Spaghetti Carbonara

Since I grew up in a family that didn’t like cheese, it wasn’t until I went to college that I discovered how awesome just plain pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese is. It is my go to meal in an emergency when I need to fill my tummy quickly. By emergency, you can surmise I usually mean when my mental and physical state is more poor than usual, my tummy feels upset, often after some consumption of lots of liquids with some sort of alcohol component. Perhaps you can surmise that anyway.

I also learned in college from others that sprinkling cheese from a salad bar on top of hot rice is more than workable too (what!!?? People put rice and cheese together!??), and this made me even lazier than my previous ways which used to be fried rice or plain jasmine rice with Maggi Seasoning Sauce. I use a rice cooker, and so the upside of that is that instead of having to watch a pot of water boil (which inevitably will boil over, alerting me that it is now time to put in the pasta), I can just really stick the rice and water in and walk away until I hear the click from the rice cooker that it’s done.

But college days and those early 20s are over. Ok, so I still eat those things (in particular, fried rice is a great way to use old rice from takeout or dining out). And sometimes out of laziness hot rice with a sprinkle of cheese is easier and faster in a pinch than making mac and cheese, although it probably will make most Asians shudder.

Sometimes, I try to get a bit gourmet. By that, I mean I think making spaghetti carbonara is a nicely refined backup when I am making a meal alone but am not so desperate for comfort in my stomach/dizzy that I can’t crack an egg and crumble some crispy bacon, all serving 1. The fact that I throw in a vegetable (even if they start from frozen peas) also makes me feel like “hey, I’m an adult. There’s a vegetable in there. It’s more sophisticated, see.”

Extra Note: Whenever I buy bacon, I will use a few strips fresh (or whatever my recipe calls for) and freeze the rest. My tip for freezing bacon is that I always freeze each piece individually in the saran wrap by folding them accordion style, just like you do when you make those creases for paper fans. That way, when I only need a couple pieces, I don’t have to break them off a huge slab of frozen bacon. I also always save the bacon juice- though in this case you will be using it right away as part of the recipe.

What’s your favorite comfort / sober up food?

Spaghetti Carbonara with bacon, peas, parmesan, egg

Ingredients (serves 1):

  • 1/2 box of spaghetti
  • 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • 2 slices of bacon
  • 1/2 cup of chopped onion
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 1 cup of cooked peas (I steamed mine in the microwave)
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
  2. While the water is boiling, cook chopped bacon until crisp on a skillet. Remove the bacon and drain onto paper towels. Save the bacon fat in that skillet!
  3. While the water is boiling, I also beat the egg. Add the cheese and nutmeg, and beat it again. Set aside for later.
  4. Reuse that skillet to now cook the chopped onion until it is caramelized and translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook few minutes more. If you want, you can throw in other ingredients to your taste, such as peas, mushrooms, cream or splash of white wine… but will you be tempted to keep that wine out to eat with your pasta is a potential problem / opportunity :X
  5. Now to that pan, add the drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through. Remove the skillet from heat and add beaten eggs and toss quickly all throughout the pasta until the eggs are barely set. Finally, crumble the bacon in, add the cooked peas, and toss again. Add some ground pepper to taste.

Spaghetti Carbonara with bacon, peas, parmesan, egg Spaghetti Carbonara with bacon, peas, parmesan, egg

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Gouda Mac and Cheese with Peas and Microgreens

Thanks to a mention by Spicy Bee while she visited Besaws, my memories have been jogged about the existence of meatloaf, and how I haven’t had it for a very long time. I’ve been craving it for a few weeks.

When friends came over to marathon Game of Thrones before the season 3 premiere next Sunday, I asked her to bring meatloaf, and I would make a side. I was torn between making green beans with potatoes versus mac and cheese, but when the cold wind was blowing on Saturday at the Portland Farmers Market and I saw these microgreens from Nightlight Farms that I wrote about a couple days ago, I thought they would be great as a topping, the choice was made. I admit that maybe halfway through the plate of cheeseburger meatloaf and this cheesy but crunchy gouda mac n cheese with peas and microgreens topping that I felt a need to switch out my jeans for soft stretchy yoga pants.

