Carbonara - Spaghetti for Breakfast

"The first birthday I celebrated with my husband John, I asked him what he wanted me to make for his special dinner. I listed options from Veal Oscar to Lobster Thermidor. He stopped me and replied firmly, 'Carbonara. I want some spaghetti Carbonara!' Bacon-and-egg coalminer spaghetti is simple, inexpensive and hands-down my husband's number one favorite meal. I have to prepare bacon-and-egg pasta for every special occasion throughout every calendar year. To keep it interesting, sometimes I add in seasonal ingredients like scapes or ramps or green onions and lemon. Sometimes I add homemade fennel sausage crumbles, making it into bacon-and-sausage-and-egg pasta, etc.

The only trick to Carbonara is tempering the egg yolks to ensure you do not end up with scrambled eggs. For the brightest color I use Araucana eggs, which are widely available at Whole Foods and farmers' markets. The eggs have a greenish-blue tint to the shell and the hens that lay them are often fed marigolds, which make the egg yolks intensely bright yellow-orange. Many recipes for carbonara include cream but I never add cream. The creamy quality of the sauce should come from the tempered eggs emulsifying with the cheeses and pasta."