One of my favorite little restaurants in college served up a rich and creamy pasta dish called The Godfather’s Favorite. It was also my favorite. And probably lots of other people’s favorites. Perhaps it will be one of your favorites, too! I’m posting this recipe here at the request of, coincidentally, my goddaughter’s mom! Ooh. I just thought of a really clever name for my version of this recipe. Heh heh. I bet you’ve guessed it already…
Since I rarely make the trek back up to my alma mater, I had to figure out how to make this myself. Thanks to the Internet, I was able to experiment a bit and put together something really, really close. Warning: this dish is not healthy. Make it when you’re going to have a bunch of younguns over who are not yet concerned about their cholesterol, carb, or fat intake. Pair it with a side salad to make yourself feel a little better about it. But do make it. It’s creamy, tasty, and deeeeelicious!
Ten points to the first person who can name the restaurant this recipe is inspired by!
I like to make this with a rotisserie chicken from Costco. I hate dealing with raw chicken, so chopping up some white meat from a pre-cooked chicken saves time and mess for me. Also, I usually make this dish with penne, but I happened to only have casarecce pasta on hand the day I took the photographs for this post. I think chicken carbonara is traditionally made with spaghetti or fettuccine, so I think there’s some wiggle room if you don’t have penne on hand.
Although this dish is super yummy fresh from the stovetop, this is one of those dishes that I actually enjoy more the next day, reheated in the microwave. They’re the kinda leftovers you look forward to eating (if you have any)!
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This Godmother’s Favorite
aka Chicken Carbonara with Penne
adapted from this recipe at cooks.com
serves 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb. penne
- 10 oz. bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 egg yolks
Instructions
- Cook penne in boiling water for 10 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, saute the bacon bits until golden. Drain off some drippings, then add butter, chicken, and onion and cook until chicken is tender. If you are using a chopped-up rotisserie chicken, just cook until chicken is heated through.
- Drain penne and add into pan with chicken. Add cream, salt, and pepper and stir well over heat until just boiling. Add the cheese and egg yolks. Turn off heat and stir well.
- Place on serving dish and serve immediately.
This dish is great served with toasted french bread smeared with roasted garlic. Mm-mm!
11 responses to “The Godfather’s Favorite”
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Woohoo! This is my favorite dish at Gypsy’s too =)
Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Ten points to Ms. Emily :)! Haha…btw is it weird that I’m proud that we have the same fav dish?? 🙂
Hehehe, but how could we not have the same favorite dish? It’s reallyyy delicious! But I can’t have it too often, or else sophomore 15 (is that a thing?) will happen… Anyway, I’m definitely going to try this recipe!
Gypsy’s!!
5 points for second place ;).
Ooooh, I love the idea of these kind of dishes, but I can’t ever eat them. Somehow the cream sauce aways disagrees with me… but it LOOKS delish!!!
Thanks, Dakota! Cream sauce is not the healthiest, so maybe it’s not such a bad thing that you can’t eat it =). BTW I really appreciate that you read and leave positive and encouraging comments! 😀 Thanks!
You’re my newest blogger food crush. 🙂 I just showed your recipes to my husband (and the comment I left on the mango recipe) and he just laughed (also, he really wants the tea and pudding). Plus, l always try to leave comments if I really like the blog. Thank *you* for replying. I’ve come to realize how important it is! I eventually leave blogs that don’t reply unless there’s something else I’m getting from it that just can’t be found elsewhere. (And given the nature of text and how you can’t tell tone, that is just information and NOT any kind of a weird threat. 😛 Okay… now I sound weird.) Love it… especially the ethnic recipes. I’m always looking for good ones!
Dawww shucks, thanks, Dakota! I really appreciate your feedback and encouragement– it means so much to me! I catch up on blogs every week or so, and have enjoyed readings yours as well! 😀
Here a couple years later for the exact same reason. Go Bears!
Ahaha I love it! Go Bears!!