Barbaras Italian Wedding Soup Food

BARBARA'S ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• In a 6-qt. stockpot, cook sausage, shallots and garlic over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink, 6-8 minutes, breaking up sausage into crumbles. Drain., Add broth to sausage mixture; bring to a boil. Stir in orzo, pepper and escarole; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until orzo is tender, 10-12 minutes. Stir in parsley before serving.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
• In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

BARBARA'S TEA CAKES (COOKIES)

Steps:

• Cream together sugar & shortening until fluffy.
• Add eggs & vanilla. Mix well.
• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Add alternately to mixing bowl with the milk.
• Beat until well mixed.
• Dump onto lightly floured surface & knead until dough is smooth.
• Place in sealed bag or covered bowl. Chill several hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll dough on floured surface taking care to not add too much flour. The thinner the cookie the crispier it will be. I prefer them softer so leave my dough about 1/4-1/3 inch thick.
• Cut as desired. Place on ungreased cookie sheets with room to expand. Rolling the scraps together take care to not overwork the dough. The additional flour makes the cookies tougher.
• Bake approx 10 minutes or until done & lightly brown. They should still be very white.
• Cool a few minutes & then remove to cookie racks to finish cooling before decorating.
• Glazing; Sift the powdered sugar to remove all lumps. Stir in the vanilla & the milk a tablespoon at a time. Whisk together until the desired consistency is reached. To use as a glaze I make it about the thickness of pancake batter. It is NOT spreadable like a frosting. Color as wanted to provide the background color.
• Lay the cookies as close as possible on wax paper. Spoon the glaze over the cookies sparingly. Use the spoon to smooth the glaze to the edges of the cookies. Let dry.
• If more decorating is planned the glaze does support both buttercream & royal icings.