Zucchini & Sausage Carbonara

Another recipe you may not want to quote me on since I was inspired by a couple of recipes when making it. I'd say I was inspired by Emeril's use of sausage, but more closely followed Jamie's.

Zucchini & Sausage Carbonara
2 Johnsonville sweet Italian sausages, removed from casings
1/4 lb ground turkey (I had it on hand and threw it in, but you could easily just use another sausage link)
2 green zucchini
2 yellow squash
(I also used one variegated green/yellow squash, but you can just use one more of a green or yellow)
1 pound of freshly made whole wheat fettuccine from the farmer's market (or dry, whole wheat penne)
4 large egg yolks
1/2 c cream (I filled my measuring cup half to 2/3 of the way with cream, and then filled it the rest of the way with ff half and half)
2 good handfuls freshly grated Parm (I had shredded, so that's what I used)
1 tsp of thyme (smoosh it up in your hand or between your fingers before adding)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Halve and then quarter any larger zucchini lengthwise. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the zucchini at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller zucchini can simply be sliced finely. Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the package instructions. If you're using fresh pasta - hold off on this until the sausage and zukes are cooked since it will cook up so quickly.

Add a couple of tsp of olive oil to a pan and heat over med-hi. Add meat and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up into small crumbles as you go. Depending on how big your pan is, maybe you can get the zucchini in too, but I took the meat out, leaving all of it's meaty goodness behind in the pan, and cooked the zukes up with some salt, pepper, and the thyme so they dry fried a little, getting nice and brown in some spots, but soft and cooked through overall.

To make the carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.

It's very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the zucchini & sausage, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you'll scramble the eggs.)

Add more of the cooking water if needed to get a nice shiny sauce and top with the rest of the parm. I tore up some squash blossoms on top as garnish as well. Serve immediately!