Anniversary alla Carbonara

I’ve mentioned before that my wife and I started a tradition that for our anniversary we go away for a night or two and we alternate turns on who plans the weekend.

On our third anniversary, it was my turn to plan. At the time my wife was a hall directory at Miami University, located about 30 minutes north of the edge of Cincinnati. While we occasionally would go down to Cinci, we rarely spent much time in the city, so I decided to make our weekend away in the general area.

I found a little bed and breakfast just across the river in northern Kentucky. This B&B was located on a horse farm and a benefit to staying there was the ability to ride the horses. We arrived and went to our room. In the room, like at many B&Bs was a guest book where previous guests wrote a few sentences about their stay. I took the journal down to the front porch, and while rocking away and enjoying the setting sun, I started reading the comments of the previous guests.

As you would expect, there was plenty of thanks and general comments about the property. What caught my eye was that in virtually every comment, there was reference to the fantastic pasta carbonara. While I hadn’t had pasta carbonara at that point in my life, I had a clue as to what it was. It didn’t strike me as the typical breakfast dish.

The owners found us and asked what we wanted for breakfast the next morning and I replied that I just had to try the carbonara. They smiled and said they get asked to make it a lot.

The next morning we came down to a plate full of pasta with eggs, bacon, cracked pepper and freshly grated cheese. Warm French bread was in ample supply. I took one bite and could not believe how awesome it was. I was hooked.

I will often time mix the eggs and bacon in the pasta before serving.

Really a simple recipe.

I pepper the bacon while it is cooking.

The pasta draining.

Back in the pot with the cream and cheese.

Scrambling the eggs.

Best breakfast in the world that is equally awesome for dinner!

Pasta Carbonara

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Brown bacon
• 1 lb. extra thin spaghetti or vermicelli
• several cups of whole milk or cream
• 8 oz. of nuefachetel cheese
• 1 or 2 tsps of fresh or dried basil and/or oregano
• garlic salt to taste
• 3/4 to 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
• two eggs per person
• fresh ground pepper
• grated parmesan
• French bread.

Directions:

Brown a package of bacon, set aside and drain skillet. Cook 1 lb. extra thin spaghetti or vermicelli according to package directions. When it’s just soft enough to eat, drain the water and add several cups of whole milk to prevent it from sticking to the pan. (You may use some or all cream if you want a higher calorie dish.) Add 8 oz. of nuefachetel cheese. Replace the pot on the cooling burner. Add 1 or 2 tsps of fresh or dried basil and/or oregano, etc. Add garlic salt to taste. Sprinkle with 3/4 to 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese. (Shredded has more flavor than grated.) Stir to distribute cheese. Add more milk if needed or turn burner on to low if needed to melt the cheese.

Scramble two eggs per person in the drained bacon skillet. Crumble bacon. Place pasta in serving bowls, top with crumbled bacon, scrambled eggs and fresh ground pepper. Add grated parmesan if desired. Serve with warm French bread.

Source: http://www.bbonline.com/recipe/firstfarm_ky_recipe1.html