carbonara for missy

4 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 small diced onion
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, pressed or really really smashed and diced tiny
12 oz (3/4 of a 1lb package) spaghetti
4 tbsp fresh grated parmesan
8 strips of thickly cut bacon, cut into thin strips or diced

-beat eggs, add parm and heavy cream, season with salt and copious amounts of black pepper, set aside. this needs to be room temp when you add it to the pasta.
-cook bacon until nearly done in a skillet (large enough to add all the ingredients and mix vigorously at the end).
-heat water to boiling while bacon is cooking.
-add onion to skillet, begin to boil spaghetti. the spaghetti should finish cooking as the onion finishes cooking, so adjust your heat accordingly.
-add garlic to the bacon mixture a minute before completion.
-turn off heat under bacon mixture, drain spaghetti.
-add spaghetti to pan, mixing well with bacon mixture.
-add the egg mixture, yes it is raw. the heat from the pasta and pan will cook the egg. mix vigorously so the egg doesn't scramble, you will be left with a lovely sauce coating the pasta. serve warm.

this pasta reheats well as there is no roux to break during reheating.

let me take this opportunity to discourage people from ordering carbonara at restaurants that don't mention egg in the menu description. a lot of places like to serve fettuccine alfredo with bacon or pancetta and call it carbonara. this is a load of hooey. i assume they're concerned about accidentally serving raw egg, but i wish they would just leave it off if they're not going to make it right. technically even adding that 1/2 cup of cream is a no-no, but if you've never made it before the cream gives a little room for error at the end. anyway i've gone to plenty of places that even put peas in their "carbonara," which, c'mon folks, is fettuccine with ham and peas. which is a delicious dish in it's own right so they should stop making it feel inferior by calling it carbonara.

carbonara for missy