My 10-year carbonara journey

I've only been to Italy once, and I cooked only a single meal while I was there. But its luxurious simplicity — toothsome pasta, salty cured pork cubes, sharp grated cheese and cracked pepper bound with glistening egg sauce — has haunted me since I first tasted it at a fine-dining Italian restaurant in Chicago as a young culinary student. But over time, I unriddled the method: Start with room-temperature eggs whisked together with the grated cheese, then slowly temper them with a few spoonfuls of pasta water. I recently made a batch using all-Midwestern ingredients, except for the peppercorns: Illinois eggs, bacon from Iowa duroc pigs, Wisconsin parmesan and romano and fresh tagliatelle from my favorite Chicago pasta restaurant — which might never have sold its handmade noodles for retail if not for COVID-19. thick-cut pancetta, guanciale or bacon, cut in 1/2-inch dice 3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more as needed 1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature 1/2 cup, plus 2 teaspoons freshly grated pecorino romano cheese 1/2 cup, plus 2 teaspoons freshly grated parmesan cheese 1 lb.