Cacio e Pepe

A classic Italian pasta dish with simple ingredients that will always be a crowd-pleaser. Cacio e pepe is one of our favorite pasta dishes to make!

I recently bought myself a sleep mask because my mom told me that on their last trip to Taiwan (19 hour flight), she used one and it really helped her sleep because you weren’t bothered by someone else’s reading light or someone’s laptop screen. Jason and I are headed back to Taiwan in April and I wanted to try out a sleeping mask before our flight. I heard that it could take a while to get used to or you wanna try using it before you actually need it in case it doesn’t work out or something. So, anyway, I bought this one. I didn’t know there was so many to choose from. I chose that one cause I liked how big it was (no light leakage) and I liked that there were beads in it, kinda like those therapeutic wraps you see at massage places. I felt that the beads would hold the mask down so the light leakage would be minimal and I also liked that it could be used hot or cold or room temperature. Anyway, so the first night I used it, oh my goodness. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep so fast in my life. I mean, who knew that having COMPLETE darkness would cause me to fall asleep so quickly?! I’ve been using it for over a week now and I must say, I love sleep masks and I don’t know if I can sleep without one now! It does end up off my face, though, by morning, but that’s cause I think I unintentionally take it off myself in the middle of the night. I’m so weird. I don’t even realize I do this! Ok, so now after testing this out, I’m super happy/excited to see how well this sleep mask will do on my 19-hour flight to Taiwan. Hopefully, fingers crossed, I’ll sleep through most of it; with some help from alcohol and xanax, of course.

Annnnnd so far, this entire post has been about how much I love my sleep mask. Do any of you sleep with a sleep mask or wear it during long flights?

Funny story about this pasta. Jason and I have long since ditched a lot of processed cheeses. Like, we get fresh blocks of cheese and grate them ourselves as opposed to getting it pre-shredded or in a bag only because they’re so gritty and gross and just doesn’t melt perfectly. I mean, yeah, it’s convenient, but the more often I’ve grated cheese, the more relaxing it is..until you grate your knuckles (haha, not that I’m speaking from experience or anything..).

Anyway. So, one day, we were sitting at home and I don’t know what got into me but I was like, ‘omg, I’m seriously craving the powdered parmesan cheese in that green jar. Like hardcore. I just want to taste it and have it bring me back to childhood.’ Surprisingly, Jason actually agreed he’s missed that taste, too, so we ran to the store and got this HUGE jar of it. We made this pasta that night and doused it in the powdered parmesan. It was so satisfying and so good. You just have to let go some days and indulge in the processed goods. You just have to. It’s childhood. It’s LIFE.

Would you believe me if I told you we made this pasta every day for three days? That powdered parm is like crack!

Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e pepe is a quick and easy pasta dish with a small ingredient list that will be sure to please on any dinner night!

4 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Julie Chiou

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 1 pound dried spaghetti pasta
• ▢ 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
• ▢ ½ cup Parmesan cheese + more for topping, (can either be freshly grated or the green jar kind)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground black pepper + more for topping
• ▢ Salt, to taste

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Instructions

• In a large stockpot, boil water and cook spaghetti according to directions on box.
• Remove and drain well. Put pasta in a large bowl and place pads of butter on top and toss to melt.
• Toss with Parmesan cheese, ground black pepper, and salt (to taste).
• Serve and enjoy!

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NUTRITION FACTS

Serving: 0.25 of recipe | Calories: 531 kcal | Carbohydrates: 83 g | Protein: 19 g | Fat: 15 g | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 4 g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Course: Main Entree, Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: homemade, quick and easy