Simple Spaghetti Carbonara

As I was making my grocery list this morning (for tomorrow - Friday is grocery day in the Blondie household), I came across this recipe. I thought I was done with trying new recipes for the week, but as I read through the ingredient list, I found out that I already have mostly all of them in my kitchen!  Plus it helped me use up my leftover bacon from the Mini Bacon Cheesecakes and awesome revamped BLTs (Vanessa, we now and forever will season our tomatoes). I love when this happens. 

Carbonara. I've ordered it plenty of times at restaurants, and knew the sauce was perfectly delicious to the taste. However, I could never really pinpoint what I was tasting in the sauce besides cream and some type of cheese. So I looked it up online: cream.... ham/bacon.... eggs... EGGS? Who the devil puts eggs in pasta?

I turned to Martha and her typical genius, and her recipe was most excellent. The eggs in the carbonara sauce were just perfect.  What a delightful thing to add to pasta, I say! Not to mention bacon in pasta - always always always a good idea.

Apparently, just to clarify, traditional Carbonara doesn't have half & half, but was added by Martha for a more silky texture. 

This recipe is very filling, as well. I ate this around 11am this morning, and I'm still not hungry (it's now about 4:45pm). Awesome. The only alterations I made to the recipe was that I used whole milk instead of half and half, added about a half tablespoon of butter, and a pinch of fresh basil.

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Simple Spaghetti Carbonara 

recipe from Martha Stewart

1 pound spaghetti
8 ounces bacon (about 8 slices), cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large eggs
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
½ cup half-and-half
Salt and pepper, to taste

Set a large pot of water to boil (for pasta). In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, until crisp. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.  Salt boiling water generously; add pasta and cook according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan cheese, and half-and-half.   Drain pasta when al dente, leaving some water clinging to it. Working quickly, add hot pasta to egg mixture. Add bacon; season with salt and pepper, and toss all to combine (the heat from the pasta will cook the eggs). Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.