Bucket List Spaghetti Carbonara

[wacojoe]

O.K., gotta give this a try as it seems within my limited capabilities. I seem to be one of the few people who has never had the dish, so I have no clear expectations, but the responsibility of success is clearly on you now. More importantly, my wife is very partial to minimalist pasta dishes often turning to mere buttered pasta when feeling bad, so she is the final authority.

We moved into a new house last summer and the existing electric stove is a miserable contrivance we are replacing with a gas one next week. Any critical temperature dish is a lost cause on the one there now, so waiting for the gas cook top would be wise. Sounds like a winner though.

[Dave Grubb]

I feel your pain with the current stove!

The first recipe I posted would be a good place to start.

[wacojoe]

I made my try at a carbonara recipe tonight and the wife & I enjoyed it. it was a plain Jane version that followed the recipe I found on Bon Appitit on the Web.

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/simple-carbonara

Even though I liked it, I was not overwhelmed. My wife liked it better but she has a much more subtle pallet. We decided that the dish would make a fine base to which we should add some sautéed shrimp next time out.

[Dave Grubb]

Your recipe calls for two additional yokes, mine do not do that---I use all whole eggs.

Did your pasta coat properly?

My thought on your recipe is that I would expect bacon to take over, I would tend toward sausage as an alternative. I also believe that veggies add a great component to the dish, both in taste and texture. I have used both peas and asparagus---they also brighten the appearance.

A thought on your shrimp---I would probably cook the shrimp separately and add at the end. Getting the shrimp to finish at the same time as the egg coating could be a real challenge

[Mike]

Electric stove? No way! I'm glad you can switch out for gas.

I long ago decided if gas is not available at my next home, I will get propane for the cook stove.

[Wannabe]

I'm with you Mike. An electric stove does not react quick enough when you change heat settings where gas is instant. If you loose your electricity in the winter time you can camp out in the kitchen, stay warm, and Eat.

[Mike]

On a side note, I got a new gas cook stove about 2 weeks ago to replace the one that flooded during the hurricane. The burners have a much hotter output than my old stove, forcing me to learn which burner to use for each item being cooked.

[wacojoe]

Your recipe calls for two additional yokes, mine do not do that---I use all whole eggs.

Did your pasta coat properly?

My thought on your recipe is that I would expect bacon to take over, I would tend toward sausage as an alternative. I also believe that veggies add a great component to the dish, both in taste and texture. I have used both peas and asparagus---they also brighten the appearance.

A thought on your shrimp---I would probably cook the shrimp separately and add at the end. Getting the shrimp to finish at the same time as the egg coating could be a real challenge

It coated properly as far as could tell with my lack of experience with the dish.
I just used two slices of thick bacon I had left, so the bacon I found was too sparse, but it was really good. Some small broccoli would be a good addition for me, I think, and my plan is too sauté the shrimp first like the bacon. We have a big bowl left, so I plan on adding some shrimp to it and give it a try.

[wacojoe]

On a side note, I got a new gas cook stove about 2 weeks ago to replace the one that flooded during the hurricane. The burners have a much hotter output than my old stove, forcing me to learn which burner to use for each item being cooked.

My new stove’s burners are all different outputs too. Good idea too. The one with the biggest output really puts out a flame; can’t wait to get to some wok cooking. I ended up with an LG, what did you get, Mike?

[Dave Grubb]

I have a GE professional stove at home 75% the time I use the smallest burner, 20% the next size up and on occasion the two largest. The biggest burner on high sounds like and airplane!

[Mike]

Joe,

I ended up with a five burner Samsung.

[TxMusky]

Ha, and me being the one who one would least expect to be a "greenie" , have an induction cooktop and use a convection oven. Guess I will have to keep producing wells so you fellers will have enough gas to run your stoves. Speaking of being able to instantly control the heat, induction instantly changes the temp. Water boils in about a minute in a 2 quart sauce pan

[wacojoe]

I have a stand alone single induction burner but can’t remember the last time I used it. Don’t know why. Guess I forget about it. Works well, like Tx says.

[wacojoe]

As I mentioned my intentions above, I sautéed some fresh shrimp dusted in flour, plus a generous dusting of Tony Chachere’s More Spice seasoning in butter & olive oil, garlic and diced shallots, then added some heavy cream with some chicken broth, heating it and throwing in the leftover pasta. Fresh Parmesan, some parsley and dried pepper flakes and the pasta was redeemed. Very tasty. Mushrooms would have been good, but I did not think of that until just now.