Eats: Pasta Carbonara (Guest blog)

Today's guest blogger - our first!!!!! - is the beautiful and accomplished, Leah, who's just sent her dissertation off. She is also a kick-ass lawyer. Pictures to come.

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Howdy, Persis fans! My name is Leah. I’m originally from Memphis, and I now live in Texas. Persis and I “met” through her blog. Actually, I found her blog through Leslie’s blog. While reading through Persis’ entries, I learned we have a lot in common: single girls in a big city who were working and going to school, and Christians who were trying hard to filter decisions through God’s Word.

We differ in at least one respect, however: Persis is an accomplished and adventurous cook. I am not. Persis creates glorious meals out of 5 ingredients she keeps handy or discovers in the back of her pantry. I hunt through my fridge hoping I can find something to put on my toast for breakfast in the morning.

Not too long ago, I finally got to meet Persis live and in person at a dinner party. The theme was Western Murder Mystery, and my assigned role was the town tramp. Who knew it’d be hard to have a conversation with a new friend while wearing bright blue eye shadow and teased hair? Thanks to email, however, we’re developing a fun friendship. We’ve also gotten to share meals with each other, as I live in the city she will soon call Home, which she visits so she can spend time with The Boy. I can’t wait for her to move here permanently!

Usually, “cooking” for me is little more than throwing a frozen slab of pre-seasoned chicken in the oven or toasting a bagel. But lately, I have decided to experiment a little.

Like many single girls, my time for creating something in the kitchen is limited, so I’m super-picky about the recipes I choose: Short, unexotic ingredient list with simple instructions. This recipe fit the bill, so I decided to give it a try. And Persis asked me to guest blog about it. I am so honored!

RECIPE: PASTA CARBONARA

Tweaks

The first time I made this recipe, I had no clue where to find pancetta at my grocery store, and I was feeling too unsocial to ask one of the grocery store people where to look for it. So here’s what I did differently: Instead of pancetta, I used turkey bacon. I’ve since tried pancetta (finally got social) and uncured turkey bacon, which has the consistency of ham – not my fave. The turkey bacon works great.

Instead of white wine, I used white cooking wine (LOTS of emailing back and forth with Persis about possible substitutions for this ingredient – I don’t keep wine in the house.) If I didn’t use the white cooking wine, I don’t think the pasta would as carbonara-y.

Because I live in the US, I had to wikipedia double cream to figure out exactly what it was. Apparently, it is mainly available in the UK, so I used Sour Supreme. It’s essentially lactose-free sour cream, but it tastes the same (to me) and adds to the creaminess of the sauce. My “dollop” is a big dollop. The last time I made this recipe, I over-dollopped, and the sauce ended up being too runny. You’ve been warned.

My pinch of nutmeg is a large pinch. I love nutmeg. My two tablespoons of Parmesan are very large tablespoons. I love cheese.

Sometimes I add some wilted spinach. One day, I’ll get creative and add shrimp, as soon as I can figure out what to use to season it. Garlic salt and coarsely ground pepper, maybe? Or just the pepper?

Once the pasta and bacon are ready, the preparation has to go really fast so the pasta is still warm enough to cook the sauce, so it gets tricky for me because I’m not a whiz in the kitchen. Typically, I’ll put the carbonara sauce together first or while the water for the pasta is heating up. I also wilt the spinach either while the pasta is cooking and/or before I fix the bacon/pancetta.

I focus completely on browning the bacon – it’s the hardest part for me (as sad as that may sound). Then I do everything the way Persis told me. I also like to fry up the remaining egg white – no need to throw away perfectly good protein.

After pouring the carbonara sauce on the pasta, inhale, and take a moment to truly savor the aroma. It is practically a worshipful experience for me – it smells divine!

An unexpected byproduct of making this recipe was the near-therapeutic effect of cooking. It was energizing! I shared this with my friend Missy, who told me that of course I felt better – creation is godly.

Bon appetit! Or as we say in Texas, “Y’all enjoy!”