Pasta alla carbonara

Growing up in Italy, we ate pasta every day. Most days we ate both for lunch and dinner and no, I never got tired of it. There are so many different sauces -from super simple pasta al pomodoro to more sophisticated recipes like linguini with lobster- one can never really grow bored with it. Or at least I couldn't.

So it was kind of weird when I moved to the U.S. and started dating my American boyfriend to hear him say "I don't really like pasta." I mean, how on earth could that possibly be? Could I even consider dating someone who doesn't like pasta? To me it would be like dating someone who doesn't enjoy wine or doesn't like cats. A deal-breaker. So I decided that he didn't like pasta because he had never had good pasta. I was right (aren't I always?). I made him all the pasta recipes in my repertoire and he loved them all. Nowadays, years later, he's the one that bugs me all the time asking for pasta. One of his favorites, pasta alla carbonara, is an awesome dish which is easy to make but has to be eaten IMMEDIATELY. When it's ready everyone has to sit down and eat. Unless you want it to turn into a gluey mess, that is.

PASTA ALLA CARBONARA
For 4:

3/4 pound spaghetti
1 small onion
4 pancetta slices, 1/2 inch thick (if you can't find pancetta substitute 1/4 pound of bacon)
3 eggs
Pepper
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
A few tablespoons of milk

Mince the onion and cut the pancetta slices in small cubes. Place both in a skillet and sautee on medium high heat until onion is translucent and pancetta changes color. Don't overcook!

While onion and pancetta are cooking, prepare spaghetti in abudant boiling water with a handful of rock salt.

In a small bowl beat the eggs with cheeses and pepper to taste. Add a little milk at a time to make sure that the mix isn't too dry.

When spaghetti is cooked, drain and add to the skillet with onion ad pancetta. Toss well. Remove from heat. Pour egg mixture in skillet, mix quickly and serve immediately with grated cheese and black pepper on the side.

NOTE: if your mixture is too dry add a little more milk. If it's too runny add cheese.