Coaching Cooking

One of the best aspects of AB’s new job is meeting the wonderful people that he works with and sharing food with them. On Friday we had a barbeque where AB’s boss made an excellent tandoori chicken. And yesterday Lorry, a French intern who’s currently working with AB’s company, came shopping with us to the Milk Pail and Whole Foods. Then he graciously offered to make his version of pasta carbonara that was so cool to watch and so delicious to eat. So, I must share his version. We had such a great dinner with wine and salad and with this wonderful pasta. Thanks, Lorry! I will definitely make this recipe again.

Lorry’s Pasta Carbonara

Ingredients:

1 package of spaghetti
3-4 egg yolks (see instructions below)
1 medium onion, chopped into 1/2 inch slices
5 slices of bacon, sliced into 1/2 thick pieces
1 container of pre-shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 container, 8 oz. of ricotta cheese (16 oz. size)

Directions:

Slice the onions and bacon and cook them in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent and the bacon is cooked through, but not crispy. Fill a large pot with water and boil. Add a few teaspoons of salt then add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.

In the meantime, crack the eggs in half carefully and reserve the egg yolks in their shells by placing them back in the cardboard container until they are needed.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Make sure the burner is on low or turned off so the pasta doesn’t overcook. Then add the ricotta and parmesan cheeses and mix thoroughly. Add the bacon and onions and mix again. Keep the lid on the pasta so it doesn’t cool down too much. Serve the pasta in wide, low bowls and give each person a raw egg to mix into their pasta. The raw egg will give the pasta a terrific creaminess (and don’t be afraid to eat it because the hot pasta will cook the egg…or you can use pasteurized eggs).

Bon Appetit!

The house would smell of it for hours before it was ready. I only need to smell green onion, chicken blended with soy and oil to know that my mom is making steamed chicken. We would eat it with stir-fried bok choy and steamed rice and a green onion-salt sauce on the side. To me, there’s nothing simpler and better than a steamed chicken dinner. It represents one of the best Chinese meals and it represents comfort and family…Dad would go for the largest, juiciest pieces and I would dip the chicken in the green onion sauce again and again.

The recipe below is for white chop chicken and it is adapted from a great Chinese cookbook by Rhoda Yee entitled “Chinese Village Cookbook.” My family is also from the Cantonese region of China so the dishes in this cookbook are culinary memories. Enjoy!

White Chop Chicken

Ingredients:

1 3-lb fryer chicken
1 teaspoon of salt
3 green onions, sliced thinly
water (see recipe for amount)
1/4 salad oil

Sauces:
1/4 cup of oyster sauce (found in Asian supermarkets)
1/4 cup of hoisin sauce (found in Asian supermarkets)
Green onion sauce (see recipe following directions)

Directions:

Wash the chicken and pat dry. Place the chicken in a pot that fits perfectly with at least one inch clearance at the top. Place the chicken in the pot and cover it with water entirely. Remove the chicken and reserve on a plate. Add the salt and 1/3 of the green onion. Bring the water to a boil. Lower the chicken into the boiling water carefully (you can use tongs and one hand to steady the chicken). Cover the pot with its lid and remove the pot from the heat. Let the chicken steep in the hot water for one hour. Then drain the water and pat the chicken dry. Place the chicken on a large cutting board (preferably one used for cutting meat with large draining areas so the juices don’t run onto the counter).

Use a brush to cover the chicken with the salad oil. Use the remaining salad oil to make the green onion sauce. If you like, sprinkle extra salt on the chicken. Let the chicken cool then chop into small pieces.

Serve the chicken with steamed rice, hoisin and oyster sauces. The leftovers from this chicken also make a great addition to Chinese chicken salad.

Green Onion Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of salad oil (leftover from the chicken recipe plus extra to make the full amount)
2 green onions, thinly sliced (from the chicken recipe)
2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon of rice wine (mirin or chinese rice wine)

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Dip the white chop chicken into this sauce and serve with steamed rice.

