My son and our Saturday brunch company had a lively conversation about carbonara sauce.
I have heard this term used on the Food Network but had no idea what it meant. I distinctly recall Scott Conant saying, Oh, I see eggs, we’re getting carbonara sauce! So I could smile, nod, and act informed when the four or five others at the table described the deliciousness of their carbonaras.
But I asked my son and he explained: Egg over hot pasta; the heat from the pasta cooks the egg.
Simple enough, right? So I tried it tonight and sent my son a photo. Sweet, came the answering text. But you have to put pepper in it.
Pepper? Did somebody at brunch say anything about pepper? I strained to recall. The next text had me laughing:
Carbon = black = pepper.
Oh. Duh.
I’m not complaining, though. It actually tasted all right. A little bland, maybe. And how often does your twenty-four-year-old son get to give you both a language lesson and a cooking lesson?
Sweet.
Don’t get too excited thinking that I ate a huge plate of leftover cranberries, green bean casserole, and pasta for dinner. I always eat on salad plates!
For Chef John’s carbonara recipe, click HERE.