Easy Pasta Carbonara

While not a true pasta carbonara, as I've taken a few shortcuts, like using ramen, I think the ease of this recipe more than makes up for any alteration.

Carbonara is traditionally made with pancetta, but I prefer the additional robustness that bacon brings to the dish. Both pancetta and bacon are made from pork belly that has been cured with salts and, often, other spices. But bacon is also smoked, though usually "cold-smoked," at temperatures that do not cook the meat. Both pancetta and bacon should be cooked before consuming.

Ingredients

- 1½ Cups water
- 1 Package Ramen Noodles, flavor as preferred
- 2 Tbsp Bacon Bits, to taste; real bacon, please
- 1 Egg, large, whipped smooth
- 1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated, or more, to taste
- ¼ to ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper, liberal amount, to taste

A few notes about the ingredients

- Keeping in mind that this is a certified Effort-Less recipe, I'm suggesting the use of prepared ingredients, but feel free to prepare your own.

- The Black Pepper is more an ingredient than a seasoning, so it should have a noticeable presence in the eating.

- The Egg will not be fully cooked but will manifest as a creamy sauce

- The amount of water is less than the usual 2 Cups. That and adding the seasoning before the noodles is meant to concentrate the flavor in the noodles, since the pasta is to be drained.

Preparation

- In an appropriately-sized sauce pan, add the Ramen seasoning (from the included packet) to the water and bring to a boil.

- Add the noodles and boil for three minutes, or according to package instructions.

- Whip or beat the egg until smooth, blending-in the Parmesan Cheese and liberal amounts of Black Pepper.

- Drain the pasta.

- Immediately stir the egg mixture into the hot noodles.

- Mix in the Bacon Bits, amount to taste.

- Plate the noodles and top with more Black Pepper and Parmesan Cheese.

Serves 1

;^)

Sesame Ramen Noodle Salad

While I am a big fan of noodles and pasta in soups and sauce dishes, I have never much cottoned to pasta salads. Macaroni salad, to me, has always just ... felt sad. Still, there has always been one pasta salad that I liked. Not just liked, but really liked: Sesame Noodles.
There are a wide variety of recipes for sesame noodles. Many use peanut butter or a similar nut or vegetable base. This recipe does not.

Ingredients
2  3-ounce packages of Ramen Noodles (optional flavor choice)
2  Tablespoons of toasted Sesame Oil
¼ Cup Soy Sauce
2  Tablespoons Brown Sugar (optional light, dark, or even
    granulated sugar)
2  Cups Water (Organic, non-GMO, gluten-free water is best.)

Optional Ingredients
Rice Vinegar
Vegetable Oil
Toasted Sesame Seeds

Preparation
A. In a saucepan add 1 Ramen Flavor Packet to 2 Cups of water.
B. Bring water to boil.
C. (Optional) Break up noodle blocks. (Best done before you open the wrapper.)
D. Add 2 packages of Ramen Noodles to boiling water. Be sure all noodles are in direct contact with water (the reason you might want to break up the noodle blocks). Boil for 3 Minutes.
E. In a bowl, mix Brown Sugar, Soy Sauce, and Sesame Oil together.
F. Add cooked Noodles to Sugar-Soy mixture, stir together.
G. (Optional) Sprinkle with toasted Sesame Seeds.

Enjoy warm.

Wikimedia Commons

For a cold salad, prepare as above, adding 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil and 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar to the Soy-Sugar Mix. Chill prepared noodles, covered, in refrigerator.

Serves one. Or four.

;^)

Hearty One-Skillet Meal

This dish has become a favorite, recently. It's a variation of a recipe from the Food Wishes channel on YouTube. There, Chef John presents it as an oven-roasted, open skillet that's started on the stove top. I discovered that I liked it better when I finished it, covered, and all on the stove top, no oven. It depends on how you like it. In the oven, it's finished crispy and caramelized, my version is moist and tender, with some caramelization on the meat. And it's also a bit easier.

To keep it simple, go ahead and watch the Food Wishes recipe linked above, it's only seven-and-a-half minutes, as most of Chef John's presentations are brief and practical. Then I'll list what I do that's different.

1. I use a 12-inch Cook's Standard stainless steel fry pan with dome lid (available on Amazon). It could be prepared in a cast iron or non-stick skillet, but it won't develop a flavorful fond.

2. On MEDIUM, start with hot oil or fat (chicken, bacon, lard, whatever) in the pan. Add the chicken thighs skin side UP in the center of the pan, then add any uncooked (fresh, not smoked) sausage¹ around the thighs.
3. Let that meat brown, uncovered, on one side while cutting up the peppers, onions and potatoes².
4. Turn all the browning meat over, thighs skin DOWN. Add any cooked (smoked) sausage then distribute the veggies, keeping the meat on the bottom of the pan to maximize browning.
5. I season liberally with Lawry's, black pepper, granulated garlic, marjoram, sage, summer savory, parsley and a little rosemary and basil. A bay leaf is optional, but it's not a flavor I like. And a little cayenne, if I'm using sweet (non-spicy) peppers.
6. Brown 5 minutes on MEDIUM.
7. COVER, turn to LOW for 40 minutes.
8. Serve    
                
¹ I've used fresh and smoked kielbasa, bratwurst, hot links, andouille, both sweet and hot Italian sausages and cut-up country-style ribs, usually in combinations of two types. The rib meat didn't bring enough flavor whereas the chicken seems to absorb it. The sausage is easier to manage if I wait to cut it up until after cooking.

² I prefer the poblano (aka, ancho) peppers from my small hydroponic garden, but I've also used red bell peppers and canned diced green chiles. I've discovered that I can never have too much onion and it's nearly the same with potatoes. But maybe that's just me.

;^)