One of the things that I most enjoy about Marcella’s cookbook is the time that she has taken to include interesting historical references along with the recipes. With this one she mentions that Carbonara sauce may have been invented right after WWII, when the American soldiers that were stationed there wanted a sauce made with bacon and eggs. Interesting idea, but whichever way it came to be invented it is a great sauce.

I made mine today with spaghetti noodles. Marcella says that you can make this with either bacon or pancetta, so for this first time I thought I would use pancetta. It is a simple sauce with whole cloves of garlic sautéed in olive oil and then removed after they became brown. I made the mistake of throwing them away and Michael about had an apoplectic fit. I won’t be doing that in the future! Apparently garlic is his new favorite snack! Next you brown the pancetta and add some wine to cook for a short time. In the bowl for the finished product mix eggs, grated Romano cheese, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and fresh parsley. I used pasteurized eggs again because I am a wimp. I know that the pasta is hot enough to cook the eggs when it is mixed together, but I always prefer to be safe where salmonella is concerned. The next step is to add the pancetta mixture into the pasta and mix well.
This was another of our late night dinners. Michael had just come home from a long day at the store, and I had been cooking all day for our 4th of July dinner. This sauce went together quickly and we managed to sit down and have a nice dinner before he collapsed for the night and I went back to clean the kitchen!