On a unusual solo trip to the grocery store, I found a rarity (rare that is for my Kissimme Florida”mega-mart” chain that caters to tourists more than locals); real pancetta!

Pancetta is an Italian version of bacon. Made from pork belly, pancetta is salt cured but not smoked like most American bacon.  It has a more delicate flavor and is the lead ingredient in Spaghetti Carbonara which I like to call, bacon and eggs.  If you grew up going to one of those “italian” restaurants with a candle in a chianti basket bottle, red checkered table cloth and zero Italian speakers you may think that Fettucini or spaghetti carbonara is made with bacon, cream and peas.  Nope.  If you like eating that (and I do) please do so, just realize that you are eating a highly Americanized version of an Italian dish.

Widely recognized as Roman in origin, there are many theories about the name (roughly translated it means carbon) and the invention of Spaghetti Carbonara.  I tried to find one that involved the mob, Cleopatra or Ceasar but came up empty handed.  After a bit more wine perhaps I’ll invent that version, post it to Wikipedia and see how many blogs it shows up in, but for now I’m content to tell you that this dish has so much flavor and is so easy that if you are not making it your dog should bite you (or something along those lines).  The minute you do start making it, your friends will be inviting themselves over more often.

The main ingredients are Spaghetti (you had that one right); pancetta, Parmesan reggiono (or peccorino romano), eggs and black pepper.  Because this dish has only a few ingredients, each flavor stands out.  Even using the best ingredient in each category this is an inexpensive plate of comfort, try not to skimp.

OK OK I’m windy tonight — I’ll get to the recipe (2 servings)

6 oz dried spaghetti
3 oz diced pancetta
1/2 small white onion diced
1 clove fresh garlic minced
Lots of fresh ground black pepper
1 egg beaten
1 cup freshly grated cheese
reserve one cup of pasta cooking liquid.

Because this comes together quickly make sure you have everything ready to go in the pan before you start.

Put a light “twirl” (or 2 Tablespoons if you prefer) of olive oil in the pan and brown the pancetta.  Add the onions and cook until soft.  While this is working in the pan, cook the pasta according to directions.

Remove skillet from heat; add pasta to the pan with less than a 1/4 of pasta cooking liquid then stir in the egg and cheese.  The heat from pan and pasta will cook the egg and melt the cheese creating your “sauce.”  If it’s too thick for you add a bit more of the pasta water.  Season with black pepper and enjoy.

This goes really nicely with an acidic white wine that doesn’t over power but cuts the fat.  Or a Stella Artois– the whineaux is on a beer bender right now.

Cheers!  I’m off to make butter tarts with Tyler — stay tuned for the details!

This time of year my herb garden goes crazy thanks to lots of rain and lots of sun.  My Basil plants become a small forest if I don’t stay on top of them.  It seems like a terrible waste to  grow the herbs but not use them.  So — I decided to make pesto.

What started out as a quick and simple meal to help me regain control of my herb garden was deemed one of our favorite meals.  I made a fresh basil pesto cream sauce, sauteed chicken in bacon fat, and added some crisp bacon to the plate.  As we’d been out running errands all day I used store bought fresh pasta instead of making my own, but next time I will be making my pasta because this sauce is too good to diminish with store bought pasta.  (that said, the fresh pasta was perfectly fine if you are not a nutcase like me)

At the end of making this, I realized that it was truly a 30 minute meal — with little or no planning.  I can make Rachel Ray meals in 30 minutes, but usually that’s only if I gather and prep the ingredients before I start cooking (and the timer).  In this case I remember looking at the clock and it was 7:03 as I started the pesto in the food processor and 7:27 when I was putting dinner on the plate.  Before that I had only started the pasta water and the pine nuts.

Fettuccine with Pesto Cream:

1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Cloves Fresh Garlic grated (If you are using pre-peeled cloves you may want 3)
1/2 Cup pine nuts toasted in olive oil
Pinch Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup olive oil
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 package fresh fettuccine from the store or 1 pound homemade pasta.

Toast pine nuts in olive oil over medium heat on stove top.  Let them brown but not burn.  A word of caution, they very quickly transition from toasted to burned so this is not the time to multitask.  It takes about 4 -6 minutes total and you’ll want to toss them so they cook evenly.  Start them in a cold pan with cold olive oil; this way the oil is also infused with the pine nut flavor.  After toasting remove them from the pan and put them on a plate to cool.

Put Basil leaves in food processor, use a micro plane or garlic press to mince the garlic.  [This is one time I don't like to trust the food processor -- this is essentially a raw sauce so you don't want to get a large chunk of garlic.]  Add the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and pulse the food processor a few times to mix everything up, add the pine nuts and pulse food processor to mix.  Scrape the sides of the bowl, and replace lid, turn food processor on and stream in olive oil until the sauce starts to come together. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.  (Note, the cream and the pasta will mute the flavor some so a tiny bit extra salt is a good idea)

In a shallow saute pan heat the cream over medium low heat and reduce by a third.  Let it cool a bit  while you make the chicken.

Sauteed Chicken:

4 strips thick cut smoked bacon or pancetta
4 bone-in skin on Chicken Thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash white wine.

In a large saute pan render bacon until crispy over medium high heat, remove from the pan and drain over paper towels. Reserve fat in pan.

Pat chicken dry and season on both sides.  Put chicken in the hot pan skin side down and cook until deeply browned, about 8 minutes per side, Temperature near the bone should register 155 – 160 degrees. Remove from pan and drain.

Meanwhile cook Fettuccine according to package directions drain and return to stock pot.

Combine the pesto paste with warm cream (if you do this while the cream is hot you’ll turn the basil black — it’s fine to eat but not as pretty).  Toss with pasta in the stock pot.

We had a tempranillo with this.  The wine was a lighter representation of the wine, dry with berry cherry and vanilla flavors.  Not a lot of earth but nice acidity that cut the richness of the pasta cream sauce.