Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Spaghetti with Eggs and Pancetta)

My sweet friend Helen Wheeler-Shaw is an amazing artist!!  Please be sure to take a moment to check out her beautiful art, I know you will love it as much as I do!  Helen is so much fun and has a bit f a twisted sense of humor, maybe it's the New Zealander in her, or maybe it's just that she sounds funny.  Hmmm, I'll have to think about that a bit.  And Helen probably thinks I'm a bit slow.  She's very patient with me when I know I have that lost look when she says something to me a bit too fast with that crazy accent hers and my Texas ears.

Well, last week Helen gave me some of her beautiful eggs from her very own chickens!  Last night I used them (I have been saving them for something special) and made this delicious Carbonara.  I can't believe the taste and how different it is with fresh eggs!!!!  So rich and the color was such a deep orangishy-yellow, this photo does not show the beautiful color at all :/

Romans say that this pasta was introduced to their city by the charcoal sellers who came down from Abruzzo in earlier times to hawk their wares-which is why they named it for the carbonara, the charcoal maker's wife.

This is a super simple recipe to prepare.  Beg, borrow or steal some fresh eggs!!  What a difference!!  I have now officially talked my husband into getting about 5 chickens so we can have our own fresh eggs.  Freaky how your life changes.  Me, this city girl who grew up in Houston, now wants chickens.  Just bizarre, seriously, VERY bizarre.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

(Spaghetti with Eggs and Pancetta)

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

5 oz pancetta cut into 1/4"x 1/4' x 1" strips

1 garlic clove, minced

2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

1 lb spaghetti

1/2 C freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

1/2 C freshly grated pecorino romano

freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pancetta and fry until crisp and lightly browned, 5-6 minutes.

Add garlic, mix in with pancetta and turn off heat. 

Put eggs, egg yolks and 1/4 C water into a small bowl and beat together with fork.  Add cheeses and combine.  Set aside.

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 9-12 minutes.  Ladle a couple of spoonfuls of pasta water into egg mixture  while stirring, to temper eggs.

Drain pasta and then return it to the pot.  Use large tongs or forks to mix in the eggs/cheese, the pancetta with the garlic and all it's rendered fat and cooking oil.  Season with fresh ground pepper.  Serve in heated pasta bowls or plates and top with additional cheese sprinkled on top.  Serves 4

Thanks Helen, you better lock your hen house!!!

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Mediterranean Penne Pasta

Super easy to throw together!  All of these ingredients can be kept on hand for a quick night dinner or surprise dinner guests.  Delicious, fresh tasting, and ready in minutes.  Serve with a crisp Caesar Salad and you have a complete meal.  Italian pasta recipes are the best known by far, but other Mediterranean regions have also developed their own pasta recipes and different types of pasta. Burballes in Majorca, hilofta in Crete, fideus in Catalonia, orzo in Greece, manti in Turkey, couscous in Morocco -they are but a few of the hundreds of different names and shapes of Mediterranean pasta.  So, relax with a great glass of wine and imagine yourself sitting in the warm Mediterranean sun, looking across the beautiful azure sea, dining alfresco with a great bunch of friends.  Let your taste buds take a quick vacation from the cold outside.

  
Mediterranean Penne Pasta

1 large red red bell pepper, roasted, see instructions below
1/2 C Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
4 ounces Prosciutto, broiled to crisp, if desired
1/2 C Sun-dried tomatoes, olive packed, drained and diced
1/3 C Pesto
1-6 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 Tbl Capers, rinsed and drained
8 ounces Penne Pasta
1/2 Cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shredded and divided
1/4 C Pine Nuts, toasted
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Lay red pepper on it's side on rack of a gas burner and turn flame on high.  Roast pepper, turning with tongs, until skin is blackened, 5 to 8 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and let stand, covered, 15 minutes.  Rub skin off  with paper towels and discard stem and seeds.  Chop the pepper in medium size dice, place in a large bowl.  If desired, place slices of prosciutto on small sheet pan and broil for a few minutes, add to bowl.  Stir in olives, sun-dried tomatoes,  pesto, artichoke hearts, and capers.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and oil, drain.  Add cooked pasta and 1/4  cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to bell pepper mixture and toss gently to combine.

Serve and sprinkle individual servings with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, fresh ground pepper, and toasted pine nuts.

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Parmesan Twists, No. 101 on the list of crazy ideas my sister and I come up with

We had a blast making these, well I did, Claire did all the hard work, I just helped out with the fun part. 

