Spaghetti Carbonara

"The closest I've found to the real thing!" -Mom

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• ¼-½ pound bacon
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 large eggs
• Black pepper
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated (plus extra for serving at the table)

Directions

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. While it’s heating, cut bacon crosswise into pieces about ½ inch wide. Cook in skillet for 2 minutes, until fat begins to render.
3. Add cloves of garlic and cook another 5 minutes, until the edges of the bacon just begin to get crisp. Do not overcook; if they get too crisp, they won’t meld with the pasta.
4. Meanwhile, break the eggs into the bowl you’ll serve the pasta in and beat them with a fork.
5. Add some grindings (I like to add a lot!) of pepper.
6. Remove garlic from the bacon pan. Discard some of the fat from the bacon pan if it looks like too much, but you’re going to toss the bacon with most of its fat into the pasta.
7. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and immediately throw it into the beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly. The heat of the pasta will cook the eggs and turn them into a sauce. Add the bacon with its fat, toss again, add cheese and serve.