Spaghetti Carbonara

I'm not really sure why I rarely blog the "real" things I eat. I swear, I do eat things beside cake. Sometimes. I think part of it is that when I'm cooking, I'm feeling more "I'm hungry and I don't want to take pictures, I want to eat my dinner" rather than "Oh, what a fun break this is from doing homework". You dig?

 And it's not even that I make really boring things for dinner. Some of the more notable meals have been pasta e fagioli, chicken tikka masala, pad thai, and pandan chicken. Oftentimes I even take pictures of my ingredients or process but I just forget to take a picture of the final dish. Or I just don't feel like it. Basically, I just suck, haha. 

I've also made spaghetti carbonara before and not posted it, but this time I've made a concerted effort to bring it to you! It's an incredibly easy and tasty meal, and a good way to use up random bits of food from the fridge. Perfect for a college student. 

Oh, by the way, today is the start of my spring break, woo! Or, as the Irish kids call it, reading week. I guess this is a period of study for them. For me, it's a period of almost interrupted travel! So I won't be able to post much/at all for the next week or two. But I promise you that when I come back, I'll have all sorts of stories to share. Wish me safe journeys!

 

Spaghetti Carbonara 
adapted slightly from BBC Good Food
serves 2ish

50 grams chopped back bacon (what I used), ham, pancetta, Canadian bacon...not American bacon
50g grated Parmesan
1 large egg
175 grams spaghetti
1 crushed garlic clove
a bit of butter or olive oil for the pan

Cook your spaghetti according to directions on the package. Add a little salt to the water. 
While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the meat with the garlic. Drop the butter into a large wide frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the meat and garlic. Leave these to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is golden and crisp.
Keep the heat under the meat on low.When the pasta is ready, drain it, but leave a bit of pasta water to thin the sauce. I only needed a few tablespoons. In your now empty spaghetti pot, throw the spaghetti back in, plus the bacon/garlic mixture, and the cheese.
Take the pan of spaghetti and meat off the heat. Now quickly crack the egg in, and using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn't scramble, and everything is coated. Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don't want it wet, just moist. Season with a little salt, if needed.
Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.

Shhhhhh....(Butternut Squash + Bacon Pasta)

I've been feeling kind of quiet lately. I dunno how many of you blog, but do you ever feel blogged out? Like, I've definitely been making food, no doubt, like The Pastry Affair's Chocolate Banana Cake, tomato basil bisque, and monster zucchini bread. I mean, look at this sucker! 

Also look at my fancy nails. 

But sometimes I don't have a story to go along with my food. Or, I could create one, but it would feel forced and distract me from simply enjoying the process. I'm not the kind of person who talks because they like to hear their own voice (I'm not sure anyone would willingly admit to being that person, but you can ask my close friends and family, it's definitely not true for me). I'm okay with long silences. I frequently revel in them. 

Hi! I'm a cute and annoying butternut squash who is far too difficult to cut!

So here's a many stepped but uncomplicated recipe, perfect for getting lost in the quiet of your thoughts. I made it for my family while they were out of the house, and it was a lovely treat to get to cook with the only sounds being a knife hitting a cutting board and the sizzle of oil in a pan. 

Butternut Squash + Bacon Pasta

adapted from Cooking Light magazine 

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 8 ounces uncooked penne
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups skim milk
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray (don't forget the cooking spray like me, haha); sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.
• Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add onions to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and onions; set aside.
• Cook pasta according to the package directions, drain well.
• Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add mozzarella, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

It's Beginning to Sort of Resemble Christmas I Guess.

pasta

Home for the holidays! It's weird to like...not have homework. I will take advantage of this new freedom. Prepare yourself for Christmas cookie posts. 

These are not cookies. But they are festive and beautiful. 

It's so nice to be able to sleep and cook and eat until your diaphragm starts pushing on your lungs so you can't breathe and uh...just be a slackeroni in general. On the topic of slackeronis (awesome segue, right?) I made some nice pasta sauce. Gotta reacquaint myself with the home kitchen. 

Even dinosaurs like tomatoes...

I'm thinking I'll make this for my friends for dinner sometime when I get back to school. This sauce is chock full of onions, tomato and mascarpone cheese. Swoon. I could (and sometimes do) eat it by the spoonful. If you don't know mascarpone...it's the stuff that makes tiramisu all creamy and delicious. 'Nuff said. Serve this with some exciting pasta and bread and you're good to go. 

Tomato Mascarpone Sauce

adapted from Jamieoliver.com

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

3 garlic cloves

a bit of fresh, chopped basil

1 onion, chopped

4 oz. mascarpone cheese

salt and pepper

Put a little olive oil in the bottom of a medium sized saucepan, and throw the onions in when the oil gets hot. Crush the garlic and add it to the onions. Add the tomatoes and basil, and let it simmer. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes. When you're ready to eat, add the salt, pepper and mascarpone and stir until everything is mixed together smoothly. Add the pasta directly to the sauce. Serve right away, and with a little parmesan and crushed red pepper flakes if you so desire.