Bless her heart.  This recipe was adapted from a recipe in Fine Cooking.  Adapted why, because remember, I don't know how to leave a recipe alone.  Everyone loved these, I looked up and they were gone!  The recipe makes about 40 breadsticks which is the recipe that follows, we doubled it, and I am really glad we did!  The dough should be made the day before to have time to refrigerate overnight.  You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.  They are a snap to bake-up.

Crazy Spicy Cheese Breadsticks aka Parmesan Twists

1 tsp active dry yeast

1 Cup plus 2 Tbls warm water (85 degrees)

1/4 tsp sugar

3-1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/3 Cup Olive Oil, good quality

1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

Grey Salt for garnishing before baking

1 Tbl paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne

3/4 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Make A Sponge:

In a medium bowl, mis the yeast, warm water, and sugar until dissolved.  Whisk in 1-1/3 Cups of the flour until the mixture is uniform and free of lumps.  Cover with plastic and let it sit in a warm place until bubbly and light and almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Make The Dough:

Whisk the oil and the seasonings into the sponge until well blended.  Pour the seasoned sponge into the bowl of your super amazing Cuisinart food processor with the dough blade (or an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook) and set to medium speed.  As the dough hook turns, gradually add 2 Cups of the flour.  Slowly add the Parmesan Cheese. Continue to add flour until the dough is only slightly sticky, but no longer wet.  When the dough behins to cling to the hook and pull away from the sides of the bowl, remove the dough from the bowl and knead by hand on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. 1 to 2 minutes.

Shape the dough into a ball and let it rise in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap, until about doubled in bulk, about 3 hours.  Once risen, punch down the dough and refrigerate it overnight or for up to 4 days.

Shape And Bake The Breadsticks:                Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 1 hour before shaping it.  Heat the oven to 375 degrees and line several baking sheets with parchment.  Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a 12 X 20 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Using a pizza cutter (or a long thin, sharp knife), cut  the rectangle lenghtwise into 2 sections each about 6 inches wide.  Then cut each section into narrow strips about 1/2 inch wide.  Strech and twist each strip to almost twice it's original length and arrang the strips, HAVE FUN, 1/4 inch apart, on the baking sheets.  Spinkle liberally with Grey Salt to garnish.

Bake the beadsticks until golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.  Check them periodically as some of them will be thinner than others and will bake faster.  They're done if they feel firm when pinched.  Let them cool completely before serving.  They will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

You will notice one stray one in the photo that we tested with black sesame seeds.  Decided against them, didn't think they would look so great when guests smiled in photos  ;-)

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Texas Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Toasted Pecans

So evidently my husband did not know there are anchovies in Caesar Salad and evidently he discovered he likes them.  I like them too, but in small doses.  I am also kind of a wimp because I like mine to come from the tube instead of looking at their hairy little bodies in a can or jar, but that's just me.  The recipe is below.

My weekends are usually spent doing a few chores in the kitchen for the upcoming week.  It's hard to actually think of them as chores because I like doing them.  Invariably, I have left over Sour Dough and/or French Baguettes.  I hate to see it go to waste but God knows my waistline can take it all.  Although, I am sure, if I had to, I could live on French Bread.  So I make my own bread crumbs in my super crummy food processor, remember I am still on a quest to break it so I have to replace it.  Here she is.  Understand?    So I suffer.  Oh it's true.  Anyway, so we now have all the fresh bread crumbs I can use for a while.  The Sour Dough quickly turned into Garlic Croutons.

Texas Caesar Salad

(In Texas, most every meal has a pecan in it somewhere)

For Dressing:

1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, shredded

1 Tbl Anchovie Paste

3 Tbl Lemon juice

Grated lemon rind from half a lemon

3 large garlic cloves, large dice

2 Tbl Dijon Mustard

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3/4 C Good quality olive oil

For Salad and Pecans:

Three heads of Romaine, discard outer leaves and tear the rest into large bite size pieces

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 C Pecans

In the bowl of a food processor, combine cheese, anchovie paste, lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, dijon and pepper.  Process on high and slowly pour olive oil in a stream to combine while processor is running.  Dressing will be thick.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat small saute pan on medium heat, place pecans in dry pan and toast. Set aside to cool.

In a large serving bowl with romaine, toss with dressing a little at a time until it is coated with a desired amount.  You will have some dressing left over, it should be sealed tight and will keep refrigerated for up to a week.  Garnish salad with remaining parmesan cheese, croutons and toasted pecans.  Ya'll enjoy!

Serves 4-6.  You can also add rotisserie chicken to salad to serve as a meal. Note:  I did not add raw egg to dressing because we had a guest for dinner I was unsure would want that.  This dressing is thick and rich enough that it stands alone fine without it.

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