Your regular meal ideas?

[Gigi]

Gigi, I make a 'real' carbornara, which means it doesn't have cream in it.......would you like the recipe? It's very easy. I allow about one egg for each person I'm cooking for, so no need for half a dozen eggs, unless you're cooking for 6 people LOL!

Yes, i would LOVE a carbonara recipe that doens't use heaps of eggs. one egg per person is just fine with me. that would mean two eggs which is do-able.

thanks Janie!

[Janie]

Gigi, I don't really have a recipe, so please bear with me........

Ingredients

250g spaghetti
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
sea salt
1 garlic clove finely chopped
10-12 slices of prosciutto chopped(or use bacon if you prefer, about 150g should be fine)
2 eggs (I use XL eggs, you might need more if using smaller)
1/4 cup spring onions chopped(though it works without these if you don't have any)
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
fresh ground black pepper

Method

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat (easiest in a non-stick if you have one), add garlic and a little salt, toss around for half a minute. Add prosciutto (or bacon) and cook until starting to crisp up, turning often. Add white wine, allow sauce to really bubble up then turn onto low heat. It will then only take about 5 minutes for the sauce the thicken up and look a bit 'sticky'. But the consistency isn't too important, so don't worry about it. If it starts to look too thick (like it's going to totally evaporate) before everything else is ready, then just take it off the heat, or add a little more oil.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together with the cheese, onions and pepper.

Cook the spaghetti in pot of salted water. It's really important that everything else is ready when the spaghetti has finished cooking. Because I've made this alot, I now do all my prep work, chopping etc, while the water is boiling and oil heating. I usually put the spaghetti then start the prosciutto pan, and do the egg mixture once the wine is in, if that makes sense.

Drain spaghetti, and return to pot. Add prosciutto with all the garlic and oil from the pan, and toss through spaghetti. Then add egg mixture and QUICKLY toss it through the spaghetti (with tongs is easiest), the heat from the spaghetti cooks the egg. If you take too long about it, you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your spag . Which is not the end of the world, just not your preferred result LOL.

Serve in bowls with yummy fresh grated parmesan on top.

I really hope all of that makes sense Gigi, it's hard when you're not following a recipe, and guessing amounts etc. Please sing out if there's something that doesn't seem right......

[Gigi]

thanks Janie! i've printed it out, need to buy white wine first, been bf-ing for three years now, so no wine in the pantry.

i like the tips you added, real life stuff.