I do Love to Cook...

but I was not necessarily planning on incorporating that into my blog. That is until I started reading Julie and Julia in preparation for the movie coming out. One thing about me is that if I can read a book before seeing the movie, I do. So here I am trying to plow through this one before the movie comes out and while it is not even close to inspiring me to want to cook the entire first volume of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, (anything Aspic kind of makes me want to cry and killing lobsters is not something I am capable of) it did inspire me to blog just a tad here and there about recipes. Mainly because I really do enjoy working in the kitchen to cook something up. I find it very satisfying to make something that turns out to be delicious. Because this is not always the case, these kinds of posts will be infrequent, but after making one of Graham and my favorite meals the other night, I decided I needed to share this recipe.


Asparagus & Chicken Carbonara

8 oz rigatoni
2 c. 1 inch slices asparagus
1/2 c. beaten egg (2 eggs...)
1/2 c. evaporated milk
2 t olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. dry vermouth
2 c. chopped, skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1/2 c. grated parmesan
3 T fresh parsley
3/4 t salt
1/2 t pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled


Cook pasta in boiling water 10 mins. Add asparagus in last 2 minutes. Drain in colander, reserving 1/3 c. cooking liquid. Combine reserved liquid, egg and milk stirring with whisk.


Heat nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and onion to pan and saute 2 mins. Add Vermouth , cook 1 minute. Add pasta mixture and stir to combine. Remove from heat, stir in milk mixture, chicken and cheese. Place pan over medium heat and cook 4 minutes or until slightly think, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, salt, pepper and bacon.

I cannot remember in what magazine I found this, but we absolutely love this one. I love Rigatoni because it is a more al dente noodle. I also love Rigatoni recipes because they are generally pretty salty for some reason...the salt and the bacon in this recipe really make it that much better.

My only tip would be to fully prep before you start cooking. I have everything chopped up and measured out because once the pasta is boiled, the rest happens really fast so you need everything at your fingertips.

Enjoy!