Spaghetti Carbonara

I have 2 of Rachel Ray's first cookbooks, and the only thing I've been able to make out of it was this dish. I saw her make it once on her Foodnetwork show, 30-Minute meals, and it looked pretty easy and tasty. So I tried to finally make it and I was hooked. I substituted some of the ingredients with items that were easily accessible, like bacon instead of pancetta, grated parmesan instead of Parmigiano Reggiano. And it still tasted really good.

1/4 lb. bacon, chopped
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked according to the package (reserving some of the pasta water to use later)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 eggs
splash of milk
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
black pepper to taste

1) Cook the bacon in a small pan over medium-heat until it begins to brown. Remove from heat and place on paper towels to absorb the oil. Combine eggs, a splash of milk and a few tablespoons of the pasta water and whisk together. Set aside.

2) Heat garlic and olive oil in a large skillet over very low heat. Add red pepper flakes, if you decided to use it. Toss the cooked pasta in the skillet and evenly coat with the oil. Add the bacon pieces. Pour egg mixture evenly over the pasta. Rapidly stir pasta to cook the eggs. Turn off heat. Add cheese, parsley and black pepper to taste. Serve hot, with more parmesan cheese on top.