Now that I have cupcakes in my baking arsenal, I make them all the time for birthdays and celebrations. They are easy to make if you use a cake mix (and I usually have one or two boxes on hand). Or they can be just as easy with a simple cake recipe. I usually make a buttercream frosting with my standing mixer because the frosting is very stiff and looks great when it is swirled on top of the cupcakes using a cake decorating tip.

Here’s a white buttercream frosting recipe that can be easily transformed into chocolate buttercream. It is very sweet and you can temper that by adding a little milk.

White Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup of confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 teaspoons of hot water

Directions:
Take the butter out of the fridge about 2 hours before you start this recipe so the butter is softened. Place the butter (cut into 1-inch pieces) and the sugar in the standing mixer. Mix on low until the mixture is creamy and well-combined. Then add the hot water and the vanilla and mix on a slightly higher speed until the frosting looks smooth.

To frost:
This frosting is easy to work with and it can be piped onto cupcakes or spread using a flat knife. Add sprinkles or sugared flowers or silver sugar balls (see my rant on this one here).

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Use the White Buttercream Frosting recipe above, but add 1 cup of melted semisweet chocolate with the hot water and vanilla and combine until the frosting is a solid, chocolate color.

My Asian sistah, Monique, always devises these fabulous dishes that are so creative and delicious. This week she came up with a fabulous carrot salad. This salad is really versatile and it is SO good! Thanks to Momo for being my partner in crime and for inspiring me to make food that kicks ass!

Momo’s Carrot Salad

Ingredients:

4 cups of shredded carrot (about 8-10 large carrots)
1/2 cup of raisins
2 cups of fresh or frozen corn (see instructions below for the difference in prep)
4 tablespoons of honey mustard salad dressing
2 tablespoons of garlic ranch salad dressing
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of yellow mustard

Optional:
Add one or more of the following to this recipe:

4 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts
4 tablespoons of toasted, slivered almonds
2-3 green onions, white parts and some of the green tops sliced

Directions:

If you’re using fresh corn, remove all the corn silk and cut all the corn kernels off the cob.

If you’re using frozen corn, blanch the corn in a medium sauce pan of boiling water with some salt for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Shred the carrots using a hand grater or the grater attachment to your Cuisinart. Place the shredded carrots in a large bowl and stir in the rest of the ingredients. This salad can be chilled before serving for at least an hour or it can be made the day before.

Momo’s carrot salad is great with barbecued meats and great as a vegetarian side for a picnic or as part of a light supper.

We ate that salad with a gorgeous 2004 Nuits Saint George, but I also recommend a white wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc or even a red wine such as a Syrah. My sense of wine pairing is that you can pretty much drink what you like with food that you enjoy and it all works out in the end.

Bonne Sante!

As I was re-reading “My Life in Franceâ€? by Julia Child (with Alex Prud’homme), her words of wisdom struck me as particularly charming on a night after I had cooked a quick pasta dinner. We live in such busy times and it is often tempting to eat out or to pick up a quick meal at the grocery store. And hey, sometimes that’s all you need. But Julia is the quintessential hedonist because she loves fresh, delicious food prepared with a caring hand. In fact, as she states at the end of “My Life in Franceâ€?:

In Paris in the 1950s, I had the supreme good fortune to study with a remarkably able group of chefs. From them I learned why good French food is an art, and why it makes such sublime eating: nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should. Good results require that one take time and care.

And I truly believe Julia. Fast food is always tempting and available and it does satisfy a need and a hunger for those on the go. Great cuisine, and even just a simple, good meal, takes time and care and the desire to elevate a meal beyond a tally of calories.

The recipe below calls for frozen shrimp because it is easy and saves time. And I often believe in splitting the difference during the week and using fresh ingredients or mostly fresh ingredients with taste results. Of course, you can also buy fresh shrimp and cook it in seasoned water and savor the delight of eating seafood at the peak of deliciousness. The choice is entirely up to you. Either way, I think you’ll enjoy the following simple salad (and eat it with someone you love, why doncha?).

