first post in here...want to cook for my mum

Ladywhisper

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

lol i know thats the proper way, but i know too many people who are far too squeamish to do that!

Hehe, just have to do it quickly before the spaghetti cools too much, and make sure there isnt too much egg to spaghetti. I admit I can't eat it if its too runny. Still.. YUM! ^^

Oh, and good for you littlepinkstars44, be a lovely surprise for them to come back to

Stephen_Leak

Here's my basic white sauce recipe, with a few more measurements!

WHITE SAUCE

Makes 250ml

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
250ml of milk

METHOD

Put the butter into a saucepan on a medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for a minute, stirring all the time. Take off the heat. Add the milk a bit at a time. Stir each time to make sure it is smooth. When all the milk has been added, put the pan back on the heat. Bring to the boil. Keep stirring. Turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.

ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS

If the sauce is too thin, add a little bit more flour. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit more milk.

TIPS

The trick is to keep stirring.

PS. I can also do you an equally simple recipe for the Anglo-American (ham, cream, mushooms, no eggs) version of Carbonara Sauce.

ifonlyitwaseasier

ty stephen, i've been making it by eye for years so have no idea how much i put in

i was thinking, anyone got a link to mrbadexample's thread, that might help littlepinkstars even more!!!

Stephen_Leak

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

ty stephen, i've been making it by eye for years so have no idea how much i put in

i was thinking, anyone got a link to mrbadexample's thread, that might help littlepinkstars even more!!!

You're welcome. I know that cookery isn't an exact science, but you do have to put exact measurements in recipes, so that people know how much they can get away with ignoring them!

I am searching for Mr BE's (my culinary Jedi Master) thread.

littlepinkstars44

thanks soo much for the help everyone. I am going to go with the sauce rather than with the eggs, i think it'll be easier for a first timer, plus my 12 year old brother can be picky!
Going to try it with bacon and chicken?? how does that sound?

Might give it a practice run tomorrow night, just for myself and see how i like it

Craftyscholar

Ladywhisper wrote: »

Hehe, just have to do it quickly before the spaghetti cools too much, and make sure there isnt too much egg to spaghetti. I admit I can't eat it if its too runny. Still.. YUM! ^^

I had no idea that was the 'correct' way to do it.
If you were doing a single portion would you use one egg?

ifonlyitwaseasier

littlepinkstars44 wrote: »

thanks soo much for the help everyone. I am going to go with the sauce rather than with the eggs, i think it'll be easier for a first timer, plus my 12 year old brother can be picky!
Going to try it with bacon and chicken?? how does that sound?

Might give it a practice run tomorrow night, just for myself and see how i like it

sounds lovely,

i'd suggest either grilling or dry frying (no oil) the bacon and chop the chicken into about thumb sized chunks and frying (just a tiny drop of oil) and then adding to the sauce, and you can have the meats cooked and kept warm for the few minutes it'll take to make the sauce.

let us know how it goes!!!

Skint_Catt

Ladywhisper wrote: »

The horror! There is no cream in a proper italian carbonara! QUOTE]

Tell me about it - just got back from Italy and the only Carbonara I could find served in restaurants was pasta with scrambled egg :mad:

Ladywhisper

Craftyscholar wrote: »

I had no idea that was the 'correct' way to do it.
If you were doing a single portion would you use one egg?

Single portion I'd say around 150g of spaghetti, 1 rasher of bacon and 1 large egg is about right. Of course we do for 2 all the time and my OH eats looooads so it'll vary on how much you eat. I doubt you'd want more than 1 egg for 1 though.