The Film (based on book by Nora Ephron)
Heartburn (1986) starring Meryle Streep (Rachel) and Jack Nicholson (Mark). Two divorcees meet, fall in love, get married, have babies and hit the rocks because Mark couldn't keep it in his pantalones.
The Scene
I was home alone and took advantage of having the TV to myself. Netflix suggested Heartburn because I LIVE for romantic dramadies and I couldn't resist watching young Jack Nicholson (hot much?) and Meryle Streep. I love 80's movies because the fashion feels like home and they make me feel nostalgic for things like phones with coily cords, 80's love songs and shoulder pads. So I clicked play.
The Inspiration
During post-coital TV watching after their first night together, Rachel leaves Mark in bed to go into the kitchen for a snack. She returns with a huge serving bowl of spaghetti carbonara with two forks and two spoons for properly spinning the perfect pasta bite. She can't believe she cooked for him after their first romp, with a full mouth he raves about how he has never had a better spaghetti carbonara, I google to see what's in carbonara and the rest is the Homegirl Blog history.
The Eats
After browsing through a few recipes online to get a great feel for how to make spaghetti carbonara, I headed to my neighborhood grocery store to gather my favorite of all the ingredients from the recipes I had read.
Ingredients:
1 lb spaghetti
4 oz panchetta (Italian cured pork belly, but some recipes call for slab bacon)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
parsley and pepper to finish
I bought pre-chopped pancetta and pre-chopped garlic in a jar because why not.
Directions:
In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to directions. While the spaghetti cooks, mix the eggs and cheese in a bowl and set aside. Then, in a deep frying pan or shallow pot, sautee the pancetta in olive oil until crispy. Add garlic.
When the pasta is done, drain it but don't rinse it. Save about half cup of the pasta water in case your sauce needs more liquid. Remove the pan with the other ingredients in it from the heat and add the spaghetti and mix. Last, pour the mixture over spaghetti and panchetta mixture.
The hot pasta will cook the egg and melt the cheese creating a creamy coating on the pasta. Add parsley and pepper to taste.
Mangia!
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