Books and Food

Fried Spaghetti

Yesterday afternoon I finished  the book Dead Irish by John Lescroart.  It was not my favorite.  I read it because, I like mystery or suspense series with recurring characters and my friend Barb suggested this author and this series. She really likes the main character, Dismas Hardy.  I didn't dislike him, but the book didn't keep my interest all that much.  To be fair, tho, I will give the 2nd book in the series a try.  Maybe it's like someone you meet and you're not sure you really like them and then once you get to know them, they turn out to be your best friend.
So, yes, I'll give John Lescroart a 2nd try.  I'll let you know how that one goes---when I get to it.
And now I'm in the beginning of Jodi Picoult's "Sing You Home."   I know it's had mixed reviews, but I'm enjoying the beginning.  I love the idea of music therapy.  I love the line--Every life has a soundtrack--because I've always believed that.

So, you know what I'm reading, now what am I eating?

My cousin Linda makes a dish she calls Fried Spaghetti.  It is different from most friend spaghetti recipes I've seen tho.   She fries bacon and onions and peppers  to add to the spaghetti.  Kind of like a pasta primevera but with crispy fried bacon added.  And sometimes I add zucchini and mushrooms too.
It's really quite good. We like the bacon ---I mean a person can add bacon to anything and it's instantly better, right?
Bacon and eggs tho---they go together like Barbie and Ken.  Like Anthony and Cleopatra.  Like  Bonnie and Clyde.  (I could go on...... but I won't)

I have a Cooks Illustrated magazine from last fall (2010) called Italian Favorites and in it there is a recipe for  Spaghetti with Fried Eggs.

Are you following me?  I thought....why couldn't I combine the two and make Fried Spaghetti with Fried Eggs.
It made sense in my mind, so I tried it.
The Handyman liked it a lot.  I did too.   I think you should try it sometime to see if you do too.
I might make the original recipe sometime to see if it's just as good---and I'm sure it is, as it's known as a Salerno-style pasta dish, and is very common in Naples, Italy.
But for my rendition we really liked the warm egg yolk dripping down into the pasta.

Fried Spaghetti with Egg

1/2 pound spaghetti
1/2 pound bacon --chopped
1/2 lg onion-- chopped
1/2 green bell pepper--chopped
1/2 red bell pepper--chopped
1 cup mushrooms--sliced
minced garlic --optional
red pepper flakes--optional
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
4 fried eggs

Cook spaghetti as usual, drain, set aside.  (save pasta water)

Fry bacon in large skillet for a few minutes, add other ingredients  (except Parmesan cheese) and cook until bacon is crisp. Drain off grease. 
Put spaghetti into the skillet with other ingredients, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.  (add pasta water if you think the spaghetti is too dry)

Take a skillet and heat. Add 2 Tbs oil and swirl to coat pan. Crack two eggs each into 2 separate bowls, then add eggs to pan, sliding then into hot skillet simultaneously from opposite sides of the pan  (so your white dont' spread too much)  Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny--2 to 3 minutes.  Uncover and remove from heat.

Put the spaghetti onto individual serving plates and top with a fried egg or two.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.