My daughter and grandson arrived shortly after six. First course included nuts, cheeses, crackers, blue corn chips and salsa–I know, not Italian. For the adults, Stella Rosa Black from Italy. For the non-adults organic apple juice.
While we snacked on the first course, we created two versions of Pasta alla Carbonara, one for my vegetarian grandson and one without much parmesan cheese for everyone else. Traditionally, this dish requires parmesan cheese; however, my daughter is lactose intolerant so we created the other one for her. The rest of us just topped off our dish with grated parmesan at the dinner table.
We used conchiglie from Monastero di Montebello in Italy for the pasta and for version two, pancetta cut into cubes. For the vegetarian version we used Morning Star bacon. Here is the basic recipe for pasta alla carbonara:
cooked pasta
bacon or ham, cut in cubes or small pieces
whipped eggs, approximately one egg for every two people
finely chopped onions sautéed in olive oil–we used one large onion for four
grated parmesan cheese–1/8 to 1/4 cup per person (you can use half parmesan and half pecorino)
Saute onions until translucent. If you are using any bacon except pancetta, cook it first but not until too crispy. Add the bacon and heat through. Add the cooked pasta and the whipped egg/cheese to the onion/bacon mixture. Continually stir until thoroughly combined and the eggs are cooked.
When to start cooking the pasta so it is cooked and ready to combine with the other ingredients depends on the type of pasta you use.
We served this with a large salad: leaf lettuce, shredded purple cabbage, chopped red bell peppers, onions, chopped carrots, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. We concluded the evening with three different ice cream choices for dessert.
In case you are wondering why the Christmas tree is still there, well, Martina and I like the lights so we keep procrastinating taking it down. I keep telling myself today it will be dismantled and then it is not. Tonight it will come down–maybe.
This is he house where I grew up north of Fillmore, Missouri. My dad lived here in this house from 10 year old to 90. He died in the month after his 90th birthday. The house stands on the land my great grandfather established after he arrived from Switzerland in the mid 1800s.
This is the only building left at the site of my grandparents original house and barns. It is an old carriage house. In this photo my daughter and grandson are taking a look. One of the original stained glass transome windows from the house hangs in my own house. My grandparents were Lilliebelle Werth and Pleasant Lightle.
When I was a child, this was once a chicken house but mostly the farrowing house for our registered Hampshire hogs. Later I learned that when first built during Prohibition, Dad held dances here which the sheriff checked to make sure there was no alcohol.
