Roman Style Spaghetti Carbonara

This is not the Spaghetti Carbonara you are used to seeing in restaurants.  It isn't made with peas or cream.  This is so much better!  The ingredient list is short and as is true of many simple dishes, the combination of a few quality ingredients creates a delicious, creamy sauce that has my husband scraping the bowl before he does the dishes. 

This dinner is super fast.  In the time it takes to cook the spaghetti, dinner is ready.  Start out by putting a pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti.  Then heat up some olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add in some diced pancetta (I use the citterio pancetta cubetti) and cook, stirring occasionally.

While the pancetta is browning, crack a bunch of black pepper (I just do this into the bowl I am going to mix up the pasta in).  When you think you have enough pepper, add a little more.  My little assistant really likes using the pepper grinder so sometimes I set him to work on this step. 

Once the pancetta is lightly browned, stir in the pepper and cook for about 2 more minutes.  Then pour it into a big serving bowl to cool slightly.

 

By now your water should be boiling so put in a pound of spaghetti and cook until al dente.

Who likes Parmesan?  If you don't, I'm not sure we can be friends (unless you have a legitimate allergy or something).  I love Parmesan a lot, like more than you can possibly imagine.  Put a bunch of Parmesan in the bowl with the pancetta.  I used my favorite Parmesan and Romano blend from TJ's.

Doesn't that look like heaven?

Now add a whole egg and a few egg yolks (I save the whites for Josh to have for breakfast the next day).  Stir this all together until it is well combined.  This is going to be your sauce.  Don't worry, the heat from the pasta will cook the egg.

Once the pasta is ready add it to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix it all together really well.  I find tongs to be the easiest way of doing this.  Then add some pasta water a little at a time until the sauce is as creamy as you want it to be. 

Even if you are a big fan of American style Carbonara, give this recipe a try.  The sauce is so deliciously silky.  The tang of the Parmesan, the bite from the pepper, and the saltiness of the pancetta all combine to make an irresistible dish.

Doesn't this just make you want to stuff your face make this for dinner?


Roman Style Spaghetti Carbonara
Adapted from Saveur magazine

• 1 lb. spaghetti 
• 4 tbls. olive oil
• 4 oz. diced pancetta
• 1 1/2 - 2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan
• 1 whole egg
• 3 egg yolks

1. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions for al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add pancetta and cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly browned.
3. Stir in pepper and cook about 2 more minutes.
4. Pour pancetta mixture into a large serving bowl to cool slightly.
5. Add parmesan, egg, and egg yolks to pancetta mixture and stir until well combined.
6. Put cooked spaghetti in bowl and mix together, adding pasta water a little at a time until you have reached your desired consistency. 

I'm linking up with Sweet Savoury Sundays, Marvelous Monday, Inspiration Monday,  Busy Monday, Manic Monday, Monday Funday, Cropped Stories, Tasteful Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesday, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wake Up Wednesday, Real Family Fun, Less Laundry More Linking, Pin it Thursday, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Pin Junkie, and Link Party Palooza.

Maternity Fitness - Why Lindsay Brin is my BFF

I've mentioned before that I gained an ungodly amount of weight when I was pregnant with Jake.  I had never really exercised and other than walking around our neighborhood, that didn't change when I was pregnant.  I didn't eat crazily, but I also didn't not eat something if I wanted to.  At the end of the day I gave birth to a healthy baby and 18 months later (yes, that was a long time but I struggled with milk supply which made it very difficult for me to lose weight) I weighed even less than I did when I got pregnant.

Fast forward to today and I am pregnant again.  This time around I am maintaining a much healthier rate of weight gain.  Of course, food was not my friend for the first few months and that certainly played a role, but overall I am chalking up my success this time to exercise, specifically the prenatal DVDs by Lindsay Brin.  You can buy all of her DVDs on momsintofitness.com.  

If you love exercise I guess we can still be friends, but I am not like you.  I hate exercise.  You know how some people say once they get started they like it.  That is not me.  If I'm on the elliptical, I not only have to talk myself into getting on, I have to pep talk myself through the entire workout.  The only part of exercise I like is how I feel about myself for having done it.   When you have a little one and no free child care, going to the gym can be difficult.  For me, going to the gym was just one more way for me to talk myself out of going so DVDs have been the perfect solution for me.

Several months after I had Jake I discovered Lindsay Brin's postnatal bootcamp on babysteals.com (that is a great daily deal site if you haven't discovered it yet).  I was an instant convert.  She mixes it up so you aren't bored and before you know it you are doing the cool down and moving on with your day.  Each of her DVDs has different people doing the workouts with different modifications (easier, regular, and advanced) so you can use them no matter how fit you are when you start.