Quick Shrimp Salad for Two

Ingredients:

16 frozen shrimp (use the kind that is raw frozen and peeled with only the tails)
2 heaping tablespoons of Greektown “Billygoat” seasoning from The Spice House (or a seasoning that you like)
1 head of butter lettuce
¼ of a red onion, sliced into thin strips
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
4-5 tablespoons of Brianna’s Poppyseed or Chipotle Cheddar Dressing (you have to try these sometime, they are fabulous!)

optional toppings: boiled egg sliced into thin rounds, shredded carrot, thin slices of cucumber, chopped green onion or chives, bean sprouts, kidney beans, or whatever you like!

Directions:

Cook the shrimp in boiling water according to the package directions (for about 2-3 minutes). You can add seasoning to the water before you add the shrimp. I tried adding Greek seasoning from The Spice House with great results, but you can also add garlic powder, parsley, cumin powder, Italian seasoning or any flavors that you enjoy.

While the shrimp is boiling, prepare a large bowl with 4-6 ice cubes and 4 cups of cold water. Remove the boiled shrimp from the burner after it is done cooking and drain quickly then drop all of the shrimp into the ice water bowl. Let the shrimp sit in the ice water for about 2 minutes until the shrimp is cooled. Drain the shrimp again and set aside.

Clean the butter lettuce and tear into bite-size pieces. Divide the lettuce among the two dinner plates. Top with the onion, the cherry tomatoes, the optional toppings and ring each plate with 8 shrimp. Drizzle the salad dressing on top. You can also serve this salad with a wedge of lemon.

This salad is a great starter to a spring or summer meal. Serve it with a chilled white wine such as Chardonnay or vinho verde (one of my favorite summer wines). I highly recommend looking for vinho verde as the weather warms up. It is such a crisp, refreshing summer wine and it pairs well with summer fare including salads, grilled meats, pasta, appetizers of all kinds and vegetable dishes.

Bon Appetit!

Julia Child, words of wisdom, shrimp, shrimp salad, vinho verde, summer salad, Brianna’s salad dressing

As a newlywed, I had a great recipe collection to begin with, but I didn’t have AB’s favorite sirloin tip pasta. It is one of his absolute favorite dishes and his mom (my wonderful mother-in-law, B!) gave me the recipe a few years before we were married.

This is the perfect recipe for a cozy dinner at home. Add a green salad with fresh, chopped herbs, red onion, cherry tomatoes and your favorite dressing plus a favorite red wine and a store-bought dessert (try a berry tart, pie or cherry cheesecake). Then settle in and watch a movie. Enjoy a date-night in the privacy of your own living room.

AB’s Favorite Sirloin Tip Pasta

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 butter
3/4 cup of red wine (try cabernet, merlot or zinfandel)
1 medium clove of garlic, minced
2 cans (10 1/2 oz. each) condensed, golden mushroom soup
2 tablespoons of finely-chopped shallot
1/2 cup of water
1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch plus 1-2 teaspoons of water
1 package of egg noodles, cook according to package directions and drain thoroughly

Directions:

In a nonstick skillet, brown the beef in butter then add the remaining ingredients (except for the cornstarch). Cover this mixture and cook over low heat for up to 2 hours until the beef is tender. Stir occasionally. Add the cornstarch and water (mix these together first) if the sauce needs thickening. Serve the beef sauce over the egg noodles. For an added flavor (and color) add some finely chopped chives on top.

Enjoy!

I’m rewatching Top Chef, Season 1. It gets my foodie juices bubbling and always helps me think about new recipes to try out as well as great plating ideas (how to make the food look pretty…).

One fruit that I absolutely adore during the summer is watermelon. I usually just eat it with the juice running down my chin like a waterfall. So, since I’m not always the biggest salad freak, I’ve decided to incorporate watermelon into a salad that has sweet and salty flavors.

