Pasta, Eggs and Bacon

I have been in a cooking funk lately, and I think it has to do with me being preggers. I just had no motivation to cook. All I was craving was oatmeal and fruit, but my cravings seem to change on a weekly basis. Then, suddenly, today I wanted bacon! If you recall, just the smell of bacon would make me nauseous during the first trimester of my pregnancy, but today I was craving it. To make matters worse, I was craving spaghetti alla carbonara and that's definitely something my doctor would not recommend I have. Authentic carbonara is spaghetti with lightly beaten eggs (or egg yolks) that are just barely cooked with the heat of the pasta, giving the pasta a shiny, eggy sauce that is nowhere near scrambled. Some people shy away from this dish because the eggs are not fully cooked all the way. So, I had to come up with my own variation and that's why this is pasta, eggs and bacon because it's nowhere near authentic carbonara, but dang, was it tasty!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

• 1/4 pound spaghetti
• 4 thick cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for sprinkling
• Coarse salt and fresh black pepper
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• pinch of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt is very generously and add your spaghetti and cook 8 minutes or according to package directions.

In the meantime, cook bacon pieces in a skillet just until nicely browned and crisp. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Reserve 1 teaspoon of the bacon grease. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half and 1/4 cup Parmesan, a tiny pinch of salt and some fresh ground black pepper.

Place the reserved bacon grease back in the pan (no need to clean it out) and reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook gently until it becomes fragrant. Your pasta should be done by now. Drain the pasta and add the pasta to the skillet. Raise heat back up to medium-high and working quickly, add the egg-milk mixture, the bacon bits and the peas. Keep tossing the pasta until all strands are coated with the egg sauce and keep cooking and tossing until the eggs just begin to set and just barely start to scramble and there is no raw egg left. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Sprinkle a little more Parmesan and just a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes. This makes a great breakfast dish, too!