Pasta Carbonara

Last week I had a whole bunch of bacon in the fridge, a hungry boyfriend and for some reason, no interest in cooking, at all. It was cold and dreary and I was in the mood for some comfort food but with no ideas I scoured my usual inspiration, tastespotting.com for bacon recipes. One look at those fabulous pictures and I knew I was making Carbonara. While my boyfriend and I both adore pasta, he's not big on cream sauces but I love them so this is the perfect compromise.

I was nervous about scrambling the eggs, no I was positive I was going to scramble the eggs. So I got everything prepared meticulously so when it came time to toss that egg mixture into the hot pasta, I wouldn't be "scrambling" for anything. This fear of scrambling the egg also translates into my baking life and thus, I seriously stress everytime I have to temper eggs in a recipe. I must admit though, that I've never had a problem and that leads me to wonder if perhaps the scrambling doesn't occur as easily as people project. Anyway, It didn't happen this time either, not even close. Instead, the eggs produced a wonderfully creamy sauce, I couldn't believe it! You'll think it's full of butter and cream and in fact, my boyfriend did, he was shocked when I explained the recipe. This Carbonara recipe is so simple and fast to make but it's so good, I'm making it again tonight.

RECIPE courtesy of Nook & Pantry:
4 oz bacon, chopped
2 eggs
1/2 C grated parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper, generous amount but to taste
8 oz spaghetti

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until slightly crisp. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towel. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions but just until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, lightly beat the eggs together in a bowl with the parmesan cheese and black pepper. Once the pasta is al dente, quickly drain the pasta (reserving a little of the pasta water for thinning if needed) and immediately return the pasta to the pot (off heat.) Quickly add the egg mixture and the bacon and with a wooden spoon, mix together quickly and vigorously until the egg mixture turns into a thick "creamy" sauce and coats all of the pasta. You can add some of the pasta water if you need to thin it out. Serve immediately.