Linguine with Bacon and Onions

First off, thank you so much for your very kind comments the other day.  I really appreciate it, more than you’ll ever know.  The situation is not without its challenges, of course, but the kids and I are fine.  As cliched as it might be, and sometimes it’s hard to see at the time, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and certain aspects of this particular situation have definitely proven that.  Now we’re all about navigating our way through a new normal … onward and upward.  And now enough of life for a bit … back to food!

Last week I was working terribly hard on using up as much of the refrigerator and freezer contents as I could.  The last time we moved, the fresh/frozen food aspect of it was disasterous.  The refrigerator was the first thing loaded on to the truck, so by the time it came off and got hooked up some 11 hours later, all the food that we had in the coolers had to be thrown away.  You can imagine how much that pained me, especially replacing all the condiments, so I definitely learned my lesson this time and the refrigerator was the last thing loaded on the truck this weekend, and the first off.

I had a package of bacon in the freezer, and remembering that fact happened to coincide nicely with reading a letter to the editor in Rachael Ray’s magazine, exhalting the praises of her Linguine with Bacon and Onions recipe.  Dinner it was.   I have to say, it might have turned my stomach just a little bit, cooking the onions in the bacon grease, but I soldiered on.  All in the name of emptying out the freezer, right?  Right.  This recipe is a very close cousin to Spaghetti Carbonara, which is a favorite of the kids, but different enough that it’s its own animal.  The sauce is a little bit creamier than the more well-known recipe and hey, let’s be honest here – anything topped with crispy bacon is starting us off on the right foot.  Know what I mean?

It comes together very quickly, dirties only two pots, is great for a weeknight and, perhaps most importantly, is kid-approved.  Winner winner, spaghetti dinner.  Go get ’em.

Linguine with Bacon and Onions
Recipe courtesy of Everyday with Rachael Ray

• 1 pound linguine pasta
• 3/4 pound bacon, chopped
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 large egg yolks
• parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

In boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until al dente; reserve 1-1/2 cups pasta cooking water. In a large, deep skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Discard all but 3 tablespoons bacon fat, then add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until softened. Add the pasta cooking water and bring to a boil. Stir in the linguine and remove from the heat. Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the bacon, season with pepper and sprinkle with parmesan.

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