Recipe: Italian Wedding Soup

We've been eating leftovers (the Rick Bayless enchiladas I posted last weekend, more Martin Yan dumplings I made, and a beef daube stew my husband cooked up last weekend).  So, today it was time to make something new.  I was craving souffles and since we had some gruyere in the fridge, we made Gruyere and Parmesan Cheese Souffles.  I still get excited when the souffles rise beautifully.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gruyere-and-Parmesan-Cheese-Souffle-103223

We also had some spinach that we needed to use up, and I'd seen Grace Parisi's recipe for Italian wedding Soup (that calls for spinach) in the new Food and Wine Magazine (Feb 2012) we received the other day.  On a cold day like today, it was perfect and a nice complement to the souffles.  We decided that the soup is  perfect if you need something hearty, basic and quick. 

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/italian-wedding-soup

A few suggestions:

• Add herbs
• Saute the meatballs first to give them more flavor and color
• Use 3/4 orzo and double the amount of celery and carrots (we like hearty soups that can stand alone as a meal)