Italian Wedding Soup

I recently had Italian Wedding Soup at an engagement party. It was so delicious, I was inspired to make some. 

Thanks, Dudley, for the inspiration!

Dudley said she used Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup recipe. I used what I had on hand--a mixture of kale and baby spinach, ground chicken & ground pork, a random small pasta and canned chicken broth. It didn't seem as good as Dudley's but it was still really good!

Did you know that, according to Wikipedia, the name Italian Wedding Soup comes from the expression in Italian that the meat and greens "marry", or go well together?

I guess that means that they don't serve it at all weddings in Italy.

I think the meat and greens go well together, indeed. I like it with a little shaved parmesan cheese on top.

Italian Wedding Soup

adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1/2 lb. ground chicken
1/2 lb. chicken or pork sausage, casings removed
1 cup bread crumbs or dried stuffing mix, moistened with 1/2 cup broth or milk
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons each, chopped thyme and oregano
1/4 cup grated Romano & 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced onion
1 cup diced celery with leaves
2 cans chicken broth and enough water to make 10 cups
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta, cooked and drained
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
12 ounces baby spinach or kale, washed, ribs removed from kale

 I snipped this parsley, thyme & oregano from my front yard.

 For the meatballs, mix ingredients in a large bowl.

Form into small meatballs and set aside.

Ina bakes the meatballs for 30 minutes at 350ºF, I dropped mine to cook right into the soup. But that comes later.

 Mince the garlic and finely chop the celery and onion. I used Chinese celery, which is mostly leaves and thin stems. I picked some up at my local Chinese market, it looked so fresh.

Saute the garlic, celery, onion, parsley, thyme and oregano in 2 tablespoons olive oil until wilted, then add the chicken broth, wine and water. I didn't have dill, but it's good with dill.

Boil another pan of water for the noodles, cook & drain.

 When the soup boils, drop in the meatballs and stir gently. When the soup returns to boil, lower heat to medium and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Skim any foam that surfaces to the top and discard.

 Wash spinach and kale. Remove the tough ribs from the kale and tear into bite-sized pieces.

My sister-in-law Nancy always used to tease me for eating kale. She said it was a garnish. Now she says kale is her boyfriend.

 When the noodles are done and drained, and you're ready to serve the soup, add the spinach and kale. Stir gently. It takes less than a minute for the greens to wilt, that's when you want to serve the soup.

Add a sprinkling of pasta and some shaved Parmesan cheese if you like.

Itadakimasu!


***


Since I've been away from blogging for awhile, I've got a lot to catch-up on!

Dudley is on the left, she inspired me to make the soup.

Remember Jessica's yummy Thai Chicken Salad guest post? That's Jessica's mom Elyse on the right. She and Dudley are the proprietors of Bouquets and Bow Ties Events. You'll be seeing more of them here because...


Rick and Jessica are engaged!

We're having a wedding!

A couple of months ago, Jessica's parents hosted a wonderful engagement party. We were pleased to meet their family and friends.

In the early fall, Rick proposed in what will be their new home that is under construction.

 Here, he is putting the ring on her finger.

 Congratulations to the happy couple!

I think they just exude happiness.

Jessica and Rick met on an airplane. They were sitting next to each other and struck up a conversation over a book Rick had just finished reading. He gave her the book to read with his business card inside.

The rest is history!

This is the book.

 Rick wrote why he knows that she's The One on the inside cover of the book. I think that's so romantic.

Then they made a stepping-stone for their garden with their handprints.

Together, in the shape of a heart.

Ahhhh---Love.


***

Italian Wedding Soup

adapted from Ina Garten at FoodNetwork.com, makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1/2 lb. ground chicken

1/2 lb. chicken or pork sausage, casings removed

1 cup bread crumbs or dried stuffing mix, moistened with 1/2 cup broth or milk

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons each, chopped thyme and oregano

1/4 cup grated Romano & 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced onion

1 cup diced celery with leaves

2 cans chicken broth and enough water to make 10 cups

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup small pasta

1/4 cup minced fresh dill

12 ounces baby spinach or kale, washed, ribs removed from kale and torn into bite-sized pieces

Directions:

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken and sausage, bread crumbs moistened with broth or milk, oats, garlic, cheeses (if desired), egg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into a bowl and mix gently with a fork. Form into meatballs and set aside.

For the soup, heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a large pot. Add onion, celery, thyme, parsley, oregano and garlic and saute until wilted and soft, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken broth, wine and water and bring to boil. Boil pasta and drain. Drop the meatballs into the boiling soup. When the pot returns to boil, turn the heat down and simmer gently 10 minutes. When you're ready to serve the soup, return to boil and add the washed spinach & kale with ribs removed and torn into bite-sized pieces. Cook for about a minute or until greens are wilted. Serve with a scoop of pasta and garnish with shaved Parmesan.

Meatball Sandwiches

Happy New Year!

The last few months have been filled with a hectic craft show schedule, lots of traveling up and down California's Interstate 5, holiday visitors, family parties and the flu--but now we are back to cooking!

The other day my nephew Colin came over to make Meatball Sandwiches--we took a little detour to the Antojito Taco Truck--then got back to cooking.

