Comic Book Carbonara: A Graphic Novel Pasta from Cleo Coyle

When I first met my husband, he whipped up a fantastic spaghetti carbonara that has since become part of our menu. Because he’s part Italian, and because both his mother and father taught him how to cook, I assumed his recipe came from one of them. Not so. Marc informed me that he found the recipe in a 1980's comic book.


Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

The comic was Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg!, launched in 1983. Fans of this series include Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon, who hailed Flagg as a precursor to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction.

Flagg is not for everyone. It presents a hard-boiled look at life in 2031—after nuclear war and an economic collapse leave things a tad chaotic in the USA. How bad do things get in Chaykin's 2031? One example: The broken down piano player who inhabits the local lounge is Princess Diana's oldest son.

As for today's recipe, spaghetti carbonara happens to be the favorite dish of Rubin Flagg, the comic book's hero. The recipe was published in the same issue that Rubin cooked it up. (Recipes included in fiction! Is that a good idea or what?) 


Carbonara also appears in
On What Grounds:
A Coffeehouse Mystery
Click here to learn more.

Marc made the recipe one day, and it is now part of our personal culinary history. Carbonara is also part of our publishing history because it plays a diverting role in our first Coffeehouse Mystery, On What Grounds. When two alpha male characters argue about the proper way to prepare the dish, our amateur sleuth (Clare Cosi) breaks up the deadlock before cleavers are thrown.

As far as this dish's actual history, pasta carbonara may not have originated in Italy. Some say Italian immigrants developed it in America during the Depression, which is easy for me to believe since my father, who grew up during that era, remembers the "old timers" throwing lard into the skillet to start everything from sautéed vegetables to pasta sauce. 

Some believe the dish was created during World War II, when ingredients common to American GI's—bacon, powdered eggs, and powdered milk—were handed out to hungry Italian citizens during the American occupation. (For more on the history of this dish, click here.)

Today Italians make this dish, which they call pasta alla carbonara, with raw eggs instead of cream (which is more commonly used in versions found in the US, France, Spain, and the UK). Italians also use pancetta or guanciale (types of Italian bacon). To each his own, as they say. And, when it comes to this recipe, our own is below...

 

Cleo Coyle's
Comic Book Carbonara

Adapted from the comic book series American Flagg!

To download a free PDF of this recipe that you can print, save, or share, click here.




With bacon and cream, you'd think this dish would be heavy, but it's very light and so delicious that a single bowl truly satisfies. Paired with a spinach or tomato salad, it's a complete meal for us. In the summer, we'll eat it as a late lunch or early dinner and simply finish the day with a fruit salad and frozen yogurt.

One last note: The pasta you see in my pictures is Garden Delight spaghetti from Ronzoni. It's enriched with tomato, carrot, and spinach, which provides a full serving of vegetables per 4 ounce portion. The flavor and texture were very nice and the colors let our eyes eat first. 

Ingredients

12 - 16 ounces spaghetti (usually 1 package)
(about) 8 ounces bacon (we use 5 thick-cut bacon slices)
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons heavy cream (+ a tiny bit extra, just in case)
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan) cheese
(optional) Ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Step 1 – Make spaghetti according to package directions.

Step 2 – While your pasta water is coming to a boil, begin to make the cream sauce. Into a large skillet, slice up the bacon. I simply snip the bacon slices into ¼- to ½-inch pieces using kitchen shears. Turn the heat up to medium and begin to sweat the bacon pieces. After a few minutes, as the fat begins to render (but long before the bacon browns or crisps), toss in the garlic.

Sweat the bacon and
toss in whole garlic cloves...

Step 3 – When the bacon is browned and cooked through (but not crisp or dry), remove the garlic cloves and drain the bacon grease out of the pan. Set aside and finish cooking your spaghetti. When the spaghetti is completely drained, set aside and finish the sauce.


Step 4 – To the pan with the cooked bacon, add a tablespoon of butter. As soon as the butter melts, stir in the cream. Simmer the mixture until it thickens. If the sauce breaks, simply add a bit more cream and stir again.

Remove the garlic, drain the bacon fat,
toss in a pat of butter and the cream...

Step 5 – Add the cooked and drained spaghetti to the large skillet. Pour the grated cheese over the pasta and toss...

Place a pepper grinder and a small bowl of grated cheese
on the dinner table for guests to finish their plates to their taste.

Then plate that pasta up and...



Eat with joy! 

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice). 

Friend me on facebook here.

Follow me on twitter here. 

Visit my online coffeehouse here.

To view the
Coffeehouse Mystery
book trailer, click here.

 

Thank You,
Readers!


Our hardcover bestseller
is now a bestseller
in paperback...

*Starred Review ~ Kirkus
"Top Pick" ~ RT Book Reviews
"A highly satisfying mystery" - PW

Billionaire Blend
A Coffeehouse Mystery

This culinary murder mystery features
more than 30 delicious recipes, including
secret "off the menu" coffee drinks.
Read (and eat) with joy!

See the Billionaire Blend
Recipe Guide by clicking here.

***

Download a Free Title Checklist for
all 13 Coffeehouse Mysteries

(with mini plot summaries)
by clicking here.

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fun E-Newsletter and weekly
free coffee drawings,
click here.

Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries

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with mini plot summaries,

by clicking here.

The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

Memorial Day is all about our honoring the brave veterans who protect the freedoms that we hold so dear.  Today, I'm sharing a video that moved me.  If you haven't heard about this, apparently Newsweek included Grand Rapids, Michigan in a list of dying American cities.  The people of Grand Rapids had a thing or two to say about that!

I love this video.  It represents the very best of America -- the men and women who live here and their indomitable spirit.  No matter what happens in Washington, no matter what the gas prices do, or how many natural disasters hit us, no matter political beliefs or heritage or religion, we are America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.  We will endure. 

But wait!  I haven't forgotten about food.  After all, you need something to eat today whether you're having a picnic, the first cookout of summer, lounging by the beach, or staying home with a great book.


Sometimes, if you're having an easy cooking night and planning to simply grill a steak or burgers, the easiest way to perk it up a little bit is with a quick and easy topper like onions cooked in red wine.

I had a lovely bottle of sweet red table wine sitting on my kitchen counter, and I was determined to use it.  This recipe is so easy that it qualifies for lazy day cooking, but it packs a punch when it comes to flavor.  I happened to have sweet red wine on hand, but a dry red wine would work just as nicely.  We ate it on bison burgers and it was exactly the right touch.

Red Wine Onions

1 onion, sliced in rounds

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup red wine

salt to taste (optional)

Saute onion in oil until translucent.  Pour in red wine and simmer until the wine is almost gone.  Serve as a topper on burgers or other meats.

If this isn't quite up your alley, we have a few other suggestions that might do the trick!

Cleo Coyle's Copycat Starbucks Frappucino

Julie Hyzy's Grilled Avocados

Riley Adams's Lip Smacking Barbecue

Vegetarian Pulled Pork from Wendy Watson

Sheila Connolly's Asparagus and Chicken Pasta

Mary Jane Maffini's Easy Breezy Brunch

Lemon Chess Pie by Chef Paul Yates

 

Avery Aames's Strawberry Shortcake

  

To our veterans, to our fallen, to our heroes --

we honor you.

Thank you for your service.

Happy Memorial Day

Sweet Revenge

A very warm welcome to Andrea Penrose.  Her new mystery series, set in Regency England, is sure to appeal to our history buffs, anglophiles, chocoholics, and mystery lovers.  Um, that covers just about all of us, doesn't it?  Here's Andrea!


My new historical mystery series, which kicked off last month with the debut of SWEET REVENGE, is all about intrigue, revenge, murder  . . . and chocolate! Now a number of people have asked me—did edible chocolate exist in Regency England (this, is, was Jane Austen eating bonbons?) Well, the answer may surprise you—it’s yes!





Several years ago, for my “real” job, I interviewed the head of a gourmet French chocolate company, which was originally founded by Marie Antoinette’s personal physician, and was fascinated to discover some amazing tidbits about the Regency and chocolate. So, when I started to create my heroine, Lady Arianna Hadley, her Caribbean background suddenly made an expertise in chocolate a perfect ingredient to her character.


Researching chocolate provided a number of delicious little discoveries. (Yes, I know, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!) Marie Antoinette complained about the unpleasant taste of her medicines, so her physician came up with the idea mixing it into a solid form of chocolate—a pistole or wafer-like disc that the Queen is said to have adored.  (The company, Debauve & Gallet, still offers Pistoles De Marie Antoinette . . . a 1.7 lb box costs the queenly sum of $200.) Her favorite flavor was said to be almond milk.)


What to know more about the history and lore of chocolate? Each chapter of SWEET REVENGE opens with a tidbit of history and a chocolate recipe, so I hope you will enjoy it! To whet your appetite, here’s one of the recipes—a sinfully delicious confection I call “Sweet Revenge” brownies!

Sweet Revenge Brownies

1 stick unsalted butter, plus 3 T
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus 4 oz. reserved
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 extra large eggs
1 T instant coffee
1 T vanilla
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 c walnuts


1. Preheat over to 350.

2. Melt the butter, 6 oz. of the semi-sweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate in a pan set over simmering water. Cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl stir together (don’t beat) eggs, coffee powder, vanilla and sugar. Add melted chocolate mixture and stir gently until well mixed. Cool to room temperature.

4. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder. Add to the chocolate mixture. Toss walnuts and remaining 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips together, and stir into batter. Grease and flour a baking pan (I like a 9x9” one so the brownies are thick, but you may prefer a 9 x 12”.) Spread batter evenly in pan.

5. Bake 20 minutes in top oven shelf. Switch to middle shelf and bake another 10-15 minutes.

For more information and fun historical facts on chocolate, please visit Andrea’s website at: www.andreapenrose.com

Have you heard about Wendy Watson's contest?

In honor of the June 7 release of A Parfait Murder (the third Mystery a la Mode), which features a story line about the Lantana Round-Up Rodeo Queen Pageant, she's giving away a little cowboy couture:  a leather and rhinestone cuff, and a “rodeo queen” keychain.

To enter, send proof of purchase of A Parfait Murder (either a receipt, or a picture of you holding the book, by e-mail to wendylynwatson@gmail.com.  Put the words “Parfait Giveaway” in the subject line.

Good luck!