up, but...I am actually in the process of trying my hand at writing a cookbook!  All breakfast recipes, and all my original recipes.  Maybe I should start recruiting you guys as volunteer taste-testers

[clgwli]

I really am going to try this really soon.  My son loves pasta but prefers non tomato based sauces (which is odd since he loves tomatoes, pizza and tomato soups) and he loooooves bacon.  I'll try it with the garlic powder to see how it goes for me.  

I need to get to the store tonight for cereal so I will give it a go hopefully this week after I get good pasta from the store.

Toss in some home made rolls and I think we have a perfect dinner.

BTW feel free to try out some recipes on me any time.  Just e-mail if you prefer  We're always looking for good food for the family that is easy to do and tastes good.  Having my issues and a 3yo makes it difficult sometimes, but we have quite a few recipes we love now as a family.  I do love to cook so easy is more about quick than anything.  I also do a ton of cooking from scratch so I'm used to having lots of ingredients in the house.

[PtyMom]

I love cooking and trying new recipes, especially ones from reliable sources!
so please post and I´ll do my best to taste test and give feedback 

[Mrs Mitchell]

I totally love the sound of this..but I do have one question...why toss the garlic cloves?
They're totally delish when toasted like that..

I will try this and report back!

David, I always knew I liked you

So..my post for yesterday somehow didn't show up, but...I am actually in the process of trying my hand at writing a cookbook!  All breakfast recipes, and all my original recipes.  Maybe I should start recruiting you guys as volunteer taste-testers

Where can I sign up?