After my rave reviews, my sister bought Lindsay Brin's prenatal series available here with the postnatal boot camp.  When I got pregnant this time I borrowed it and I love it.  My only concern with this series is that each trimester has one cardio and toning routine and one yoga routine so I thought I might get used to it and stop seeing results.

Luckily, Linsday just put out a new pregnancy 3-pack that also includes a 4th bonus DVD for core recovery in those first few weeks post partum.  Each DVD in the series is tailored to a trimester and has a 2 week workout calendar which helps keep variety in your routine.

To give you an idea of my routine, I do 1 week of the old prenatal series, then the 2 week calendar of the new prenatal series.  Then I start all over again.  I usually do 6 days a week.  Monday through Friday I do cardio and toning, Saturday I do yoga, then Sunday I rest.  The longest day is less than 45 minutes and it really does go quickly.  If you want more specifics on my routine just email me, I'll fill you in.

Between helping me lose my baby weight the first time, and helping me manage my weight gain this time, I have a major girl crush on Lindsay Brin.  We may never have met, but she has definitely earned the place of BFF in my heart. 

In addition to the two prenatal series sets and postnatal boot camp DVD, I have used (and loved) her Boot Camp 2, Shed 5 Fast, and Dance Jam.  She has a new series called Pretty Fierce (one tailored to weight loss and one tailored to losing that last 5-10 pounds) that I can't wait to try when the time comes.

This is not a sponsored post.  Lindsay may be super special to me, but she doesn't know I exist.  I just really, really love her DVDs and I wanted to share with all of you lovelies.  Check her out, she offers a free trial of any program.  If you love her as much as I do, I'd love to hear about it.

What I Wore Wednesday - Emerald Dress Redux

I really love the bold emerald color of this dress and I know that my days of wearing it pre-baby are numbered, so I decided to bring it back out.  I swapped out the leopard belt seen here for this cute bow style black belt.  I love the way this belt adds a touch of femininity from the bow, but because of the edgier style of the bow it isn't over the top girly.

Once again I'm wearing a nice big bag to balance out my big baby bump and I can't seem to get enough of my wedges lately.  I'm sure once I can't see my feet I'll have to retire them so I'm enjoying them while I can.

Do you have any favorites you keep in heavy rotation?

Emerald Dress - Banana Republic Factory

Bow Belt - New York & Co. - old

Wedges - Charles by Charles David - on sale for $59

Bag - Coach Factory - old

I'm linking up with Style Elixer, I Feel Pretty, What I Wore Wednesday, Mix & Match Fashion, and Three-fer Thursday.

True Food Kitchen Kale Salad

Several months ago a friend and I met for lunch at True Food Kitchen.  On her recommendation I ordered their kale salad and absolutely loved it.  The restaurant isn't very close to me so I decided I would try to make it at home.  Luckily, they have their recipe online.   It is just as good at home as it was in the restaurant.

I made a few changes to the recipe.  True Food calls for using homemade bread crumbs and while I don't doubt that they are wonderful, I don't have the time or inclination for that.  Panko works great as a substitution.  I also used less breadcrumbs and less parmesan.

One of my favorite things about this salad is that it is good for days.  Most salads are gross the next day because they get soggy.  Kale is the exact opposite.  If anything it gets better with time.  I love to make a batch of this and then eat it for lunch all week long.  I usually serve it with a little grilled chicken for protein since I am pregnant, but it is delicious as is.

Start out by tearing up your kale, discarding the tough ribs.  My store didn't have Tuscan Kale so I bought the bag of organic, chopped Tuscan kale at TJ's.  If you do what I did, it is a little more labor intensive because you have to pick through it all to strip the ribs whereas if you buy it by the bunch you can just hold the whole leaf and strip it all the way down.

Once you have your kale prepped, mix up the dressing.  In a liquid measuring cup combine the oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Then pour this over the kale and toss to combine.  It will look slightly overdressed at this point, but trust me, it isn't.

Next add the parmesan and toss it again.  Now let it sit for about 5 minutes.  Finally add the breadcrumbs and toss again.  Let it sit again before serving.  I prefer to make it the night before.

As you can see there are only a few ingredients so it is important to use high quality ingredients.  This means extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and good parmesan.  I like to use Trader Joe's grated parmesan and romano blend.  I hope you love this salad as much as I do.

