I didn't use pancetta because it's not always easy to get where I live and at a reasonable price for the amount I would be using in the dish.

Now, I will admit that my carbonara may not be exactly 100% "authentic" because I will use bacon and I also add heavy cream to it (with about 1 Tbs milk). I don't add wine, peas, garlic, salt or any of that. I warm the mixture gently over a low flame, stirring constantly, then pour it over the hot pasta in the bowl before tossing it through. I use mostly freshly ground black pepper, but I throw in a little bit of red pepper flakes for heat. (Yeah, I know - infamia!)

I tried making it the traditional way, but I have to confess I can't stand eggs as a stand alone dish. I can cook 'em scrambled, over easy, poached - as long as it's for other people! But I will cook a number of dishes that include eggs. Preparing the carbonara the "traditional" way is a bit too eggy for my taste. I used two whole eggs, whisked together in a small bowl with grated cheese. I cut about 8 oz. (half a package) of bacon into small pieces and cook that in a frying pan until done - I try and render off as much of the fat as is practical, but I don't like the meat too fatty and rubbery or, on the other hand, overdone and charred! I drain off all but 1 Tbs of the fat, and I keep the "sludge" from the bacon. I add around 3 Tbs butter and 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, then mix in the ground pepper. Then I add 8 oz. of cream. When the pasta is nearly done cooking I mix the egg/cheese mixture into the frying pan then add the bacon and warm it until the pasta is ready. This only takes a few minutes. Then I put everything together and enjoy.

But it is a guilty pleasure - just ask my cardiologist!

BTW, I read a very interesting article (a scholarly paper from a symposium, actually, in a book) the other day about the history of carbonara. Check it out here. Also the Wikipedia article on carbonara is worth a look.

I've been away from the GBB for a year or so, and for those who don't know (or don't remember), I started cooking when I was nine and I am a dedicated home cook. At age 65, I still love to cook and few things give me as much pleasure as taking over the kitchen and preparing a good meal for my wife and our friends, although with the pandemic the "friends" part has been somewhat diminished, though not curtailed altogether.


Signor V.


"For me, there's only my wife..."

"Sure I cook with wine - sometimes I even add it to the food!"

"When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?"

"It was a grass harp... And we listened."

"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?"

"No. Saints and poets, maybe... they do some."