Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian “al dente.”) Drain the pasta well, reserving 1 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you need to add moisture.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large, deep-pan, large enough to hold your pasta after you’ve cooked it until fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp.  Remove bacon, drain any excess dripping, leaving about two tablespoons. Add olive oil and toss in the garlic and saute to soften.

Turn off the heat and let the pan cool. In a small bowl beat the two eggs and stir in the Romano or Parmesan. Add to the cooled pan and whisk to combine. Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss. Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency.

Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley, shavings of cheese and the reserved bacon. Pass more cheese around the table.

Nutrition: Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 532 Calories; 22g Fat (37.3% calories from fat); 24g Protein; 59g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 106mg Cholesterol; 560mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 3 Fat.