But today, they’re cooking! For Valentine’s Day dinner at home, they’re making this bucatini carbonara with leeks and lemon, an adaptation of a longtime favorite recipe here on AK. If you’re still looking for something to make for dinner tonight, this one couldn’t be simpler to throw together: cook bacon, reserve the fat, use the fat to cook leeks; boil pasta, toss with eggs, fresh lemon juice, grated parmesan, and a little bit of pasta cooking liquid. Toss it all together, add some fresh parsley, and serve with more parmesan and lots of pepper. That’s it! Head over to Studio McGee to get all of the recipes , and try not to get distracted while you are there. Spoiler: That will be impossible. I love this post: How to Create a Gallery Wall. Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone. Shea and Syd McGee of Studio McGee: And last but not least, dessert! Gourmet’s Double Chocolate Cake, Revisited. More desserts here. 5 from 3 reviews To clean leeks: Place the sliced leeks in a large bowl filled with cold water. Do this as the bacon cooks. After about 10 minutes, lift the leeks out of the bowl with your hands and transfer to a colander—this allows the dirt that has settled to the bottom of the bowl to stay settled. When transferring the leeks to the sauté pan, be sure the bacon fat isn’t super hot—remove the pan from the heat. It’s OK if the leeks are still wet—a little water clinging to the leeks is a good thing. This has been a longtime favorite recipe here on AK—here’s the original recipe. You can make it with short pasta, too, but I’ve been loving this bucatini. And in regard to Valentine’s Day, somehow bucatini feels more special than short, stubby shapes.
