Spaghetti Carbonara

Sometimes you just gotta have a little bacon. And sometimes you just gotta have a little eggs with that bacon. And sometimes you want some pasta with that bacon and eggs. Thank goodness someone many moons ago came up with Spaghetti Carbonara. What's not to love: pasta, bacon, eggs, and cheese. I don't have it often (for obvious reasons), but when I do, it's a little bit of love right on my plate.

You don't even really need a recipe for this, but to make sure I kept my proportions in check (bacon makes me slightly crazy), I turned to The Best Recipes in the Worldfrom Mark Bittman.

Spaghetti Carbonara
Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced bacon
1 pound linguini
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. In a small saucepan, combine the oil and the bacon and turn the heat to medium. Cook until the bacon is nicely browned about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water until tender, per package directions. Reserve about a cup of the pasta water before draining.

In a warmed large bowl (I just sat mine by the pasta pot) beat 3 eggs. Add the Parmesan cheese and the bacon and it's juices. Toss the still hot, drained pasta and toss with the egg mixture. Add a little of the reserved cooking water if the pasta seems too dry.

Serve with freshly ground black pepper and a little extra Parmesan cheese.

This classic dish will be my entry for this week's Presto Pasta Nights, which just had their 100th post celebration! It is hosted by Wiffy at Noob Cook.