Pasta Carbonara, oh my!

Since Jim has started back to school this semester there are some times during the week when he is free for lunch and we meet at the house for something homemade. Luckily I work close to the house so I am able to devote a full hour for lunch and on these days I tend to make more than just PB&J. Jim has expressed before how lucky he is to get chicken parm or a homemade meatball sandwich in the middle of the day! On one particular day I found this recipe by Pastor Ryan who posted on Pioneer Woman’s web site. At the time I had never heard of Pasta Carbonara and the step by step directions by Ryan made me want to make it THIS DAY. Coincidentally I actually had all the ingredients for this recipe on hand, so off I went at 11:45 to run home and attempt this new dish for lunch.

Here is what you need to start with:
1 lb linguine pasta (I suspect any spaghetti noodle would do here)
4 eggs
1 lb bacon or pancetta (I didn’t use the full pound, I used maybe 3/4 pound that was left over from another recipe)
1 ½ cups parmesan cheese
12 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chicken stock (I didn’t have any on hand, so I dissolved a bouillon cube into hot water)
1 cup white wine
½ stick of butter
1 handful of parsley
1-2 tablespoons black pepper
As I’m trying to do with all my meals these days, let’s prep all our food before we start cooking. That way we know if we need to do any substituting or make a run to the grocery store. First, slice up 1 pound of bacon into pieces about one inch wide. Mince garlic, or measure out your pre-minced garlic if you keep a large container of it in your fridge like I do! Chop an onion, shred your parmesan. I actually shredded mine by hand since I had a block of it in my fridge, I would otherwise buy a pre-shredded bag of parmesan from the store. Measure out your wine, rinse and chop the parsley and pull out ½ stick of butter to rest on the counter until the end of the recipe.

To start off put a pot of salted water on the stove for our pasta. When it comes to a boil add your linguine and cook until al dente, tender-firm.
Here is me in the apron Jim bought me for Christmas last year. I'm grating the cheese for our lunch.

Next, toss the cut up bacon into your pan and cook over medium high heat until browned and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave all the grease in the pan, reserving the cooked bacon on another plate.
Throw the diced onions into the bacon grease and give them a quick stir and let them cook down over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.

At this point, Jim walks in and wonders what I’m cooking…and he steals a piece of crispy bacon.

When the onions look translucent, throw in the minced garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Then remove this goodness and set with the bacon aside. Put your pan back on the hot stove and add your white wine to deglaze the pan. Use your spoon to scrape any brown bits off the bottom and sides. Once the pan is thoroughly deglazed add your cup of chicken stock, return the bacon, onion and garlic back and let this simmer over low heat for a few minutes. I found that this was REALLY runny so I let this simmer down for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, crack four eggs into a large bowl. Add most of the grated parmesan cheese, and roughly chopped parsley, mix well with fork.

Drain the water from your pasta (be sure pasta is very hot) and add to egg mixture. Finally top with the bacon and onion mixture from the stove, top with a ½ stick of butter and mix it all together well. The hot pasta cooks the eggs and melts the parmesan.
Add pepper to taste and serve with a pinch of parmesan and a sprig of parsley. That’s it. You are done!
This was a really delicious lunch – a little heavy for a noon time meal but did I mention this was yummy? Lordy it was good!

ALSO, I need your help as I prepare for a camping weekend. What are some of your favorite camp ground foods? By tradition, Jim and I always have steak and potatoes one evening. I've successfully made tacos for lunch and used the left over ground meat to add to chili that evening. I need your tips! homewithmandy (at) gmail.com or leave your comment here.

And I have to let you know about this contest going on at The Downtown Boutique. These clutches are absolutely stunning and you could win one by visiting this post.