Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Pasta Carbonara


I have found myself watching Diners Drive Ins and Dives on the food network. I watch it a lot but never watch the hosts actual cooking show. It just never really appeals to me. I did catch it the other day and saw him make this pasta recipe. So we tried it out. It was a nice easy recipe and lighter then the pasta carbonara at restaurants.

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch diced pancetta
* 5 organic large eggs
* 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 pound bucatini
* 1 cup frozen peas
* 1 tablespoon kosher salt
* 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Directions

In a medium saute pan over medium heat, cook the pancetta until tender-crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Reserve the pan with the drippings.

Separate 4 of the eggs and set the yolks aside. Discard the 4 whites. Crack the fifth egg and add it to the yolks.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 2/3 of the pancetta, the Parmigiano-Reggiano, black pepper and cayenne.

Cook the pasta until al dente. Add the peas when the pasta is just about finished and strain both into the reserved pancetta drippings. Reserve about 3/4 cup pasta water to fortify the sauce.

Add the egg mixture into the pasta and toss well with tongs for about 1 minute. Add the reserved pasta water to the bowl in 1/4 cup increments, combining and adding until desired sauce consistency is reached. Add the parsley and gently combine and place into a serving dish.

Garnish with the reserved pancetta.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Salad Dressing

We got this quick dressing recipe from Mike's family friend the Darbous family. She got it from one of her daughters (not sure which one to give credit to).

3 tbsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 veg oil.

It is better if it is mixed the night before. We put it on simple salads. It is Mike's favorite dressing right now.