My Very First Carbonara

Growing up, I was made to believe that pasta with white sauce was carbonara. I don't like white sauce that much because I'm lactose intolerant so I shied away from "carbonara". It's only in my late teens that I found out that real carbonara doesn't have milk nor cream. Since I like pastas with olive oil and light sauces better, I still didn't try to make carbonara...until I saw Tom Cruise's recipe.

I made a mistake with the eggs here. I used 3 large ones when I should've only used one to two. This is the original recipe taken from Oprah's site:

Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings

  • 1/2 inch olive oil (for frying pan)
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 8 to 12 thick slices Italian bacon
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 packages spaghetti
  • 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
In a frying pan, combine 1/2 inch of olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, one chopped onion and the Italian bacon cut into small squares. Let simmer for about a half-hour, being careful not to let the oil get to a boiling point.

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs with lots of salt and fresh ground pepper.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Cook both packages of spaghetti until al dente, drain and immediately add egg mixture to pasta. The eggs are actually cooked by the pasta. (Make sure the eggs are thoroughly cooked before proceeding.) Stir the egg mixture until it is well mixed. Pour in the mixture from the frying pan and stir. Finish with the Parmesan cheese and serve!

This was really good! Migraine Boy was down with the flu last Monday and this is what I served him for lunch. In spite of having very little appetite and a very painful cold sore, he managed to finish 4 servings! Thanks, Tom!

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