Spaghetti Carbonara

Why is it that when I think back to my childhood, I over-generalize vast periods of time? For example, I'm nearly convinced my parents threw a wine-tasting party every weekend, complete with 10-glass place settings, random combinations of friends, and all-day cookery. Ask my brother, he'll agree this must be true. And yet, they SAY they probably had these parties a couple times a year. What? Similarly, I remember about 5 meals I feel like I ate, almost exclusively, throughout my entire childhood. Spaghetti Carbonara was one of those dishes.

Dad's exploitation of parsley made it difficult for me to fully enjoy this bacon-laden pasta growing up, though looking back I can't imagine how this was possible. I mean, bacon. There was a period of time (perhaps exaggerated by certain family members) that I declared myself a vegetarian with the exception of bacon (who can resist, really?) This turned into "vecan" for veg/bacon. Clever! I am still head over heels for bacon, but appreciate much more elegant flavors now too. (Ha) Still, whipping up a creamy, cheesey, bacon pasta sounded irresistable when it got cold last week. I love that the sauce is simply olive oil, egg, grated parmesan and starchy pasta stock. It was simple and savory and heavy on the bacon. So, you really can't go wrong.