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Dang, I love carbonara. It's just the best pasta recipe, ever. I was so stoked to come to Italy and learn how to make some real carbonara, not the excuse that I've always had in North Carolina.

Of course, now I've eaten the best carbonara I've ever had, over and over again. But I found out there is a huge debate over the recipes! Pecorino or parmigiano, pancetta or guanciale, with or without cream... the possibilities are endless!

Here is my personal recipe and the steps I use to make a delightfully servicable plate of carbonara (take some liberties with the amounts):

• half a bag of spaghetti
• parmigiano
• pancetta (get the stuff that's not precut into little cubes)
• eggs (i usually use two per portion)
• black pepper

first, slice up the meat into little strips and set it to cooking in a pan with maybe a bit of olive oil, if you're into that. Then, get the pasta going. DO NOT break the dry noodles in half! A cardinal sin in the Italian kitchen. Separate out the yolks of the egg in a large mixing bowl, and then add your desired amount of cheese. I usually use a metric tonne. When the pasta is done, al dente of course, toss it in the hot pan with the meat for a bit, then add the meat and pasta mixture in to the bowl with the egg and cheese mixture. The heat from the pasta and meat will cook the eggs and cheese and get it to just the right consistancy. Crack some fresh black pepper over it all, add some more parmigiano, and enjoy! Buon appetito ;)

Drew Anderson

Siena Art Institute Student