Mr. Prof designer home

One of my good friends, and senior year of college roommate, L, came to visit last week. She's a California girl and was back home visiting her family. I'm so glad we were able to get together while she was in town and even more excited that I got to cook for her. We met our junior year when we both studied abroad in England, so it seemed fitting that I had Pasta Carbonara with Corn on the menu the night she ate with us. As I mentioned waaaaay back in August 2006 when I first started this blog, I discovered carbonara in England (of all places) my junior year abroad with my very dear friend, S. We ate it everywhere we could find it. Making carbonara with L, even this variation with the corn, brought back memories of our time together in England. Man, we had a blast. Hard to believe it's been 11 years already.


Anyway, this luscious carbonara was inspired by this Rachael Ray recipe for Pasta Carbonara with Corn and Chiles. I had great success adding asparagus to my carbonara, so corn seemed like a great idea. I ended up combining my usual method for making carbonara with the flavor profile from Rachael's recipe, omitting the chiles because I didn't want it to be spicy.


This was a real winner that would be even more amazing with fresh Jersey corn straight off the cob. You all know my carbonara obsession is legendary but the addition of the corn was wonderful. I love crunching those kernels under my teeth. This is a great summer version of carbonara, made lighter by the corn and the fresh herbs. Everyone cleaned their plates, including Baby Girl.

Pasta Carbonara with Corn
Inspired by Nigella Lawson and Everyday with Rachael Ray

1 pound spaghetti
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups corn
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup vermouth
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly ground nutmeg

Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

In another large pan that will fit the pasta later, cook the bacon until crispy but not crunchy. Add the onions and cook until softened and starting to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Add the corn and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the thyme and parsley, then pour in the vermouth and let it bubble so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of salty winey syrup left. Take the pan off the heat.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream, pepper and nutmeg. When the pasta is done, remove approximately 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining. Add the drained pasta to the bacon and corn mixture, tossing well to coat with the syrupy sauce. Add the eggs and cheese mixture, swiftly tossing everything to mix. Thin with pasta water, if needed. Grind over some more pepper to serve.

I love carbonara. This isn't a big secret if you've read this blog for any length of time. It's my absolute favorite pasta dish, so when I saw Jessy over at Gourmet Day to Day had a recipe for Linguine Carbonara with Blue Cheese and Artichokes I knew I had to try it. Just one problem - SP isn't a big fan of artichokes. Luckily my stepdad invited SP out for dinner recently, so I invited my mom over to share the pasta.


We both loved this. Loved it. We kept oohing and ahhing over the rich, creamy pasta, the crispy bacon, the freshness of the asparagus and the artichokes. Oh, the artichokes. So nice to see them on my plate again. I made a few slight modifications to the recipe, adding sliced onions and cutting down the blue cheese so it didn't overwhelm the other flavors, although you can add up to 1 cup if you want more blue cheese flavor. Thanks, Jessy, for a delicious spin-off to my beloved carbonara.

Kitchen Tip - Use kitchen scissors to easily cut bacon directly over the pan.

Spaghetti Carbonara with Blue Cheese, Asparagus and Artichokes
Slightly Modified from Gourmet Day to Day

1 pound spaghetti
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into thirds
8 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 large onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 8-oz cans artichokes hearts (in brine), rinsed and quartered or 2 8-oz packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and quartered
1/2 - 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a large pan or dutch oven, cook cut bacon until starting to get crispy over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and cook about 15 minutes, until tender and starting to caramelize. Add artichokes and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.

While artichokes are cooking, add pasta to boiling salted water. Add blue cheese, cream, black pepper and salt to the artichoke mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Add the asparagus to the pasta water 3 minutes before the pasta is done. Drain and add to the sauce and toss to coat. Remove from heat.

Beat the eggs and half and half together, along with the cheese and basil. Add to pasta and toss well with tongs. Serve immediately.

If you've read this blog for any length of time you know how much I love carbonara. I discovered it with a good friend when we were studying abroad and have been in love with it ever since. When I saw Kicked-Up Carbonara on Cassie's blog I knew it would be a winner in my book.


I made a few changes in order to incorporate some of the flavors I love from my traditional carbonara recipe (sliced onion and vermouth) and swapped fresh tomato for the red pepper since neither of us are big pepper fans. The result was utterly delicious - rich and creamy, with a bright burst from the tomatoes. I also loved the addition of the spinach. Carbonara is my guilty pleasure, so if I can add some veggies in it makes me feel better about eating it. Thanks again, Cassie!


Kicked-Up Carbonara
Adapted from Cassie Craves

1 pound linguine or spaghetti
8 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1/4 cup vermouth
2 cups fresh baby spinach
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup half-and-half
Dash of nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return pasta to pan.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Add garlic and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Add vermouth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; boil gently, uncovered, 3 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add spinach and cook 1 minute, or until wilted. Add pasta to skillet and toss to coat the pasta with the syrupy liquid.

In medium bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg and Pecorino cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Off heat (this is very important or the eggs will scramble) add egg mixture to skillet and toss to coat. Add the tomatoes. Taste and season with more salt, pepper or cheese, if necessary and serve immediately.

I've been having a love affair with asparagus lately, so when I saw this recipe for Pasta with Asparagus, Bacon, and Egg I couldn't wait to try it.


The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much the recipe reminded me of carbonara, which if you've read this blog for any length of time you'll know is my all-time favorite pasta dish. I decided to combine the two recipes, subbing the asparagus for the onion in the original recipe. The result was a delicious and beautiful spring dish that feels healthier because of the beautiful, crisp, green asparagus.



Asparagus Carbonara
Recipes from The Local Cook and Nigella Lawson

4 ounces bacon, chopped
1 1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
Splash of vermouth
8 ounces short-cut pasta
2 eggs
Splash of heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
salt and pepper to taste
Freshly ground nutmeg

Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until brown. Add the asparagus and cook to desired doneness (5-10 minutes). Once asparagus is cooked, add the vermouth and let it bubble so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of salty winey syrup left. Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss to coat the pasta with the winey syrup. Take the pan off the heat.

In a bowl beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream, and pepper. Add the mixture to the pan, swiftly tossing everything to mix. Top with more grated cheese, if desired.