Italian cooks...do you have this recipe?

Try Jamie Oliver's recipe for Sausage Carbonara:

Sausage Carbonara

from Jamie's Italy

4 good-quality Italian Sausages

olive oil

4 slices of thickly cut pancetta, chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. dried linguine

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 1/2 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

zest of 1 lemon

a sprig of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

extra virgin olive oil

With a sharp knife, slit the sausage skins lengthwise and pop the meat out. Using wet hands, roll little balls of sausage meat about the size of large marbles and place to one side.

Heat a large frying pan and add a good splash of olive oil. Gently fry the meatballs until golden brown, then add pancetta and continue cooking for a couple of minutes, until golden. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to the package.

In a large bowl, whip yolks, cream, half of the Parmesan, lemon zest and parsley. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the pasta water. Immediately toss the pasta and the egg mixture in the pasta pot. Add the hot sausage and toss everything together. The egg will cook delicately from the heat of the pasta, just enough for it to thicken and not scramble. The sauce should be smooth and silky. if the pasta becomes a little sticky add a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water to loosen it slightly. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan, season if necessary, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and serve. Eat immediately!

Pasta al Pesto e patate. (pasta with pesto sauce and potatoes ) Pesto is a ligurian Sauce. The basic ingredients of pesto sauce are common to all these recipes: fresh basil leaves, cheese (either Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino), pine nuts , garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. 4 cups basil leaves, well packed 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled 3/4 cup of pine nuts 1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese (or a combination of the two) 1-1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil (don't use other oils) salt and pepper to taste Place basil leaves and garlic in food processor or blender and process until leaves are finely chopped. Add nuts and process until nuts are finely chopped. Add cheese and process until combined. With the machine running, add olive oil in a slow, steady stream. After the oil is incorporated, turn off the machine and add salt and pepper to taste. If not using immediately, store in an air-tight container with a thin coating of olive oil on top to keep the sauce from turning dark. Pesto will keep well in the refrigerator for a week or more As you see, the sauce is already made and you don't have to cook nothing! It is very easy, isn't it? Now you made the sauce, you have to cook pasta. Choose a type of pasta: spaghetti, trenette, fusilli or trofie are the most used. You have to cut potatoes in little pieces ( so that they can be boiled in about 11-12 minutes ) Don't forget to put a little salt in the water in the saucepan! You have simply to cook pasta, but you have to add the potatoes too. Pasta and potatoes must be put only in BOILING water. When it is ready, drain it all and in a bowl mix the sauce with the pasta and potatoes. If you want you can add parmesan. greetings from Liguria, Italy. I Hope I helped you P.s. I 've never heard nothing about Italian Pretsels. Isn't it surprising? If you want you can add green beans with the potatoes but I'm afraid I don't know how long do they take to be cooked in the boiling water.

ITALIAN DINNER

1 (32 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce

1 (4 oz.) pkg. pepperoni slices

1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms, chopped

1/2 c. sliced black olives

1 med. onion, chopped

1/2 c. green pepper, chopped

8 oz. Mozzarella cheese, grated

1 lg. pkg. shell macaroni

Combine spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, onion and pepper in crock pot. Cook on high until onion and peppers are done. Add cooked macaroni and 1/2 of cheese about 10 minutes before serving. Top with remaining cheese.

For busy days: Combine first 6 ingredients and 1/2 cheese in crock pot on low in morning. Add cooked macaroni, top with cheese just before serving for supper.