I haven’t written in a long time. Not for myself, anyway. I have an infinite number of ideas swirling around in my brain — fragments of intros, mounds of clever copy, poetic verses and lyrics galore. But what stops me? Excuses. Bottom line, lots and lots of excuses keep me from lifting the laptop cover or picking up a pen and paper. And an overwhelming, paralyzing fear that stems from that annoying monkey on my back: perfectionism. I’m a Type A control freak, and although I have the writing chops, I haven’t been able to dive into this blog. Matt and I have gone round and round the discussion board for two years now, developing our concept, our mission, our strategy, and it’s all there. But what we — or in all honesty, more so I — have struggled the most with is action.
Well, here’s action. Someone once told me that you should write what you know. I honestly cannot remember whom said what — maybe a professor at one of the many universities I attended during my academic rite of passage, but memory keeps aiming to a moment during much younger school years. Who stated it doesn’t matter as much as the words themselves do. Matthew will happily credit Stephen King here
So what do I know? Pasta carbonara americano, the way my mama makes it. (Tangent: Circling back to that perfectionism monkey, I just took ten minutes grappling with momma v. mama, and I’m still not content with my choice. Moving along…)
From the Mountains of My Abruzzo
Pasta carbonara americano is truly one of my biggest comfort foods. It’s a dish that will always take me back home no matter where I am, and it’s a meal that can bring me so much elation on even the gloomiest of days. Whenever my mom made it for me and my sister, I always felt like I was getting a tiny piece of my heritage. My maternal grandmother was from the Abruzzo region in Italy, born in the States but later moved back to Italy with her parents when she was eight. They experienced the trials of Ellis Island when immigrating to this country, eventually settling and making a home in Boston. As a typical, third-generation, Caucasian American, I am always grasping at whatever culture I can claim or learn about regarding my family. (I’ve taken two DNA tests by now and am already looking into a third.) My current personal project entails researching these Abruzzo roots, but enough on that for now.
Before I launch into a personal anecdote, I want to briefly note that this recipe is my mother and grandmother’s take on pasta carbonara americano. This is not to be confused with the more traditional pasta carbonara italiano and how the dish is typically prepared in Italy. Both are incredibly tasty dishes. My personal bias leans towards americano, but Matt is all about that pancetta used in carbonara italiano. 🙂
Obviously, this is a dish that means a lot to me. I’ll quit rambling so we can get to cooking.
Ingredients
- Ingredients:
- 8 slices of bacon cut into 1-inch strips, cooked well
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- ⅔ cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 TBS chopped parsley
- Pepper to taste
- 1 lb of your choice of pasta: You typically see this dish prepared with spaghetti or linguini — possibly even fettuccini pasta — but my personal preference is linguini. The noodles have enough girth to soak up all the gooey goodness from the egg yolk and parmesan cheese but are not so thick that they absorb too much of the liquid and overwhelm the other elements of the dish by becoming bloated. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you can follow our homemade pasta recipe for your carbonara dish.
Instructions
- After cooking the bacon until it is well done, set the bacon aside, and reserve the bacon fat
- Chop the onion, and saute in a frying pan using two to three tablespoons of bacon fat
- Once the onion is translucent and has browned, add one to two more tablespoons of fat as well as the wine.
- Let this simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. When cooked to your liking, set this aside with bacon.
- In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper.
- Stir the mixture until it is consistent throughout.
- Cook and drain the linguini. Toss the linguini with the egg mixture, and then add the bacon mixture. Serve with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and additional parsley on top if so desired.