Kale Salad
Adapted from True Food Kitchen

• 4 - 6 cups torn Tuscan kale leaves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• salt & pepper to taste
• generous pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs 

1. Tear up the kale leaves, being sure to remove the ribs, and place in a large bowl.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Then pour over the kale and toss well.
3. Add parmesan cheese and toss well.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Add panko and toss well.  Let sit at least 5 minutes or overnight.

*Keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

I'm linking up with Weekend Potluck,  Inspiration Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesdays, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wonderful Food Wednesdays,  Pin Junkie, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekeend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, and Sweet & Savoury Sunday.

Dark Chocolate Football Cookies

As if being interfatih wasn't enough religions for one house, my husband has another religion to call his own, sports.  He doesn't discriminate, he loves them all.  Early in our courtship he tried to convince me of this mythical month when there were no sports on (February) and yet I can't really think of a time when sports are not on a TV in my house.  While he loves all sports, no sport is more important to him than football.

You know those fun superbowl (and less important game) parties where everyone sits around eating and drinking and generally having a good time?  The get-togethers that make watching football more fun for someone who is slightly less interested.  Well, we almost never go to those because if the Packers are playing my husband doesn't really like to hang out with other people because they talk too much and interfere with his concentration on the game.

For the rest of you football widows out there, you know that even though he is a Packers fan, he will, and wants to, watch every other game as well.  Now even though football season has just started, in my house it gets kicked off in mid August with fantasy football drafts.  If you don't know what fantasy football is, count yourself lucky.  Josh participates in multiple leagues and he recently hosted his first draft at our house.  This league is his old fraternity brothers, aptly named the "Old Farts" League.  Way back when we were in college I used to send him to his weekly meetings with homemade cookies for the guys so two times a year when they congregate at my house for drafts (yes they do a baseball league too) I hearken back to those days and make treats for the guys to enjoy.

As much as I may tire of football season, draft night is always something I look forward to (now that he consults with me on when to schedule it) because I get a mom's night out while Jake stays home with the boys for what he has named "Daddy's sticker party". 

Sorry for that rambling intro.  Onto the cookies.  This year I couldn't decide what to make.  I kept waffling back and forth until I was about 5 hours away from the party and still didn't have a treat.  Whoops!  I had recently made these delicious Dark Chocolate cookies by Averie Cooks and while mine came out flat, they were sinfully good.  I thought with a couple of tweaks, I could make them thematic for tonight's draft.

Start out by creaming together the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Then it is time to add the dry ingredients.  I find that cocoa powder gets kind of clumpy and nothing is worse than picking up a delectable treat and biting down on a little clump of dry, unmixed cocoa powder.  To solve this problem I sifted all of the dry ingredients together and then added them in.  To help them be a little less flat I replaced the baking soda with baking powder and I added some kosher salt to cut the sweetness.  Once I had my dry ingredients sifted and mixed into the wet I was ready to go.

I busted out my new Reynold's pan lining paper and lined a small rimmed baking sheet.   Use a rubber spatula to press the cookie dough into the baking sheet.  I was hurrying so I didn't do this very smoothly.  Don't be like me, or do and love them anyway.

Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes.  (I got distracted so these stayed in for 10 minutes and were a little bit dry, but as I mentioned, I was in a time crunch so I couldn't start over.)

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and lift the pan lining paper off the cookie sheet.  Then cool completely on a wire rack.

Now for the fun part, get a football cookie cutter and trying to keep them as close together as possible, cut out your footballs.  I love doing this instead of just rolling out a dough and cutting cookies out raw because the edges puff up and you lose some of the clarity of the shape.  More importantly, you are left with all of those little scraps to devour while your little one is napping and no one can rat you out. If they are scraps, I'm pretty sure they don't have any calories ;)

Now if you stop here, you will have some nice brown oval shaped cookies, but to really make them look like footballs you will need a little icing.

I used the white icing writer because it is super easy to use and as you can see I don't have the steadiest hand, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.  Use the icing to draw the laces onto the football.

Ta da!  Football cookies with minimal fuss and only 1 bowl to clean.  Enjoy!


I'm linking up with Retro Repin, Tasty Thursdays, Link Party Palooza, Show Stopper Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Sweet & Savoury Sundays, Bakerette, Marvelous Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Manic Monday, and Inspiration Monday. 

What I Wore Wednesday - Back to School

Yesterday was the first day of school for my students.  It was also the first time since I became a mom that I started the school year as a full-time teacher.  I know how lucky I have been to have had so much extra time with Jake, but I am really struggling with being back to full time.  Since we only have a few more months as a family of three I am mourning those couple of days a week of Mommy & Jake time that we are losing.

