Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Yeah, yeah, I know this one doesn't need to be blogged anymore, but there's good reason it is. It's freakin' awesome. So, so, so delicious.... mmm... I wish I had more of this. Actually, I wish I was able to eat some of it for leftovers.

Let me ask you if this has ever happened to you (I'm sure it has, but I'm just checking). So you have something totally delicious for dinner. It's so delicious that you can't wait to eat it again. And it just so happens you have leftovers. Enough for one person. And all night you think about it. And you wake up, and you go to work sneak a bite, and then go to work or do whatever you do during the day. And all day long you think about the leftovers and how you plan to destroy them as soon as you walk through the door.

And then you come home...

But someone else got home first...

And ATE ALL THE LEFTOVERS...

Not leaving a bite...

But a dirty container in the sink filled with water...

So you can't even lick it clean anymore...

And all you can think is...

ARRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

And in your strange crazy calm voice (we all have one), slowly say, "Did you eat all of the leftovers?"

And as a response, you get a happy, "Yup, it was really good."

"Oh."..."All of it?"

"Yup."

You give an evil unnoticed glare.

And then you sulk around the kitchen looking for scraps of leftover that may have fallen on the counter so you can scarf them up while no one is looking.

Oh...you haven't done that?

Liar. You know you have. I know you have.

That may have happened to me the day after I made this. And just to clarify, I was NOT the one who ate the leftovers. This is a problem when the two people who live here think that leftovers taste better.

To be fair, I'm usually home during the day, so I get my hands on leftovers first (although if it's something particularly delicious, I'll save a little bit). It just happened that these leftovers were really, REALLY good...or so I imagined.

Pastor Ryan's Pasta Carbonara
Printable Recipe
by Pastor Ryan, found on Pioneer Woman Cooks

• 1 lb Bacon Or Pancetta
  
• 1 lb Linguine Pasta
• 1 whole Large Onion
• 8 cloves (to 12 Cloves) Garlic
• 1 cup White Wine (or Substitute Another Cup Of Stock)
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 4 whole Eggs
• 1½ cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 bunch Parsley
• ½ stick Butter
• 1-2 Tbsp Black Pepper

1. Slice up 1 pound of bacon into pieces about one inch wide. Once they’re sliced, just toss your bacon pieces into a stainless steel pan. Cook until browned and crisp.
2. While the bacon’s cooking, set a pot of salted water (I use about 2 tablespoon of salt for a gallon of water) on the stove for our pasta. When it comes to a boil add your linguine and cook until al dente, tender-firm.
3. Chop your onion. When the bacon is cooked, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and set it onto a plate. Reserve the bacon grease! We still need that stuff.
4. Throw the diced onions into the bacon grease. Give the onions a quick stir and let them cook down over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.
5. In the meantime, thinly slice the garlic. After the onions have cooked for a couple of minutes, throw in the garlic. Adding it after the onions have cooked a little will prevent the garlic from burning. After the onion and garlic have cooked for another couple of minutes, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Discard the grease.
6. Place the pan back on high heat until it starts to smoke a little. As soon as the pan begins to smoke, pour in the white wine (or chicken stock). Whisk until pan is thoroughly deglazed and all of the brown bits have come off of the bottom of the pan. Add 1 cup of chicken stock. Return bacon, onion and garlic back to the pan. Let simmer over medium heat.
7. Crack four eggs into a large bowl. Add most of the Parmesan cheese, and rough chop the parsley, adding it into the eggs as well. Leave a little Parmesan and parsley out for a garnish. Mix well with a fork.
8. Drain the water from your pasta. Be sure the pasta is very hot. Add the pasta to the egg mixture and then add the bacon/onion mixture. Finally throw a ½ stick (1/4 cup) of butter in there. Mix it all together well. Pepper to taste. Garnish with Parmesan and parsley. And you’re done! Enjoy!