I’ve been excited to return to this month since I’ve found a lot of different recipe books and recipes online from my favorite video game series that I’ve been wanting to try out for a while now. So, for this first week, I thought I would do a classic recipe from The Sims 3.
When I was younger, I used to play the Sims all the time. So, whenever I went to make some food for my sims, I was always intrigued by this dish because of its interesting name. Apparently, the goopy part of this dish doesn’t come from the goopiness of the dish itself, but it is apparently a reference to a sim that existed in the Sims 2, named Goopy GilsCarbo. Also, though this dish isn’t actually cookable in the Sims 4, there is a cooking course in the University expansion pack called ‘Beyond Cooking Goopy Carbonara’ that will give your sims some cooking skill.
Speaking of learning how to cook, this recipe is adapted from this really well designed unofficial sims cookbook, which contains a bunch of recipes from the Sims 2, 3, and 4. I highly recommend getting a copy if you are a Sims fan or even if you like good food. These recipes are good apart from their origins since of course the recipes in the game are based on real life ones.
Thankfully, this dish, like the one in the video game it comes from, is really simple and quick to make and requires basically no cooking skill at all, in the game and in real life. Technically, this dish in the game requires onions, which wasn’t included in this version, but if you wish, you may add and sauté it before you add the garlic and wine.
But in either case, I highly recommend making this dish if you’re looking to save some time on a weeknight or if you want more time to play in your virtual kitchen rather than your real life one.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon (or more if you like bacon)
- 1 clove garlic (or more if you like garlic)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (I like using chardonnay for creamy dishes like this one, but any white wine should work well)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon or so ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon or so salt
- 1 pound dry spaghetti
- Some parsley
Step 1: Set Pot to Boil
First, in a large pot, add 6 quarts or so of water and your salt and set this to boil.
Step 2: Heat Up Oil in Pan
While we wait, we’ll prepare the ingredients for the sauce. In a large skillet over medium heat, add in the olive oil.
While we wait for that to get hot, chop up your bacon into bite sized pieces and peel and mince up your garlic.
Step 3: Cook Bacon
Once your oil is hot, add in the bacon and cook it until it crisps up, about 5 minutes or so.
Step 4: Remove Bacon & Cook Garlic & Wine
Transfer the bacon to a paper towel and reserve about 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
For the extra fat, you can save it in the fridge and use it for other recipes that call for some sort of fat or oil. Or I guess you can just toss it in the trash if you like throwing away liquid gold.
But in either case, return the pan to heat and add back in your reserved bacon fat and also add in the minced garlic and wine.
Cook this until it reduces by half or before the garlic starts to burn, about 4 minutes or so and then remove this from the heat.
Step 5: Cook Spaghetti
Your water should be boiling by now, so add in the spaghetti, ensuring that it is all submerged in the water.
Cook this according to package directions, but reduce the cooking time by 1 or 2 minutes, since we’ll finish it off in the sauce.
Step 6: Mix Eggs w/ Cheese & Heavy Cream
While we wait for the pasta to cook, in a medium bowl, add in the eggs, along with 1/2 cup of the cheese, the heavy cream, and pepper, and mix this all together.
Step 7: Drain Pasta & Reserve Some Water
Once your pasta is ready, reserve 1 cup or so of the pasta water, then drain pasta well.
Step 8: Add Spaghetti to Sauce Reduction
Return the garlic-wine-bacon fat reduction to the stove and heat it to medium heat.
Once it’s hot again, add in the spaghetti and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water.
Toss the pasta so that each strand is coated in the sauce and the pasta is steaming hot. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add in the egg mixture while tossing to mix.
If the sauce seems too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s loosened to your liking.
Step 9: Garnish w/ Bacon, Cheese, & Parsley, & Serve
Then, to serve your pasta, transfer to a serving platter or directly to a plate. Garnish with the cooked bacon and some of the remaining grated cheese along with some parsley if desired, and your Goopy Carbonara is ready to eat.