**Note**: This salad is also great with strawberries instead of watermelon. Slice the berries in half (or in thirds for large berries).
Watermelon and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups of watermelon, 1-inch dice
1/3 cup of feta cheese, finely crumbled
2 bags of baby spinach, chiffonade (see below)
1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup of balsamic salad dressing (see recommendations below)

Directions:

Chiffonade the baby spinach by stacking a few spinach leaves at a time and then rolling them to form a rolled-cigar shape. Cut the spinach leaves crosswise to form thin strips. Repeat this process with all of the spinach. This take a long time, but it looks terrific if you use your best knife and it makes the salad easy and delicious to eat.

Prepare the watermelon and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (except the toasted pine nuts) and toss them all together. Top the salad with the toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately.

When my Aunt Flo comes to town, I like to be prepared to serve her in the manner to which she is accustomed. Aunt Flo isn’t a picky eater. She doesn’t expect gourmet cuisine or organic products. She likes hearty, savory food. She likes foods with a crunch. And she LOVES chocolate.

Here are a few tasty dishes for when your Aunt Flo comes to visit. They are also great at any time (just don’t tell Flo!).

Flo’s Favorite Oreos

Ingredients:

10 Whole Peanut-Butter Oreo Cookies
2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

Tools:

One large wire rack
Wax paper
Chopsticks

Directions:

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave by heating the chips in a bowl for about one minute on 80% power. Stir and repeat carefully (use 30-second intervals to be safe and so the chips don’t burn!) until the chocolate chips are all melted.

Place several pieces of wax paper under a wire rack.

Using the chopsticks, pick up one Oreo cookie and dip it in the melted chocolate. Place the Oreo cookie on the wire rack and let cool for at least 45 minutes to an hour.

These chocolate-dipped Oreos can also be frozen and enjoyed as a crunchy, chocolatey freezer treat.

Marvelous Mini Burgers (okay, I kinda stole these from Denny’s…but mine are better, I swear!)

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of ground hamburger (try using ground chuck for extra velvety hamburger)
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
4 brioche buns
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 generous pat of butter
4 slices of American cheese (or use thinly-sliced Cheddar)
Condiments: mayo, mustard, thinly-sliced dill pickles, thousand island dressing….

Directions:

Shape the hamburger into 4 large patties, being careful not to handle the meat too much. Season the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Slice the brioche buns into half and set aside. Cook the onions on medium-low heat in butter until the onions are carmelized and slightly brown. Set the onions aside for later.

Cook the hamburgers in a non-stick pan or a stovetop grill pan. Cook the hamburgers for at least 3-4 minutes per side (for medium-rare). Place the cooked hamburgers on the bottoms of the brioche buns and immediately top with the cheese. Top with mayo, mustard and pickles (or whatever else you like). Place the brioche buns on top of the hamburgers. Using a long knife, cut each hamburger into four pieces. For fun, use toothpicks to hold the mini burgers together or serve to be immediately consumed by Aunt Flo or other hungry guests. Enjoy!

Yesterday, Monique, my partner in crime, came over to make dinner. She brought a great bag of goodies to make tuna pasta salad which is one of my favorites. I’ve included the recipe below with some notes for adjustments (some people like pickles, some don’t, for example…).

This pasta salad is great for barbecues, picnics or for a quick lunch. It tastes best after being refridgerated for at least one hour, but you can also attack it with zeal right away if the pasta is cooled and then all the other ingredients are kept at a cool temperature. Enjoy!

Monique’s Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 medium-size red onion, diced into small pieces
1/2 can of olives, sliced (or just buy a small can of the pre-sliced olives to save time!)
2 medium-size dill pickles, diced into medium pieces
3 cans of tuna in water
1 bag of pasta (try rotelli or large macaroni or any “twist” type pasta)
1 cup of mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Drain the tuna and pat dry with paper towels. Cook the pasta according to the package directions (you should cook about 3 cups of dry pasta in total). Add a few generous pinches of salt to the boiling water before adding the pasta. Drain the pasta and cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the tuna, mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste. Then add the cooled pasta, olive slices and pickles. Mix all ingredients together and refridgerate for at least an hour.

