I started cooking professionally at 18, been doing restaurant work since. Got halfway through culinary school before switching majors.

Anyways, I don't really cook very often nowadays. I mostly keep it simple, but I'll share one of my favorite recipes for pasta. Don't ask for actual proportions, most of us don't bother measuring anything.

Chicken Carbonara

Chicken breast, I generally soak it in milk and grill it off with some salt and pepper. Grill to ~ 160 degrees inside, try and keep it moist, chicken turns to sand if you overcook it.

I prefer penne pasta for this, but you can really use any. Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop in the pasta, 6-7 minutes later it's done. Drain and rinse in cool water, set aside for later

Chop up some bacon and onions and cook it in a pan, drain off some of the fat, and add heavy cream to the pan. As the cream begins to reduce (bubble and thicken) add in a bit of pepper, more salt to taste if the bacon wasn't very salty, the pasta, grated parmesan cheese, an egg yolk and stir occasionally until thick. Add in chicken at the end if it's still hot. Don't let it reduce too far, it'll thicken a lot as it cools.

I haven't made this in a few months, but it's my favorite pasta recipe. Classical carbonara has mushrooms, and supposedly, has peas added.