Ragu Bolognese

[Clove]

...But in the case of spaghetti carbonara, you need heavy cream to bring out the body in the sauce.

BG,

No food police here, BUT
In traditional Italian Carbonara, there is NO CREAM.
Eggs, pecorino Romano (or Parmesan), guanciale (or pancetta), and lots of black pepper. It's the black pepper that gives the sauce its' name "carbon"ara from coal dust.
If cream is used, it is only used in an "Americanized" version

[Bentley Green]

There IS a recipe that I got online from Giada DeLarentis that calls for cream, and she's of italian decent.

[BerryBaby]

I'm Sicilian and I take recipes and make them to my taste. Giada does that as well, as I'm sure many chefs do.

Clove is correct...there is no cream in authentic Carbonara.

[Bentley Green]

So do I.

Giada's recipe calls for prociuto, but I either leave that out or use less of it because it's way too salty.

[Pluff Mudder]

Giada's recipe calls for prociuto, but I either leave that out or use less of it because it's way too salty.

If you're leaving out the bacon or pancetta (and I bet you leave out the raw eggs too) then all you've got is a creamy cheese sauce. You can make the bacon or pancetta less salty by soaking it in water and change the water several times. People in the South do that with country ham that's too salty all the time.

[bakerman]

Since Giada is catering to an American audience, she will most likely keep some dishes more familiar to the American palate. A chef like Mario, I would expect to make a recipe as authentic as possible.

[Bentley Green]

If you're leaving out the bacon or pancetta (and I bet you leave out the raw eggs too) then all you've got is a creamy cheese sauce. You can make the bacon or pancetta less salty by soaking it in water and change the water several times. People in the South do that with country ham that's too salty all the time.

No.

I still use the eggs, and they DO eventually get cooked slowly because the eggs are used as part of the thickening ingredient, like for custard.

Usually, I taste all my dishes while still making them to see if they need any more salt.
This is where the recipe says; Adjust seasonings if desired.

Stuff that's too salty can be turned around to season food with the right amount of salt where it is not so overbearing.

A gravy packet came with the turkey that I cooked recently. Of course, it had a considerable amount of salt. The homemade stock made from the livers, heart and neck helped to balance out the salt, and no additional salt was needed. It tasted just right!

[Pluff Mudder]

I still use the eggs, and they DO eventually get cooked slowly because the eggs are used as part of the thickening ingredient, like for custard.

Yes, I know that for I've made the traditional Italian Carbonara several times. The heat of the pasta cooks the eggs.

Usually, I taste all my dishes while still making them to see if they need any more salt.
This is where the recipe says; Adjust seasonings if desired.

Boy, I never would have guess that!

[Bentley Green]

Trial and error.

You can get around that problem with stuff being too salty.

And don't forget that some of those cheeses also are salty. Like Emeril always says; "You can always add, but you can't take it away."

[BerryBaby]

If you add cream and parmesan to this, you have more of an Alfredo sauce. It's traditional if you use pancetta, eggs and parmesan. Anything else, and you have a different dish.