Linguine Carbonara

We had 2 snow days which has extented our New Year Holiday and left me motivated to try some new dishes! I figured Pasta Carbonara is perfect dish for a cold winter night.  

This one was pictured in Williams-Sonoma's Christmas catalog and caught my eye.  They used to print the recipes within the pages but now you have to go online and their test kitchen posts all of their ideas in their recipe section.  I had to do a bit of hunting but finally located the one I was looking for.

They used a fat spaghetti shape and I used Linguine.  I think both are suitable.  I read all the time about adding reserved pasta water to dishes but this is the first time I actually did it.  My family competely loved this dish and I can still imagine the delicious flavors, even now, so needless to say, this recipe is a keeper!  

I served it with a simple salad but you can pair this with all manner of things, a Grilled Veal or Pork Chop, Ribs, Boneless Chicken Breast, Italian Sausage, Cheese Toast, even Seared Scallops, but you get the idea, it's versatile! I can even invision adding Orange Zest to this dish for a new dimension.

This makes 4 servings and in my household more like 3 because 1 person, whom we shall not name, ate 2 of them!  Cut 6 Slices of Thick Smoked Bacon Crosswise into 1/2" Lardons.  (NOTE: Lardons are my new favorite Bacon shape!)  

In a preheated skillet, cook Bacon, stirring often, until crispy.  In the meantime, get a pot of water boiling for pasta and ready 2 Cloves of Garlic in the garlic press.  In a bowl, beat 2 Eggs and add 3/4 Cups Parmesan Cheese.  Mince 1 Tbl Fresh Parsley.  Once you remove the cooked bacon, press the garlic into the bacon fat and cook til fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.  Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and add to the dish with the bacon.  

When ready, cook 12 Oz Pasta til al dente and reserve about 1/2 Cup of Pasta Water.  Strain pasta and return to the pot.  Add the Egg and Parmesan Cheese mixture.  Toss to coat until cheese is melted.  Add pasta water as needed to create a sauce that just coats the pasta.  Top with the Bacon, Garlic and place in Pasta Serving Platter.  Serve onto pasta plates, grate additional Parmesan to order and top with parsley and freshly ground salt and pepper.  Enjoy!

My son took a photo using a filter and though I am typically against filtering my food photos and don't even edit them, I have to admit this one looks pretty appealing.  You be the judge.