Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe

I have been asked about my Spaghetti Carbonara recipe. I have been cooking this dish for many years now and don’t adhere to measurements, but here goes:

– boil a box of De Cecco Spaghetti according to the instructions on the box

– cut half a package of Louis Rich Turkey Bacon (probably neither natural or organic, but tasty) into small squares and fry in a pan with a little olive oil and two cloves of garlic. When the bacon is crisp, add about half a cup of white wine and after bringing it to a boil, turn down and simmer

– in a large bowl mix 3 eggs (some people use only the yolks, but I like to use whole eggs) with grated romano and parmeggiano cheese (about a cup each), black pepper to taste and finely chopped flat leafed parsley (also called Italian parsley).

– here comes the big moment….you will have to do this rather fast or the eggs will become solid, rather than coat the pasta:
drain the spaghetti and mix into the bowl with the eggs and cheese and parsley….the heat from the pasta will cook the eggs, which will coat the pasta….add the bacon/garlic/white wine to the bowl and mix in. At sea level this will all happen beautifully, but at higher altitudes, like Santa Fe (over 7,000 feet) I like to be careful regarding the eggs and therefore place the bowl in the oven at 250 degrees for about 5-8 minutes to ensure that the eggs are cooked. (Another trick I learned from a chef is to put the eggs into boiling water for about 30 seconds before cracking them open – that is supposed to kill any bacteria which apparently resides on the outside of the shell, not usually inside…)

This should feed about 3-4 people. Leftovers taste great the following day.