(adapted from
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/05/pasta-carbonara/)
The first time we had carbonara was in San Jose, and I. Loved. It. We tried to duplicate the recipe, and had something that worked for awhile, but it morphed in time (or I did. Don't judge.) and then I found it overly rich. And then I found this recipe, and fell in love with it all over again. Still rich (it's the cream, ya know). But not overpoweringly so. Also, for certain young ones in our lives, we've learned to mix in the chicken and peas and whatnot in after all the sauce, and serve them before that finally mixing. And then they get peas (frozen, because that's the only way to eat it when you are four) and chicken (cut tiny) separately. Thusly increasing odds for consumption. No guarantees, of course. We need to be kept on our toes.
And P.S. we found a local butcher that has bacon to die for. The ends are pretty cheap, too, which works nicely for this meal.
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces, weight Pasta, Any Variety
- 1 chicken breast, cut in strips
- 4 pieces Thick Cut Bacon (diced Small)
- 1/2 whole Medium Onion, Diced Small
- 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
- 3 whole Eggs
- 3/4 cups Finely Grated Parmesan
- 3/4 cups Heavy Cream
- Salt & Plenty Of Black Pepper
- 1/2 cup Peas
Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions.
While the pasta is cooking, fry the bacon until just barely crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the bacon grease, but don't clean the pan. Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and throw in the onions and garlic and chicken. Cook until golden brown. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix together eggs, Parmesan, cream, and salt and pepper until smooth.
When the pasta is done, reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and place it in a bowl. While the pasta is still really hot, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, stirring the pasta the whole time. The sauce will become thick and should coat the pasta. Splash in a little hot pasta water if needed for consistency.
Halfway through After serving the children, add the peas, chicken, bacon, and sauteed onion/garlic. Finish adding the sauce, stirring until it's all combined.
This is not so much a recipe, as an idea to try. We put a large decorating tip (star shaped) in a decorating bag, and filled it with our favorite yogurt. Then squeezed (not much squeezing needed) drops of yogurt on a cookie sheet, and place it in the freezer. In about 3-4 hours, you can just use a spatula to pop them right off the cookie sheet. Put the "snowflakes" in a tupperware in your freezer, and proceed to serve 2-3 of those as "dessert". Our resident 4-year old named these, and proudly served them to our dinner guests.