I'm so happy that Colin has an interest in cooking with me and made time on his break from college to make a dish and share it on FOODjimoto.com.

This recipe makes a lot, enough for 6 meatball sandwiches with plenty of leftovers for us and a good care package for Colin to take home--so if you're not feeding a crowd, you may want to cut down the recipe to fit your needs. We also made a quick marinara-type sauce.

Ingredients:

marinara sauce

2-24 oz. cans plum tomatoes

2-24 oz. can tomato puree

3 slices bacon, thinly sliced and cooked until crisp

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup red wine

1 large sweet onion, chopped

oregano

meatballs

1  lbs. each ground turkey, ground beef & sausage

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 clove minced garlic

1 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

about 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper

sandwiches

mozzarella or provolone slices

french rolls

sliced peppers and onions, sauteed in olive oil and 1 teaspoon minced garlic

To make the quick marinara sauce, Colin thinly sliced 3 strips of bacon. 

He then minced 2 cloves of garlic. 

And chopped the onion--I was impressed with his knife skills--he's a natural at cooking. He cooked the bacon over medium heat until crisp, removed the fat, added 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 1/2 cups chopped onion which were sauteed until soft. 1/2 cup red wine was stirred into the mixture.

Then he added the canned tomatoes and added a generous pinch of dried oregano. 

 

Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer the marinara while you're making the meatballs.

Colin's gotten so tall the vent for the stove acts almost like a sneeze guard!

For the meatballs, crush about 1 1/2 cups of dried bread crumbs--you could use fresh breadcrumbs instead of dried. Moisten the breadcrumbs with a little (1/4 cup or so) milk or water. The more breadcrumbs--or filler, as my mom used to say--the softer the meatballs will be without having to simmer them a long time, which you'll have to do to make them soft if they're meatier.

Chop the parsley.

Starting at the top: 1 cup chopped parsley, 1 lb. ground sausage, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 cup crushed breadcrumbs, 1 1/2 cups chopped onions, 1 lb. ground turkey, 1 lb. ground beef, 2 eggs, dried oregano and a generous drizzle of Worcestershire sauce.

Mix well.

It's easiest to use your hands to mix the meatballs.

Now for the rolling--have a  bowl of water nearby to dip your hands in. This will keep the fat from the meat from sticking to your hands and make the rolling easier.

Colin used an ice cream scoop to make the meatballs and they were all uniform size.

Next, fry the meatballs in about 2 tablespoons oil until browned, then put them into the marinara sauce to simmer and finish cooking.

The meatballs don't have to be perfectly round, they may be many-sided.

 

When the meatballs are simmering in the marinara sauce, preheat the oven to 350ºF, then saute the peppers, onions and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft.

To build the sandwiches, slice the french rolls in half, add a little marinara sauce, then the meatballs.

Then add a scoop of the sauteed peppers and onions.

Then some cheese slices and bake about 5 minutes or until the bread is crispy and the cheese is melted.

I am thoroughly impressed with Colin's cooking skills!

That looks delicious, doesn't it!

Itadakimasu!

Colin only ate 1 meatball sandwich since he had eaten 4 tacos at the taco truck a couple of hours earlier!

Dipping the sandwich in some marinara sauce adds tastiness!

When we suggested he get on the road to beat the bulk of the traffic on the freeway on his 30 mile drive back to Tustin, he said,

"Just as soon as I clean up the kitchen."

Love you, CO!

***

This is Colin and I when he was just a few days old--Gary's sister and her family lived in Wisconsin then, and we all traveled out there to welcome Colin and help Nancy. Colin is a self-proclaimed Cheesehead. 

This is Colin and I a few years later. They had since moved back to Southern California. 

Boy, were all the Fujimotos happy!

 This photo was taken a couple of years ago at a baseball game.
I love that Colin makes his family a priority and is willing to give his Auntie a day of his vacation for cooking.

It's been a joy and a pleasure to watch this young man grow up, he makes us all proud!

 Thank you, Colin!

***

Ingredients:

marinara sauce: 2-24 oz. cans plum tomatoes,  2-24 oz. can tomato puree, 3 slices bacon, thinly sliced and cooked until crisp, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1/3 cup red wine, 1 large sweet onion, chopped, oregano. 

Cook bacon and drain fat. Add garlic and onion, cook until soft. Add tomatoes and red wine, bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

meatballs: 1  lbs. each ground turkey, ground beef & sausage, 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 cup chopped Italian parsley, 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (moistened with about 1/4 cup milk or water),  2 eggs, beaten, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, generous pinch of dried oregano and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients well and form into meatballs. Fry in about 2 tablespoons oil until browned, then transfer the meatballs to the marinara sauce. Simmer together gently for 20 to 30 minutes.

sandwiches: mozzarella or provolone slices, french rolls, and sliced peppers and onions, sauteed in olive oil with 1 teaspoon minced garlic.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Build the sandwiches by slicing the french bread, spreading a little marinara sauce on the rolls and adding meatballs. Then add a scoop of sauteed peppers and onions, and cheese slices. Bake for about 5 minutes or until bread is crusty and cheese is melted.