Bacon Carbonara

I'm admittedly a TV Cooking Show JUNKIE! I watch them all. I record them all. I copy them all! Last night I was watching a new show called Kitchen Boss. It's the guy from Cake Boss, only he's not baking cakes. . .he's cooking Italian food! On this episode he was making an authentic Pasta Carbonara.

I've been looking for a good recipe for a Carbonara for a long time. There are many different versions of it out there. The one thing I find in common is that they all call for raw egg. (Now, the egg does get cooked by the heat of the noodles, but the actual use of raw egg just freaked me out.)

But I've done some research and came to the conclusion that the heat of the noodles cooks the egg enough to be safe. If there is a concern about the egg, you can use the pasteurized ones.

I will tell you this, the velvety texture of the pasta with the egg, seasoned with the saltiness of the bacon, is to die for. It is so good.

Bacon Carbonara

1 lb bacon, fried and chopped
12 oz of spaghetti noodles
4 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen sweet peas
salt
pepper
milk or half and half
1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil for cooking pasta. Heavily salt the water.

2. Once water comes to a boil, add in pasta and cook as directed on package.

3. Meanwhile, in a large glass bowl, whisk together the eggs and parmesan cheese.

4. Once noodles are cooked, drain and immediately toss with the eggs and parmesan.

5. Toss to coat.

6. At this point, the pasta will be fairly thick. Toss in the bacon and peas.

7. Add in enough milk or half and half to thin out the sauce a bit. Now's a good time to season with salt and pepper as well.

8. Serve immediately.
NOTE: This does not reheat well!