Quick Spaghetti Carbonara

I know, I know. I'm a terrible blogger. What has it been? A year? Yeesh. Anyway, tonight I wanted to make dinner, but didn't feel like going to the grocery store. So, I decided to concoct something from items I had in my kitchen. Believe it or not, this is actually a fun game for me. Reminds me of my grandmother who always managed to cobble something together from the contents of her fridge. For sure, this method can definitely yield rather odd meals at times, but fortunately, tonight I got lucky.

Here's what I had on hand:
Bacon
Garlic
Olive Oil
1 lb. thin spaghetti
Eggs
Parsley
White wine
Parmesan
Butter

The combination of these ingredients comprised everything I needed to make spaghetti carbonara. Quick, easy and tasty. And, [not] low-fat. Sorry. Can't win 'em all. I used a recipe from a cookbook my parents gave me last Christmas -- Pasta: Every Way for Every Day by Eric Treuille and Anna Del Conte. Here's the recipe:

Serves 4

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
7 oz unsmoked pancetta or bacon slices, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp butter
1 lb dried pasta
salt, pepper
additional freshly grated Parmesan to serve
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (my addition)

Mix egg yolks and Parmesan in a bowl until combined (should look like a yellowish paste) and set aside. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until golden, 2 minutes. Remove garlic and discard. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add wine and simmer until just evaporated, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until firm to the bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Add drained pasta to the hot pancetta and toss well to coat. Add egg mixture and butter and toss again to coat, adding reserved water as necessary (I used all of it). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan and sprinkle with parsley.

I served this with a tossed salad!