Pasta Carbonara

There's a T-shirt that says: "You had me at bacon." I'm pretty sure they were thinking of this recipe. It comes from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet, and I've made it so often that when I pick that book up and set it down on the table, it automatically falls to that page.

Pasta Carbonara:

1/4 lb bacon

1 stick (1/4 lb) butter

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons regular vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 lb short pasta

2 eggs, whipped

1/3 cup of fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to instructions. Drain when slightly al dente.
2. Place three sheets of paper towel on a microwave safe plate. Place the bacon on top, then cover with three more sheets of paper towel. Microwave for 4-6 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium-sized pan over medium-high heat.
4. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe cup or measuring cup. Remove bacon when done, place milk inside, and cook for two minutes.
5. Crumble the bacon.
6. Once the milk is done, add it and the bacon to the melted butter. Switch heat to medium.
7. Add vinegar to mix. Stir lightly, then lower heat to medium low. Cook for eight minutes until more or less smooth. (If the mixture curdles and divides when you add the vinegar, start over. Trust me.)
8. Drain pasta and add to a large bowl.
9. Mix eggs in a small bowl. Make sure cheese is grated.
10. Once the sauce is ready, pour the eggs over the pasta, followed quickly by the bacon/butter mixture. This, in effect, cooks the eggs.
11. Add cheese, toss. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Family Ratings:

Will who hates to admit that it actually tastes good: 8

Lucy. Are you kidding? It has bacon, right?: 10

Jamie. Are you kidding? It has bacon, right?: 10

Ellen, who's not actually that crazy about bacon: 7

Paul, who's not getting any skinnier: 10

Chickpea Pasta

On the face of it, I know, this doesn't look like much. The trick is the combination of celery, chickpeas, and parsley: the three together give this a full, hearty flavor that's very satisfying.

A few notes:

• Use Bush's chickpeas/garbanzo beans. They just taste better.
• Once the dish is served up, adults should feel free to add a pinch more of the pepper flakes.

This recipe is adapted from David Young's wonderful Seasoning: A Poet's Year.

Chickpea Pasta

1 lb bow-tie pasta (or really, any short pasta)

2 cloves garlic

1 stalk of celery

1 carrot

1 small onion

2 TB olive oil

1 can chickpeas

2 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes

2 TB chopped parsley

Small pinch hot pepper flakes

salt to taste (at least 1/2 teaspoon)

pepper to taste (at least two cranks of the pepper grinder)

1. Cook pasta per instructions, draining while it's slightly al dente.
2. As pasta cooks, chop onion, garlic, celery, and carrot into very small pieces.
3. Saute onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in the oil for five minutes, using medium heat.
4. Drain tomatoes and add to vegetables. Simmer on low to medium heat for ten minutes or so until much--but not all--of the liquid disappears.
5. Add chickpeas, parsley, and pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or two.
6. Add salt and pepper, stir.
7. Drain pasta, add to sauce, stirring. Cook for another minute or two.
8. Remove and serve.

Family Ratings:

Will who likes most pastas: 7.5

Lucy who loves chickpeas but doesn't like cooked tomatoes: 7.5

Jamie, who used to be called "garbanzo bean" when he was still in Ellen's belly and isn't quite sure what to make of all our jokes about eating him: 8

Paul and Ellen, who add extra peppers: 10

Mediterranean Pasta with Feta and Other Stuff That Kids Are Supposed to Hate

This recipe doesn't look like much on paper: some noodles, some red peppers, some Italian sausage (made from chicken, no less). But put it all together and it tastes great. The key, I think, is that the feta melts when mixed with the cooking liquid from the pasta.

This is also a good dish for kids who pick bits and pieces from their plates: those who like sausage can eat the sausage, those who like noodles can eat the noodles, and so on. I know this is supposed to a bad approach to raising kids--"Eat everything on your plate, damn it!"--but I actually find that it works: they may think they're getting just what they like, but because everything blends, they're getting more flavors than they know. Will used to really resist this dish, but now he eats pretty much everything but the red peppers (which, I'll admit, I sometimes pick out myself . . . ).

Two things to keep in mind: first, start the pasta right away, even before you chop the vegetables, as the dish itself goes pretty quickly. Second, be sure to reserve a half-cup of liquid as you drain the pasta. I usually stick my measuring cup in the colander ahead of time just so I don't forget. That said, if you do slip up, just use any old half-cup of semi-dirty water. (Just kidding--but yes, regular water will work.)

This recipe originally came from an old issue of Cooking Light--or as my friend Jacqui calls it: Cooking "Light." It's become one of our family favorites, the sort of dish that's so easy and tasty, you have to force yourself to not cook it every week.

Mediterranean Pasta with Feta and Sausage

12 ounces uncooked pasta (rigatoni, ziti, bow ties, that kind of thing)

1 TB olive oil

1 red bell pepper, cut into slices which are then cut in half

1/2 ts salt, divided

8 ounces chicken or turkey Italian sausage, skin removed

1 ts dried oregano

1 garlic clove, crushed and minced

3/4 cup crumbled feta

8 kalamata olives, sliced

Ground pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking liquid when you drain.
2. Heat the oil in a good sized pan (eventually, everything, including the pasta, will end up in this pot--so make sure it's big enough; I sometimes use a dutch oven.)
3. Saute the bell pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of salt for two minutes.
4. Slice the skin off the sausages; add them, the oregano, and the garlic to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes, crumbling the sausage.
5. Add the pasta, the reserved liquid, 1/4 ts of salt, the cheese, the olives, and a dash or two of black pepper and cook for another two minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Just as the feta begins to melt, remove from heat and serve.

Family ratings, on a scale of 1-10:

Ellen: 10

Will, who hates food when it's all mixed together: 7

Lucy, who looooooooves sausage: 10

Jamie, who usually insists on being fed by an adult: 10 (he actually feeds this to himself, and always asks for seconds).

Paul, who thinks that feta is an essential ingredient in every household: 10