17th July 2011 ~ Spaghetti Carbonara

So here it goes - my first blog post ever! I haven't thought through exactly how I'm going about these blogs (and how much info anyone will want to read) but I am excited to give it a try....

This past week I've actually been really sick and have barely left the house at all (except for Wednesday when I tried going to work and only survived a very 'productive' morning of buying alcohol for the office anniversary party, ha).  I hated missing work and feeling so unreliable and even more than that I hated missing out on the other plans that I'd made for the week...office party, dinner plans, and especially Jasmine's roadtrip to Bath! (thanks Jasmine and Jon for offering to reschedule!). I usually like to think of myself as a 'Yes' person who makes plans and stays busy, but suddenly I became the couch/bed girl who slept all day and cancelled things.

But I'm feeling more myself today. Success! Although I did sleep until 3pm and I still haven't left the flat or my tissue box today...but really I'm ready to start a new week and get back to my life.

After my extensive 15 hour sleep, I just read my book and finally uploaded photos from my trip to Amsterdam that I took at the beginning of the month with Adelina. And then, I prepared dinner, which brings me to Spaghettti Carbonara: one of my favorite comfort foods and the first thing that I've been really craving after a long week of no taste-buds and chicken soup.

For me this is a really simple and extremely quick recipe, which is like breakfast in a pasta. And while I love pasta, breakfast is also my favorite meal of the day, so you can't go wrong with this!


Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Eggs
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Pancetta, chopped up or cubed
Garlic, chopped
Spaghetti
Ground pepper

While boiling the water and putting the spaghetti in the pot, you can crack a few eggs in a bowl and whisk in some fresh Parmesan cheese. I hate when restaurants serve a cream based Carbonara - it's just not how it's supposed to be - but adding lots of Parmesan (my favorite cheese) will give the egg a slightly creamier texture, without the cream - although a small splash of cream or milk can't hurt if you have it on hand. Put the egg to the side, then start cooking the pancetta in a pan, it'll take about 3 minutes to cook so put the garlic into the pan after a few minutes have passed. Burnt garlic is never a good thing! If the pan needs it, then add some olive oil for the garlic, but otherwise the pancetta may have enough fat in the pan already.

When the Spaghetti is al dente, quickly drain it and put it in the pan with the pancetta and pour the egg mixture right on top, so it cooks on the hot spaghetti. Quickly mix the egg through the spaghetti until it's cooked - but make sure it doesn't scramble. Only ten minutes of cooking/preparing and you're done! Top with extra Parmesan cheese and ground pepper.