Pasta Carbonara

Hey Everybody! I haven't had time to cook hardly anything the past couple of weeks, so I haven't been blogging. I finally had time to cook one of my favorite meals a few nights ago; Pasta Carbonara. I remember the first time I made this comfort food for my friends, they thought I was crazy when I told them I was making pasta with eggs and bacon. But you know what...why not?! It's a super easy and filling food, so give it a try one night!

Here's what you'll need:  (serves 6.... or 4 with leftovers)

• 1 cup heavy cream (not half& half. not milk. Heavy. Cream. It'll be worth it I promise)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 10 slices bacon 
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 lb. spaghetti

First, Boil some salted water for the pasta. Add a few squirts of olive oil; it'll help keep the pasta from sticking together.

Chop the 1/2 onion and set aside. Then cut the bacon into pieces about 1/2 inch wide. Cook the bacon in a saute pan until more than halfway done, then add the onion. Cook until bacon is crispy and the onion is cooked. Put it on a plate with a few paper towels to absorb some grease.

Cook the pasta according to directions.

Cooked Bacon & Onion

While all that is cooking, crack 4 eggs put them in a bowl and mix them. Then measure your 1 cup of cream, and put it in the microwave for about a minute until it's hot to the touch. Now we're going to temper the eggs. If we put the eggs into the hot pasta, they'll just scramble and that's not what we want. So we will take a few tablespoons of the eggs and put them in the cream, stirring the entire time. SLOWLY mix the cream into the rest of the eggs, stirring with a fork or whisk the entire time. Once you have a warm, creamy sauce, add the parmesan cheese and set aside.

Pasta after sauce added

Drain the pasta and put it back into the pot. Immediately stir the creamy sauce into the pasta and stir it until even. Add the bacon and onion, and ENJOY!

Banana Nut Bread

My dear friend and coworker, John did me a huge favor last week and worked my shift so I could go to a wedding! So I made him some yummy banana nut bread to thank him, and because I knew he loved it.

                                                                Here it is!

- 1.5 cups of flour
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temp. (remember my oven trick)
- 3.5  ripe bananas
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs (I prefer brown eggs)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (I bought them chopped, then chopped them a little more)


Set your oven to 350 degrees, and butter your loaf pan. Then mash the 3 1/2 bananas in a bowl until creamy, but some chunks are left. Set aside.

Butter & Sugar mix

Whisk together flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy (picutred). Add eggs one at a time, and beat more. Now from this point on you just want to stir with a spoon, not mix anymore. Stir in the bananas, vanilla, sour cream until mixed. Then stir in dry ingredients and then the walnuts!

Pour into your buttered loaf pan, put on a baking sheet on the middle oven rack and cook for about an hour, until you can put a knife in and it's clean when you take it out.

Some people like to eat theirs plain, others with a little butter. However you like yours, I hope you love this bread! ENJOY :)

Before baking

After Baking, Cooling, and taking it out

Prosciutto & Mozzarella Sandwich

Ok guys, this is my FAVORITE sandwich in the world. It's simple, yet so delicious. It's a little piece of Napoli every time I eat it. Now I know everyone gets tired of ham and cheese on white... so try something new!

The key to this sandwich is fresh mozzarella, the place I've been able to find the freshest is at Whole Foods or Fresh Market. They're just big balls of cheese kept in water for freshness. You can get the prosciutto from the deli section (don't buy it in a package please, I'm begging you). And lastly, get some fresh french or italian bread. That's it. Simple as that. ENJOY.

Italian Sausage & Penne Pasta

Good Morning everyone! So the other night I made the first family dinner for my boyfriend and his roommates in their new house! This is a very yummy, filling, comfort food recipe.

Here's what you'll  need:

- Pasta sauce (you can buy it pre-made like Prego, but I like it homemade) if homemade, buy...
- 2 large cans of tomato sauce
- 1 small can tomato pasta
- Oregano, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Red Pepper Flakes, Basil, S&P
-One package (5 links) of MILD Italian sausage
-1 lb of penne pasta (If you don't have that, rigatoni or ziti will work too)

First we're going to get a large pot of water with a pinch or two of salt and boil it.

Then we'll get a saute pan, put the sausage in it and fill it about halfway up the sausage with water, then cook it on Medium to Medium-High until it is light in color. Flip it around once or twice to make sure both sides are cooking properly. This cooks some fat out (it will look pretty yucky). I also like to poke some holes in it with my fork to get some grease out as well. This is what it should look like when it's about halfway done. When it's done, put the sausage on a cutting board and rinse out the pan. Cut the sausage up until half-inch pieces and put them back in the pan on Medium-Low heat with a little EVOO. stir these around until they are cooked through, then set aside. (the ones in the picture aren't cooked through yet)

The pasta should be boiling now, so put in the whole box, and cook until tender. Then drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, pour your pasta sauce into a saucepan to heat up, or make it! Put both tomato sauce cans in a saucepan, along with about half the can of tomato paste to a whole can. It depends on how thick you want yours. Add Salt and Pepper, Oregano, Basil, Onion and Garlic Powder, and Red Pepper Flakes to your taste. Personally, I like mine a bit spicy.  Bring all of that to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes until everything else is ready.

Once everything is cooked, you can mix it all together and dig in! Another option would be to put it in a baking dish, sprinkle it with some mozzarella cheese and bake it for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is hot. Serve with Parmesan cheese, bread and a salad and enjoy!

Wine & Design

Last week my girlfriends and I got together and went to a little thing called Wine & Design here in Raleigh.  You choose when you want to go based on what will be painted that night, grab a bottle of vino and your closest friends and learn how to paint like DaVinci! We painted a peacock at my class, and it turned out suprisingly good! There's always one or two teachers to help you out (thank God). They also do private parties. I'm definitely going back as soon as I can, and you should check it out too!   Wine & Design Website