Spaghetti Carbonara

We made this for dinner tonight and it was totally awesome. The original recipe calls for a complex process of curing pork belly but guess what - I happened to have some bacon in the fridge and the recipe had this alternative to the pork belly fest - so in went the bacon.

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Ingredients

12 ounces diced browned bacon
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine

1 pound spaghetti
1 1/2 cups fresh shelled peas (from about 1 1/2 pounds peas in pods) or 1 1/2 cups frozen petite peas, thawed

2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

In large skillet bring first five ingredients so a simmer and keep warm.

Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Add peas; cook 1 minute longer.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, and parsley; set aside.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Whisk 1/4 cup hot cooking liquid into egg mixture. Add pasta; toss to coat. Add mixture to skillet with pork and toss, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Season generously with black pepper. Divide among bowls and serve, passing remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese alongside.

Of oil and grounds.

Two questions for my fellow hungries:

First - how do you save your used frying oil? My mom had this awesome canister when we were growing up that was made out of some metal and it had a lid but right under the lid it had a sieve so when you would pour the cooled off oil it would strain it.

Second - does anyone know how you can reuse used coffee grounds? I make coffee every morning and I read somewhere that it's good to use it as part of your plant food - any clues?

Christmas in a glass

We went out to dinner with friends last month (extraordinary enough), and the Gladstone Tavern had a fabulous and gorgeous red winter cocktail that is going to be our standard this holiday season.

1 part cassis
1 part pomegranate juice
top with sparkling wine

I had some Norwegian berry liquor in the house (don't ask) that made an acceptable substitute for the cassis, so I'm sure Chambord or any other would do fine. Today I did buy the real stuff for company, though.

I'm thinking of serving it with a fresh raspberry in the glass, or maybe on the rim. Might also be interesting with cranberry juice.

Cheers!

breakfast bars

I splurged on the new Nigella Express cookbook. I've only had time to try one recipe, and I was immediately drawn to the breakfast bars. They are a yummy cross between a granola bar and a breakfast bar. YUM. Obviously you can use whatever nuts or seeds you have on hand.

• 1 14-oz can condensed milk
• 2.5 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (I used a mix of cranberries and dried cherries)
• 1 cup mixed seeds (I mostly used sunflower seeds with some sesame seeds thrown in)
• 1 cup unsalted peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees and oil (I used the spray) a 9 x 13 baking pan.
2. Warm the condensed milk in a saucepan
3. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula or big wooden spoon to fold everything together.
4. Spread the mixture into the pan and press to make the surface even.
5. Bake for 1 hour. After about 15 minutes, cut into bars (I made 16) and cool completely on a wire rack.

getting ready to gobble.

We are hosting 11 adults (4 kids) for dinner on Thursday, so I put on the superwoman cape and after dinner and putting Maia to bed I made: turkey stock, 24 servings of roasted butternut squash soup, lemon-garlic butter for the turkey, seasoned the turkey with mom's seasoning recipe and had a beer. Of course, with Mindy by my side (no one else will agree to wreck my kitchen so happily as Mindy will) we wreaked havoc and brought the kitchen back to life.

Oh and Lisa, the turkey fell again... it seems that it's not Thanksgiving at J&P's if the turkey doesn't hit the counter - hard.

So what are everyone's plans?

Your thoughts on cookware?

Maybe I'm off topic here, but does anyone want to talk about cookware (pots/pans/knives etc.)? With the holidays approaching I'm thinking of what I have, what I "need" and what I would LOVE for Santa to bring me.

What do you love, and why?

What do you want to replace, and why?

perfect roast chicken

I really think this is the best roast chicken I've ever made. I morphed the recipe from The Barefoot Contessa.

• 4-lb chicken


• a few sprigs of fresh thyme


• half of a lemon


• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise


• 1 TBS of olive oil


• 1 large onion, thickly sliced

Preheat oven to 425. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Liberally salt and pepper inside of chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, the lemon half, and as much of the garlic as you can cram in. (I have only managed to get half of the head of garlic inside.) Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and place the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan. Scatter the onion slices around the chicken. Roast for about 1.5 hours or until done. Remove chicken to a platter and cover with foil while you make gravy with the pan drippings or until you are ready to carve.