Penne with Carbonara and Basil Sauce

Aku ni halwa tekaknya lebih kepada masakan Melayu, so obviously I cook more Malay dishes rather than Western la kan?  Tapi living in a house with other two house-mates yang cravings-nya berbeza-beza, I have to be fair.  One is more to western, the other is 'eat all he can' and myself, I prefer Malay delicacies especially those from the East coast.  Given the fact that I have too little choices and being the Head Chef in the house (don't be mistaken for I am no Chef myself - just in my house),  aku terpaksa juga masak makanan yang bukanlah kegemaran aku.  Hey! that's nothing new as back in 2003, when I opened a small roadside stall, aku menjual sarapan yang aku sendiri akan jarang makan. Macam Nasi Dagang, Laksang (Terengganu slang) dan a few other things, just to cater to the local taste buds. Many thanks goes out to my Mom who's an expert in all of these dishes and taught me how to prepare them.

Some of the locals who frequented my stall would be surprised, especially after learning that I don't even fancy most of the food that I prepare. But still, when you enjoy seeing people indulging in the food you prepared, you will always be more then happy to cook something which is not of your preference to eat.

Enough of re-living the past,  let's live today's moment preparing food (of which is not the one that I would prefer to do... ). But heck, looking at Lynn and ToH who kept digging the serving spoon into that casserole dish for seconds and thirds, I know that somehow I am reaching yet, another victory in this department.

Let's get started..

Ingredients

1. A packet of Penne Pasta
2. Button mushrooms (slice or halves)
3. 250 gm beef bacon, grilled on pan and keep the pan juice then sliced or chopped
4. 2 cloves of garlic smashed or chopped finely
5. A few dash of Olive oil
6. 3 eggs
7. 200 ml cooking cream 
8. 300 ml fresh milk
9. 100 gm of Parmesan cheese
10. A handful of fresh Basil

Method 

1. Fry the beef bacon and garlic in olive oil until crisp in a pan and set the bacon aside and leave it to cool before slicing or chopping
2. Boil Penne in a pot
3. In the same beef bacon pan that has all the bacon pan juice (don't turn on the heat yet), mix the eggs, cooking cream, milk and Parmesan cheese
4. Turn on heat, adjust to low heat and stir in all the ingredients until gravy thickens
5. Once gravy is thickened, add in the cooked beef bacon and mushrooms
6. Add in salt (you can add black pepper if you like, but not too much)
7. Right before you turn off the heat, add in basil
8. Drain the cooked Penne, and add in to the Carbonara sauce
9. Toss the pan to coat the Penne
10. Dish up onto plates and you could sprinkle some grated Parmesan on top
11. If you have extra basil, garnish it on top

Note/Tips : The reason why I add the basil leaves shortly before turning off the heat is to ensure that it is not overcooked that'll result in the colouring of the leaves to turn black.

** Happy trying peeps! **