Real spaghetti carbonara

In Virginia, you can find pork jowl bacon in the stores, and this is a great use for it. This has been one of my favorite dishes for years, because I usually have most of the ingredients on hand (although sometimes I cheat and use cooked bacon crumbles, which I keep in the freezer after opening).

If anyone can point me to a source for pork jowl in Sacramento, I'd be most appreciative.

Scallops and a touch of bacon = fast dinner

Here's a delicious way to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Lori K's scallop-bacon pasta

4 ounces dried whole-wheat spaghetti
1/2 pound scallops
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cooked bacon bits
1 clove crushed garlic
4 large basil leaves, snipped into ribbons
1 tablespoon snipped parsley
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the spaghetti. Cook for 12-15 minutes until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and add the bacon bits and garlic. Wash and dry the scallops

You can use the time to prepare a salad: Lettuce, maché, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, radishes, tomatoes, feta.

Stir the bacon bits from time to time.

About 8 minutes after you start the spaghetti, add the scallops to the bacon bits. Cook them until they are just firm, about 4 minutes each side.

Drain the spaghetti; if it looks like it's sticking together, rinse in hot water.

Add the bacon-scallop mixture to the spaghetti and toss. Add the spices and toss again. Serve with salad and bread if you'd like.

Sous vide pasta

Crockpots are good for things that need to be cooked for a long time, slowly, but often, the meals that are best with a slow-cooked sauce have elements to them that do not need to be cooked as long.

Case in point today: spaghetti.

The sauce went in around noon, and by 3 p.m., it was smelling pretty good. Next up, pasta. But heating up a big pot of water that will later just be drained seemed like a waste. Could there be a better way? I knew if I just threw in the dry pasta into the sauce, it would cook, but it would absorb all the liquid and the starch would leach into the sauce, making it gummy and not so appetizing.

But with the vacuum bags from the store, there was another option: Put the dry pasta, broken in half, in the bag with water; seal; then put the washed bag into the sauce to cook along with it until dinner time.

It worked - well, it sort of worked.

When I checked on it two hours later, it had more than doubled in size. And when I opened it, it was in separate strands, but it was overdone and very starchy. I rinsed it and got most of the starch off of it, then added it to the sauce. Topped with Parmesan, it was good, but not great.

From what I've read on sous vide cooking, the length of time shouldn't have been the problem, so perhaps I used too much water. Next time, instead of doubling the water to pasta, I'll just use a bit more than what's needed to cover it.

A simple but satisfying dinner

Spaghetti carbonara always brings to mind the great New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin and his effort to get it to replace turkey at the Thanksgiving table.

Spaghetti carbonara is a staple in the Richardson household throughout the year, although usually it is a dish of last resort when there's nothing fresh to fix. But that doesn't make it a bad thing. It is especially good to serve to company who drops in unannounced; nice but not special enough to inspire repeat unannounced visits.

Here's my recipe for it, although cooked bacon bits (the real thing) from the fridge sometimes sub in for the cooked bacon, making it REALLY fast food. This is for four people, but it is easily halved. Serve with a salad, stewed tomatoes or a side of your favorite green vegetable.

Spaghetti Carbonara
4 slices bacon, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 clove minced garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces spaghetti, cooked until al dente
2 large eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon each milk and pasta water
Salt to taste
4 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a large saute pan or wok over medium heat, fry the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon with slotted spoon or spatula and allow to drain on paper towels. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds, and season with pepper. Add back the bacon and pasta and saute for 1 minute. Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from heat and add eggs, stirring quickly, until eggs thicken but do not scramble. Add the cheese and taste; adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

To make with real bacon bits: Sauté garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 4 tablespoons bacon bits and the pasta to the pan and season with pepper. Sauté until heated thoroughly. Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from heat and add eggs, stirring quickly, until eggs thicken but do not scramble. Add the cheese and taste; adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.