I opened up the fridge and noticed bacon sitting there and it reminded me of the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara we made this weekend. It's an easy recipe we got from the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook my fantastic mother in law gave us. As an aside note, who knew how many cookbooks those people have put out?! I gave up looking after 5 minutes on their website and went and found our cookbook so I could stop guessing and pick the correct one. Anyway, their recipe is amazing!
The best part is that it includes wine. I don't get to drink much wine, because Jeff gets migraines from it. And while I do like my wine, I don't feel comfortable drinking an entire bottle by myself when all I want is one glass. Even with those wine savers who really wants 2 week old wine? Not me. Blech.
However, I do make an exception for a particular companies wine. Cooper's Creek from New Zealand has a line of cat wines with fun labels. Being the animal lover I am, my wine bottles usually get picked based on the animal on the label. My favorite of theirs is the Boss Cat (Fat Cat in NZ) Chardonnay.
But we couldn't find it this time and haven't seen it in awhile. However, I was very excited to see that they were carrying a cat wine: Cat's Phee on a Gooseberry Bush Sauvignon Blanc. It wasn't my favorite ever, but the label was great. Apparently, American's freaked out and wouldn't allow it to be called "Cat's Pee" so they switched it to "Cat's Phee" instead.
They also have a Tom Cat Merlot that I'm on the lookout for, as well as Glamour Puss Pinor Noir. Also with excellent labels.
So, about that recipe.
Add regular table salt to the pasta cooking water, but use sea salt flakes, if you can find them, to season the dish. We like the full flavor they bring to the carbonara. Note that while either table salt or sea salt can be used when seasoning in step 3, they are not used in equal amounts.
Serves 4 to 6
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound bacon (6 to 8 slices), slices halved length-wise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 large eggs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese , finely grated (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese , finely grated (about 3/4 ounce)
3 small cloves of garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced to paste
1 pound spaghetti
table salt
ground black pepper
Note: Pouring the cheese and eggs over the hot pasta, tossing, and then adding the bacon ensures that none of the sauce gets left in the bowl.
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set large heatproof serving bowl on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in large Dutch oven or stockpot.
2. While water is heating, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Add wine and simmer until alcohol aroma has cooked off and wine is slightly reduced, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Beat eggs, cheeses, and garlic together with fork in small bowl; set aside.
3. When water comes to boil, add pasta and 1 tablespoon table salt; stir to separate pasta. Cook until al dente; reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta for about 5 seconds, leaving pasta slightly wet. Transfer drained pasta to warm serving bowl; if pasta is dry, add some reserved cooking water and toss to moisten. Immediately pour egg mixture over hot pasta, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 3/4 teaspoon table salt; toss well to combine. Pour bacon mixture over pasta, season generously with black pepper, and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.
**We drain our bacon pretty well because my stomach doesn't like greasy, fatty foods. We leave a tablespoon or so to add flavor. You could probably also throw the garlic in with the wine so it won't be raw garlic flavor, but we like garlic so we don't mind it raw.**
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