Gena vs. Giada

Sidenote:  All of my pictures that have to do with food are of the food itself, or of me eating it.  I think I need to work on getting someone to take some of me cooking it.

Sidenote #2:  I totally look this put together when I'm at home cooking too.  Seriously, I tell no lies.

While both Giada and I are Italian, have names that begin with G and end in A, and love to eat, let's be honest.  There's really no competition between Giada and I.  That would be silly for a number of reasons.  Reason #1-I don't know Giada DeLaurentiis.  Therefore, realistically, there cannot be a competition.  Reason #2-Giada went to Le Cordon Blue in Paris, France to become a chef.  I went to my own kitchen to become a cook.  Reason #3-She has a number more years of experience and that whole born in Italy amoung fabulous cooks thing going for her.  Reason #4-I don't want to compete with her.  I adore her and her cooking and learn a lot from watching her shows and reading her cookbooks.  With that being said, here is my interpretation of one of her fabulous dishes I made last week.  Believe it or not, this was yet another "We haven't been to the grocery store so I need to work with what I have in my freezer/fridge/cabinets night." 

Giada's Carbonara

Which one is mine, which one is hers?  It's un-canny right?  I mean I know you want to dig into BOTH pages fork first and pig out!!  In case you really can't tell, and I'm sure you can, my dish is on the right.  This version of carbonara is absolutely lovely and different from traditional carbonaras.  You start by making a basil aoli in the food processor, there is no bacon or peas, and the fried egg to top it off is pure heaven.  I tweaked mine a bit due to ingredients I had on hand and it was still so, so good. 

Please make this soon.  It is a very fast recipe.  I think it only took me 30 minutes from start to finish.  Blake loved it and wanted the leftovers for dinner again the following night.  You can find the full recipe here.  Ciao!

Xo-Wife of Wright