Another Recipe...?!

Yes, another recipe. But this is not just any old, run of the mill, any night of the week, eat without thinking kind of recipe. This recipe is Special. This is my family’s most favorite pasta recipe.

This recipe tastes soooo rich and heavenly – I suppose it must – or it wouldn’t be our favorite! However, I have to warn you, it’s not so very good for you. Seriously, it’s artery clogging. UNLESS you make it and eat it in moderation. Which in my house, means once a year.

I usually make this recipe in January, because it’s the first of the year, so I know it’s time for my family’s favorite pasta recipe. It’s very cold and frosty in the Northwest in January, so the warm heartiness of this recipe is always appreciated.

With our move, I, of course, packed this recipe. And since our kids have wanted the comfort of our home cooking, we actually made this last night. In November! So, we’ve now made it twice this year. Do I skip it in January 2010?

Last spring, I emailed this recipe to my friend Annie, who was living with her family on the other coast for the last two years. She made it for her family and she quickly wrote back, “Please send more!” I never did, because this recipe was the best I could do!

I have to give credit to the Alice Bay Cookbook, which is where I discovered this recipe 20 years ago. You can leave the first ingredient out for a vegetarian option. As usual, I’ve tweaked it a bit…

Pasta Carbonara

1/2 pound bacon –or- chopped guanciale (Salvatore makes and sells it at Salumi), cooked and crumbled

1 egg

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 pound pasta

In a large mixing bowl, mix the egg, Parmesan, cream, butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper together. Cook your pasta until al dente, drain and pour into the large mixing bowl of waiting sauce. Mix the two, sprinkle with guanciale and serve. Pure heaven!

p.s. As you can see from the amateur photo, the guanciale was used on my Brussels sprouts, so this time, I opted for the vegetarian version of the pasta.