Penne Carbonara

I first learned this dish from the old (and preachy) Vegetarian Epicure, a.k.a. Veggie Eppie, when I was living with various packs of wild olerovores (which, if it isn't a real word, ought to be), so I had no idea for years that Spaghetti Carbonara was supposed to contain bacon. The slightly toasty taste was done by browning onions and it's a great touch. We use plain ol' American bacon (though our favorite--i.e., the cheapest--brand sometimes has a slight maple smell which, alright, doesn't really go with the dish), and I frankly prefer penne to spaghetti for holding on to the sauce. So like nearly everything we cook, it's inauthentic. So there.

The difficulty in spaghetti carbonara, of course, is getting the heat exactly right. Too high and you've just got scrambled eggs, too low and the eggs and cheese never achieve that creamy consistency. The cook books usually say that the heat of the pasta alone is supposed to be enough to cook the eggs, but usually tain't so. I find by cooking the onions and bacon first, having the heat off under the frying pan, and keeping the residual heat from the burner where the pasta pot was in reserve, it's usually possible to regulate the temp nicely.

(A long rant about the way that America is being turned into a third world country by the greed of the right wing as evidenced by the fact that our food is less safe than in Italy, specifically salmonella in eggs, has been deleted.)