That's enough on my little pity party, onto the clothes.  Now that I am entering my third trimester (I'll be 27 weeks on Saturday) I figured it was time to break out the maternity clothes.  I saved everything from my pregnancy with Jake plus I've inherited things from a few people.  I spent some time on Labor Day going through the bin and doing laundry.  One of the pieces that I'm adding back into my closet was this dress.

I actually wore this dress for the first day of school when I was pregnant with Jake, 5 years ago.  I was 6 weeks less pregnant then than I am now, but I had also gained a lot more weight that time around so this is still a little roomy.

I wanted to look a little dressed up, but it has been disgustingly hot here and I wanted something that was going to help me stay cool.  This dress is cotton so it is nice and breathable.

I was a little nervous about spending the whole day on my feet (and rightfully so, they were killing me by the end of the day) so I decided flats were in order, though my favorite wedges would have been even cuter.  This sweet little pair of flats are actually kids' shoes.  (I'm a size 6 so I can wear a girl's 4.)  The cut-outs make them a little more interesting than a plain white flat would be, plus they add a little bit of air flow.

Dress - Motherhood Maternity - old

Flats - Target (kids) - old - Similar here on sale for $12.99 

I'm linking up with Style Elixer, What I Wore Wednesday, I Feel Pretty,  Three-fer Thursday, and Plane Pretty.

Comic Book Letters - DIY

My birthday is December 30th.  Then I married a man whose birthday is on New Year's Eve.  Fast forward to 2009, I had a January baby.   Now this little guy is expected at the beginning of December.  This all means that our life is pretty much crazy from Halloween until mid January.  At the same time, birthdays are a big deal to me.  I know what it is like to have your birthday get lost in the shuffle of holidays and winter break so it is really important to me that my kids' birthdays are amazing.  I also realize that I can't go all out every year because it is a lot of work so I decided that I would do an over the top home party every other year and on the off years our kids can have a party at a place that does it all for us.  This is a good plan except that this coming January, just 5 weeks after our little man is due to arrive, I will be throwing an over the top party.  Yes, I am crazy!

In order to make this all possible, I started working on the party this summer.  Jake decided on a Superman party so I've spent the past few months pinning away and planning.  Now it's time to start working on the details.  Obviously there are some things I won't be able to do in advance, but as much as I can, I plan to.  That is where today's post comes in.  Having never used Mod Podge before I used this great video tutorial by Being Geek Chic.

To make these letters you will need a comic book you don't mind cutting up, paper mache letters (I found mine at Hobby Lobby), scissors, a pencil, a paintbrush, matte Mod Podge for paper (the one with the light blue label), and Golden's medium gel gloss (optional). 

 

I made the J and the S before I started this blog so these pics will focus on the M which I decided to add later.  I only used Mod Podge on those, but then I bought the gel gloss for a project for the baby's nursery and found it less ripply, so I decided to use it for the M.  It's pretty pricey though so I wouldn't buy it just for this.  (I used a 40% off coupon to make it more affordable.)

Start out by picking the images you want to have on the front of your letters.  For the letter J, I decided to use one large image that would cover the whole front.  For the M and S I picked more of a collage style.  Once you have picked your image you will need to trace your letter onto the image and then cut it out with your scissors.  *Elizabeth recommends attaching the full page to your letter and then using an exacto knife to trim it, but when I did that I ended up with a bunch of ragged edges so I pulled it off and redid it by tracing the letter on the comic page and cutting it out with scissors.

Paint a thin layer of gel gloss (or mod podge) directly onto the letter.

Then carefully lay your cut out comic piece on top smoothing it out as well as you can. 

Repeat this process until you have covered all sides of the letter.  The inner parts of the letter are a little tricky (I used my paintbrush handle to help press them down).

Then let it dry for 2 hours.  After 2 hours have passed you will paint another layer, of Mod Podge this time, over the top as a sort of varnish.  If you wanted it to have a glossy finish you can use the gel gloss for the top as well but I wanted matte so I used the Mod Podge.

That's it.  You are done.  If I'm totally honest, I ended up with a few ripples and it drove me crazy but Jake thinks they are the coolest thing ever so I am embracing their imperfection.

I'm linking up at Flashback Friday, Manic Monday,  Marvelous Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Inspiration Monday,  Craftastic Monday, Busy Monday, More the Merrier Monday, Mad Skills Party, Whimsy Wednesdays, Lovely Ladies Link Up,  Made By Me,  Wake Up Wednesdays, Project Stash, Pin it Thursday, Less Laundry, More Linking, Real Family Fun, and Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Link Party Palooza, Show Stopper Saturday, Bakerette, and StrutYour Stuff Saturday.