Spaghetti Carbonara

In my recent discovery/exploration/love affair with food blogs, I always felt that that I didn't quite fit into the community. Unlike most of these bloggers (who I so enjoy reading), I don't see myself as a recipe developer. Actually, I am also unlike my husband, most of his family, and my dad, all of whom enjoy cooking by feel, happily experimenting in the kitchen, and totally accepting that sometimes things turn out better than other times. I am a rule follower. One of the things that I love best about cooking is losing myself in the intricate details of a recipe, the precision of the measurements, following someone else's ideas to create an amazing dish for my family. It's one of the reasons I love to read Cook's Illustrated: talk about intricate recipes!

However, as I've spent more and more time cooking over the past few years, I've started to experience a new freedom in the kitchen. I add a little more of this spice, sub in this ingredient for that, cut this down a bit because we don't like it quite as much, add in a bit of that because that other recipe that we love calls for it. And tonight, as I was making spaghetti carbonara, hubby walked through the kitchen and said, "I love that this carbonara is a little of this recipe and a little of that, but done the way we like it," and I realized that although I originally started with an America's Test Kitchen recipe and a Cooking Light recipe, the one I was making has become entirely my own.

So with that, I enter (in baby steps) the food blogging world. If nothing else, it will provide me with a record so I can recreate this version next time; it was the best carbonara we've ever had in this house!

Spaghetti Carbonara
1 lb spaghetti (I always use whole wheat)
10 oz bacon (I use center cut), chopped
1 onion, minced
1/4 c white wine (I use Reisling)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
2 oz Parmesan, grated

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions, omitting salt and oil. Reserve 2 tbsp of cooking liquid.
   
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, salt, pepper, garlic, and parmesan.
   
3. Cook bacon over med-high heat in a large skillet (10 minutes or so); drain on paper towel, saving 2-3 tsp of bacon grease.
   
4. In skillet, use the bacon grease to cook the onion until tender (2-4 minutes).
   
5. Add wine and continue cooking until liquid is reduced by half (about 2-4 minutes).
6. Return bacon to pan; add pasta and reserved pasta cooking liquid.
7. Make a well in the center of the pan and add egg mixture. Cook until egg is almost done (2-3 minutes), stirring/mixing constantly.