**Cooking notes**: This salad is versatile and you can always add extra ingredients including: frozen peas blanched in salted water and drained, fresh herbs including basil, thyme, cilantro or chives, vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise (try Italian vinaigrette or balsamic), or sprinkle the salad with grated, fresh cheese such as parmesan or hard cheeses such as cheddar or gouda.

The great polenta makeover has occurred! Monique, my partner in crime, came over and we went to town on the polenta problem. Monique also made a great tuna noodle salad with tuna, mayo, sliced olices, chopped dill pickles (and on and on, it was great and we ate like fiends). So we dined on polenta while enjoying the latest season of Weeds. Woohoo!

First, I cut the polenta into triangles and patted each piece with paper towels to dry them out a bit.

Then, I made a quick mushroom sauce with fresh brown mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. I sliced the mushrooms and sauteed them in butter and chopped garlic in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Then I turned the heat up to high after the mushrooms had cooked through and added a 1/4 cup of 2004 Sauvignon Blanc.

Then, I pan-fried the polenta after coating it with flour. I also used a nonstick pan for this step and added a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. Placing the polenta triangles carefully in the nonstick pan, I sauteed the polenta for a few minutes on each side until the polenta triangles were crispy.

The crispy polenta paired perfectly with the garlic-mushroom-wine sauce. I even made a second batch of the mushroom sauce to add to the rest of the polenta triangles. **Cooking tip**: I recommend adding a few spoonfuls of flour to the mushroom sauce as the wine is reducing. The flour creates a nice thickening and then you have an instant sauce.

Ciao bellas…

Tonight was barbecue night. AB loves to grill burgers and we decided to add some chicken wings to the mix.

Here’s a quick recipe for chicken wings with an Asian marinade. It is light and tasty with a spicy tang.

Tuesday Night Chicken BBQ Marinade:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons of Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
3-4 dashes of Sriracha chili sauce

Directions:

Whisk the ingredients together and add the chicken wings. I marinated my chicken wings for about 30 minutes, but you can also prepare the marinade ahead of time and add the chicken wings. Keep the marinating chicken wings in the fridge until you’re ready to grill.

As you grill the chicken wings, brush the sauce over several times. Discard the remaining sauce.

Happy grilling!

Thursday is just the appetizer to the weekend. It’s just a tease, a whisper of a day before that big Friday rolls along and you get to savor the weekend. And Friday is the day when I like to kick back with a hot cocktail and some cold, hard gossip. Take the edge off of my time in public school with some frivolity. Spend a little time mocking the crazy lives of celebrities all from the comfort of my couch while I tip back and savor a fruity drink. The drink of choice this week is the mai tai.

Mai Tais are classic island cocktails. They represent the silly joy of paper umbrellas and the kick-in-the-pants rum and fruit congo that begins in your mouth and travels straight to the brain. Since I suffer from the Asian flush (okay, I enjoy it too, sometimes, in the privacy of my own home where my red cheeks just make me look blushy and wonderfully red-eyed…and sometimes I wish I could hide my intoxication a little better!), I must say that Mai Tais are a sure-fire way for me to ride the alcoholic highway with my low-tolerance cape and my boozy-breathed conversations. And Mai Tais taste so wonderful (yes, maybe I should have said that first!).

Here are some recipes to get you started:

A brief history of the Mai Tai

An authentic recipe for Mai Tais plus a little history (and another recipe that uses POG…pineapple-orange-guava juice blend)

Another recipe, this one has orgeat syrup

Here’s a chicken satay appetizer recipe as a tasty companion to the mai tai. I may someday regret consuming so much Thai peanut sauce, but I haven’t regretted it yet!
I bless you with fruity wishes and rum-filled dreams…sail on into evening with the strains of a ukelele…

Last weekend, I decided to road-test the hashbrowns recipe from Elise.com:

Here are the results:

Start with fresh potatoes (or fresh from your fridge!):

Use the shredding disc for your Cuisinart if you have one. It’s so much faster, plus the potatoes shred evenly (just cut potatoes into small pieces to feed through the food tube):

Follow Elise’s recipe and voila, perfect hashbrowns:

**Important Note**: I don’t own a potato ricer, recommended by Elise, but I can definitely say that this tool would make a difference. I used paper towels to squeeze out much of the water but the hashbrowns were still on the gluey side (although we were starving so they still tasted delicious).

