Today's post is about the first recipe I memorized and made my own. It also happens to be what we had for supper tonight!  I have been a fan of Nigella Lawson for more than ten years.  She has a joy of cooking, and eating, that I absolutely love! I own many of her cookbooks, watch her cooking shows and have bookmarked her website (www.nigella.com).  This recipe is from her book How to Eat (2000). Of course, I make substitutions to suit myself! I never consult the recipe any more, though, and make this dish as if I totally made it up myself!

Spaghetti Carbonara

1/2 pound spaghetti (I use linguine)
4 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice or 1/4-inch strips (I use turkey bacon)
2 tsp. olive oil
4 Tbl. vermouth or white wine (I have used both, and either works well)
1 egg yolk
1 whole egg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
freshly milled black pepper
1 generous Tbl. butter

Put some water on  and, when it's boiling, add a decent amount of salt and then, when it's boiling again, the pasta.  Italians say the water pasta cooks in should be as salty as the Mediterranean. Put the pancetta in a frying pan with the oil on medium to high and fry for about 5 minutes, maybe more, until it is beginning to crisp.  Throw in the vermouth and let it bubble away for about 3 minutes until you have about 2 teaspoons or so of syrupy wine-infested bacon fat.  Remove from heat.  For the egg mixture, simply beat the yolk, the whole egg and cheese.  Seasons with the pepper and mix with a fork.  When the pasta is ready, quickly put the pancetta pan back on the heat, adding the butter as you do so.  Give the pasta a good shake in the colander and then turn it into the hot pan.  Turn it with a spatula or spoon, and then when it's all covered and any excess liquid  absorbed, turn off the heat, pour the egg mixture over the bacony pasta and quickly and thoroughly turn the pasta so that it's all covered in the sauce.  Be patient; whatever you do, don't turn the heat back on or you'll have scrambled eggs.  In time, the hot pasta along with the residual heat of the pan will set the eggs to form a thickly creamy sauce that binds and clings lightly to each strand of pasta.

Don't you just LOVE how she talks? She's British, you know. They are so much cooler than us...

I just want to add that there are NEVER, EVER any leftovers of my Carbonara! Yum!