Meal No. 892: Bucatini Carbonara by Linton Hopkins

Pasta carbonara is a pretty regular meal around here, because it's very doable with staples on hand and I reach for this recipe often when I'm driving in from out of town and need to make a quick dinner. That simple version is made like an alfredo sauce but with less cheese.

Every once in a while, though, I like to do a fancier, silkier, yolk-y cream sauce version with diced pancetta instead of standard bacon. This evening, I even had bucatini pasta to make it just like Chef Linton Hopkins says I should. It was pretty darned amazing. You've only seen this on a Roediger House Menu twice before: Meal No. 603 and Meal No. 496. It's a rare treat.

Temps are turning and with today's cold rain lasting for hours and hours, I had to make a pot of hot coffee and also light up a late afternoon fire. I get older, and I get colder. Here's its final dying stage just before bedtime:

Fire No. 24

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"Bucatini Carbonara," by Linton Hopkins. In Food & Wine, July 2009.