In the first week after getting home from Rome, I thought I should make pasta (home-made fettucine with cacio e pepe sauce) before the method we were taught etc. disappeared from my brain! It was moderately successful.
But I did a couple of things I read on the internet that I wouldn’t do again. One site said it was better and quicker to cook the pasta in a deep-sided skillet instead of a saucepan, but I think that only contributed to the glugginess of the pasta water and I’ll cook it in a saucepan the next time. I also used a WHOLE wedge of pecorino instead of measuring a quantity—about half would’ve been more than enough. That contributed to the glugginess too. I didn’t measure the cracked black pepper and put a lot in to toast lightly—the amount I used was perfect and the toasting certainly brought out the peppery flavours!
Despite using exactly the same recipe, both nests of pasta turned out a little differently in colour and texture
I grated and shaved a whole wedge of pecorino! I’ll measure it next time…
Toasting the cracked black pepper certainly enhances the flavour—that’s a winner!
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 
Thanks for all of the blog posts about your European vacation. I read them one day at a time, just as you experienced them. Having never been there, I learned a great deal.
Anne Suk Idaho, USA
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