Pasta alla Cabonara

  

   Two days ago, I applied for Medicare. I have to let that sink in. 

     Retirement is looming, just over the horizon, and I have to prepare for Post-work life. I will have to have projects lined up...boredom can be dangerous! I know cooking and baking, traveling with my sisters,  grandchildren, and some sort of volunteering will be involved!

     My Texas sister is in town and has been a joy to cook for. I was looking through a cabinet for a particular mixing bowl and saw my old pasta machine. Aha! It had been a while since I had made pasta from scratch. It really couldn't be easier: make a dough with 2 cups of flour and 3 eggs. If you have the time and inclination, roll it out by hand to 1mm thickness, cut to shape, and cook in boiling salted water for a minute or two. Or, use a Pasta Machine! 

     Pasta is not really in our bloodline. A cousin researched our family genealogy, picking up where her mom left off. At one point, a missed translation placed a branch of the family in Italy, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking! Once DNA testing became widely available, it became clear that there is not one bit of Italian mixed in with the Irish, German, Scandinavian, and French...and a sprinkle of Scottish! Ach!

     Several years ago (gosh, make that several decades...), I became friends with a family whose ancestors on both sides were from Italy. Everything they cooked had a history!

     This pasta dish was one of theirs, and it became a favorite of ours. The first time I made it, the New Orleans Creole in me added garlic. This is, apparently, a serious faux pas! "Do not put garlic in your carbonara!"

      No, I do not know why.

 Pasta alla Carbonara

4 tbsp butter

1 medium onion, chopped

8 slices chopped prosciutto or bacon

1 lb fresh linguini (cook in salted water, drain, and set aside, reserving the pasta water).

1 cup cream

1 egg

Grated fresh Parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute' onion in butter in a large sauce pan. Add prosciutto or bacon and saute' two minutes. Add cream, and heat thoroughly but do not boil. Add cooked linguini and egg, and combine well. Allow sauce to thicken over low heat. If the sauce thickens too much, and a few tablespoons of hot pasta water and toss. Add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese and toss again. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional Parmesan.