Spaghetti Carbonara

My husband and I spent a birthday/date night once at a cooking school inside a local grocery store.  It was a couples participation class and the theme was "An Evening in Italy."  Of all the recipes made that night, this was our favorite.  It has since become a staple in our household, and very popular with the kids.
The recipe calls for white wine, but we don't keep that in our house, so I substitute chicken stock and lemon juice.

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 lb. bacon diced 

1 c. dry white wine (I substitute 2/3 c. chicken stock & 1/3c. lemon juice) 

3 eggs 

½ c. grated parmesan cheese 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 lb. spaghetti 

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position.  Set ovenproof serving bowl on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees F.  Bring 4 quarts of water to rolling boil in large stockpot. 

2.  In large skillet, cook bacon, stirring occasionally until crisp.  Pour off about ¼ c. fat from skillet and discard.  Add wine to bacon and remaining drippings in skillet; simmer until alcohol aroma has cooked off and wine is slightly reduced 6 to 8 minutes.  Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.   

3.  In small bowl, beat eggs, cheese, and garlic together with fork; set aside. 

4.  When water is boiling, add pasta and 1 Tbsp. salt, stirring to separate pasta strands;  cook according to package directions until al dente.  Reserve about 1 cup pasta cooking water and then drain pasta in colander for about 5 seconds, leaving pasta slightly wet.  Transfer drained pasta to a warm serving dish. If pasta appears dry, add some reserved cooking water and toss to moisten.  5.  Immediately pour egg mixture over hot pasta and sprinkle with ¾ tsp. salt; toss well to combine.  

6.  Pour bacon mixture over pasta, season generously with black pepper and toss well to combine.  Serve immediately.

 (Sorry, no picture. It was eaten too quickly!)

source:  Dierberg's School of Cooking