Ingredients (serves 8):

  • 1 box (1 pound) of farfalle (or whatever shape) pasta you would like
  • Salt (to taste)
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 12 ounce bag of frozen sweet peas
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons of flour
  • 2 cups of milk, or you can use 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup cream, or all cream. You pick the richness level.
  • 1/2 tablespoon of ground nutmeg (this is my take because I like nutmeg, and I did not freshly ground it so used more. The actual recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon worth)
  • 3/4 pound of shredded smoked gouda cheese. For best results, shred the cheese the day of, and don’t use the pre-shredded that will have cornstarch and not taste as fresh. The key to kicking mac and cheese is to use good cheese you shred yourself
  • 3 tablespoons seasoned panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup of microgreens: I used a bit of pea sprouts and broccoli sprouts

Directions:

  1. Boil a pot of salted water and cook the pasta. You can set it aside in the casserole dish you are going to use with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil so the pasta do not stick to each other in clumps.
  2. Meanwhile, defrost the sweet peas and add with the hot pasta. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Now, for the classic mother sauce, the béchamel sauce. This is a classic French white sauce made by stirring dairy into a mixture of equal parts flour and butter, and then adding the smoked cheese makes it thick and creamy cheesy goodness! In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter, and then slowly whisk in the flour, keep whisking to make it smooth for a few minutes until it thickens and browns slightly. Now, add the milk and bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
  4. Lower the heat and add the cream (if using), most of the smoked Gouda (reserve a handful or two to sprinkle as part of the topping), paprika and nutmeg and whisk just until the cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, and then pour this sauce into the casserole dish with the pasta and peas. Mix it all together.
  5. Top with the handful of shredded cheese you reserved, and then seasoned panko breadcrumbs
  6. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for 15 – 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
  7. Finally, top the mac and cheese with the microgreens of pea shoots and broccoli shoots from Nightlight Farms.

Mac and cheese is so easy to sneak in vegetables, and I liked how the broccoli shoots added additional texture and crunch above and beyond the panko topping.

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Dinner: Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

The bourbon chicken and most of the Thanksgiving dishes were new dishes for me. This mushroom stroganoff is one of my safe, tried and true dishes. Living in Portland, with so many mushrooms available, this is an easy regional staple, it’s hearty while being meat-free. Everytime I make mushroom stroganoff, it’s a little bit different based on what mushrooms are fresh at the market – although in Chicago, sometimes to be interesting I ended up using dried mushrooms along with the fresh (generally only portabella and white button were at the grocery store anyway) and it was still tasty. There is really no way to go wrong here with whatever mushrooms you use and whatever combination you put in, and it gives it a slightly different flavor and texture every time.

For this dinner, I used a cup of Oyster mushrooms (one of my favorite mushrooms for its rich taste), a cup of Alba and Brown Clamshell, and cup that was a mix of a few Trumpet Royale (a meatier texture mushroom). I also added an extra 1/4 a cup of shitake to make the sauce more meaty and less creamy. I left out the shallot/onion to also give more spotlight to the mushrooms when I prepared it.

The base recipe yields 4 servings and takes about an hour to cook with a mere 10 min prep:

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff (serves 4)
Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter, and
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large shallot, minced (or you can use an onion)
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic or a crushed garlic clove
  • 3 cups mushrooms (the original calls for portabella or cremini cubed)- you can slice instead of cube the mushrooms depending on the size/texture you want
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/8 cup of thyme (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped- I am not a fan of parsley though so I used thyme)
  • salt and pepper  to taste

Directions:

    1. Melt the first amount of butter over medium heat and add the shallot, cook until tender.
    2. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pot and cook until tender.
    3. Add the broth, wine, and salt and pepper if desired. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer for about ten minutes.

Before adding the roux:
Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

    1. While the sauce is simmering, in a separate pot melt the second amount of butter over medium heat.
    2. Stir the flour into the butter until absorbed to make a roux.
    3. Pour the mushroom mixture into the roux and bring to a boil, turn down the heat and stir until thickened.
    4. Stir in the cream and parmesan cheese, and stir in the thyme/parsley to taste.

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

You can choose to serve this over pasta- I always pick an egg noodle- or over rice, or by as a thick broth of its own in a bread bowl (with the former insides of the bowl for you to dunk in).

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

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