I am making Carbonara with a chopped salad for a dinner party tonight and I have to attend to a family "crisis" for who knows how long before dinner

Can I cook my pancetta and reserve, and have my eggs whisked and ready to temper to add to the pasta? Right now I have my mise completed and am trying to buy time so I can tell someone else how to complete the pasta or quickly do it myself

sammichmaker
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7 Comments

boulangere September 25, 2019
You can even par-cook your pasta. Cook it until it's about 3/4 done - way more dente than al, in other words. Use tongs to immediately lift the pasta out ad into cold water. Run the bowl under the faucet, and toss until completely cooled. To reheat, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the drained pasta. Cook until heated through and done, 3-5 minutes, depending on your volume. Best of luck with your "crisis." I've been to a few of those myself. All the better to par-cook your pasta.
 
sammichmaker September 25, 2019
thank you so much! I didn't even think of par-cooking the pasta because I wanted the cooking water; I can still get it
 
boulangere September 25, 2019
You can even dip out as much as you need and refrigerate it along with the pasta. I neglected to mention to give the pasta a couple of slugs of olive oil tossed in before refrigerating.
 
boulangere September 25, 2019
Autocorrect gets too carried away with itself. A couple of GLUGS of olive oil..... How many whats in a slug?
 
sammichmaker September 26, 2019
Thank you very much for your suggestions. Dinner turned out great and I was able to make it home in time to finish it myself
 
boulangere September 26, 2019
Oh, I'm so glad! The "crisis" was confined to family, and didn't spill over onto dinner.
 
sammichmaker September 25, 2019
Please share any ideas! I have to leave in 10 minutes and probably won't be home until my guests arrive. This "bs" is very unexpected and I prefer not to cancel this dinner party and would rather be late haha
 
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