Yesterday marked the day that I craved and the day that I made the B.L.O.T.: bacon, lettuce, onion and toasted bread (okay, and mayo, but B.L.O.M.T. doesn’t sound as tasty or interesting). Hey, I was out of tomatoes, but I love onions so I added that to the mix.

Jenny’s B.L.O.T.

Ingredients:

4-6 slices of bacon
3-4 paper towels
2 slices of bread (I prefer Milton’s multigrain or white)
2 thin slices of white onion
3-4 medium pieces of butter lettuce
1 generous spoonful of mayonnaise

Directions:

Place the bacon slices on a large plate on top of two paper towels. Cover the bacon with the third paper towel (to minimize spatter in the microwave). Cook the bacon slices in the microwave on high for about 5 minutes until the meaty parts of the bacon are cooked and brown. Continue cooking the bacon for at least 2 more minutes until the bacon is cooked through. The edges may still look a bit raw, but this next step should fix that.

Place the bacon slices in a toaster oven (use the tray with rack insert) and set the toaster oven on the highest toast setting. The bacon should come out crispy and well-cooked.

Set the cooked bacon aside. Toast the bread slices. While the bread is toasting, slice the onion on a cutting board. Place the toast slices on the cutting board and spread both toast pieces with the mayo. Add the onions on top of that and then the lettuce pieces. Add the bacon slices on top and cut the sandwich in half.

I like to eat B.L.O.T. with a beverage made from half Sprite (or Diet Sprite) and orange juice plus pickles and your favorite chip (Kettle Chips makes delectable chips in flavors like Honey Dijon, Thai and Buffalo Blue Cheese).

Enjoy the B.L.O.T.!!

I’ve wanted to make this dish for years and somehow today is the day for pasta carbonara. I love the idea of a creamy pasta with bacon (or pancetta), silky eggs, garlic or onion and parsley.

So, without further ado, Pasta Carbonara a la Jenny:

**Note**: This recipe includes raw eggs that will be cooked partially by hot pasta. If you are concerned about food safety please use pasteurized eggs or omit the eggs and use heavy cream and butter instead.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. of lean bacon or pancetta, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cloves of garlic, chopped in a medium-dice
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used a sauvignon blanc with equally good results)
1/2 cup of chopped flat leaf parsley
2 eggs (or a 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter)
1/2 cup of freshly shredded parmesan plus extra shredded cheese for serving
1 pound of thin spaghetti

Directions:

Prepare all of the ingredients. Shred the parmesan and set aside:

Using a non-stick pan, heat the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sautee the bacon or pancetta until browned. Then add the white wine and reduce this mixture by half. Add the garlic and saute for about one minute so all the flavors are combined.

Remove this mixture from the heat and set aside.

While the bacon-wine mixture reduces, put a large pot of water to boil and add a few generous pinches of salt when the water boils.
Prepare the egg mixture by beating the two eggs in a large bowl and then whisking in the parsley and 1/4 cup of the shredded parmesan cheese. Set the egg mixture aside.

Cook the pasta according to the box directions, but make sure the cooked pasta is al dente (with a little bite!). Drain the pasta well and immediately add to the egg mixture, tossing the pasta and egg mixture vigorously so all of the pasta is coated. Then add the bacon-wine mixture. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan and toss the pasta and ingredients together. Serve immediately with the extra parmesan cheese. This pasta goes very well with a roasted green vegetable such as brussel sprouts, broccoli, or asparagus. Buono appetito!

Leftovers Note**: This pasta carbonara reheats well on a low microwave setting (too high of a setting will cause the egg mixture to cook further and the pasta will taste tough). AB suggests reheating pasta carbonara, the next day, with a little water to replace the lost moisture from storing it in the fridge.