A big bowl of warm, comforting pasta is second only to a bowl of steamy soup in my book. I could live on just those two types of meals. My palate wouldn’t be very well-rounded, but I’m sure I would be quite round. So I try to limit pasta dishes to 2 or 3 times a week and soups to once or twice a week.

But when I make a really good pasta dish, it’s hard to not want to make it over and over. Such is the case with this carbonara sauce. It is rich, creamy, comforting and full of some of my favorite flavors. It is very quick to throw together too, although the finished product does taste best if it’s made just before eating. (The dicing can be done ahead of time at least.)

Carbonara Sauce with Fettuccine

• 1/2 lb. bacon, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. milk or cream
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 t. black pepper
• 1/2 lb. fettuccine

1. Cook the diced bacon in a large skillet. Once done to desired crispness, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Drain all but a tablespoon of the grease from the pan. Add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Cook the fettuccine according to package directions while finishing the sauce.

2. Add the chicken stock and milk and cook about 3 minutes, just until the sauce starts to boil. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Slowly pour in beaten eggs while whisking continuously. Immediately remove from heat. Add the pepper, hot fettuccine and reserved bacon and stir until combined.

Traditional carbonara recipes often add the egg to the sauce once it has been removed from the heat and let the hot noodles finish the cooking process. That makes me a little nervous with the kids, so I add the eggs while the sauce is still cooking.