Comedian Michael "Wheels" Parise is an executive chef classically trained in French, Italian, Mediterranean, and American Southern cuisine.  Here is his recipe for Italian Wedding Soup.  To see more of his culinary creations follow him on Instagram @wheelselive.  Bon Apetite!

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Ingredients:

¾ lb. ground chicken, turkey, pork, beef, veal, or a combination
½ cup dry bread crumbs or panko
3 large eggs
½ cup grated Romano cheese, divided
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups chicken stock
1 bunch greens (such as escarole) trimmed & torn into bite-size pieces (about 6 lightly packed cups)
red pepper flakes (optional)
lemon wedges (optional)


Instructions:

1. Combine ground meat, bread crumbs, 1 egg, and ¼ cup each of the cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper in a bowl. 

2. Mix, and form into ¾ to ½ inch balls.  You should have 20-30 meatballs, depending on how large you form them.

3. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium high heat.

4. Add the meatballs in batches and cook, turning until browned all over.  This should take 3-5 minutes.  (If they are still pink in the middle, don’t worry; they will continue to cook in the broth.)  Set them aside on paper towels or a paper bag to absorb excess oil.

5. In a 4-6 quart soup pot, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil over medium high heat.

6. Add the onion and garlic.  Sauté until the onions are tender and the garlic is soft, but not browned (about 5 minutes).

7.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.

8.  Add the greens, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

9.  Add the meatballs and cook another 5 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 eggs and cheeses in a small bowl, stirring with a fork to blend.

11. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the hot soup, stirring constantly.

12. Cover and simmer just until the eggs are a bit set, about 30 seconds.

13. Season to taste with salt and pepper, maybe even a pinch of red pepper flakes and a squirt of lemon juice.  Serve immediately.



Special Notes:

Serves 6-8

Leftover soup will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.  To re-heat, simmer gently over low heat.

So does that top photo get your mouth watering?  The work you put into this salad is well worth the wait!  I must admit, as I am typing this, I am eating a big bowl full of this Cold Summer Salad, and convincing myself that the copious amount of veggies in here negate all calories from the carbohydrates in the pasta. :)

(Really, though, it's ok - everything in moderation is just fine!)

This is the time of year to take advantage of the fresh produce available at local markets and make this salad sing!  At first glance, you may think that this may require a bit of prep work - but never fear - there's a reason why this recipe is here - in Emergency Eats!  It's because - this salad thrives on being made a few hours to a few days in advance.  Prepare it on a weekend and enjoy it fresh from the fridge 3 - 4 days afterwards.  No heating required.  It can be a hearty side dish that is very complimentary to bbq, or sit down and sink your teeth into forkfuls for lunch.

Like all creations that Chef Jeff puts into play, this salad is full of flavor.  This is no boring noodles with Italian dressing thing.  So pull up some vegetables, and let's plunge right in to this refreshingly tasty "salad".  And I say "salad" loosely, because there's no lettuce to be seen for miles around here. 

One more thing - this has a kids' seal of approval.  The sweet cherry tomatoes, the saltiness of the black olives, the fun rotini style pasta, and the juicy artichokes enhance the deliciousness of everything else.  It just all comes together, and you won't be serving chicken nuggets tonight!  Never hold back when it comes to young taste buds.  When you introduce new foods to kids at young ages, you will be surprised with the versatility of their palates over time!

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Ready, set, assemble!  On the left, the ingredients you will need for this dish, including the dressing.  On the right - all veggies, chopped and ready to join each other in culinary perfection. - Photo Credit:  Jeff Doucette

Salad Ingredients:

1 small can or jar artichoke hearts (NOT marinated!) - reserve liquid for dressing
1 can black, pitted olives, drained (sliced or whole)
1/2 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes (reserve liquid from jar)
1/2 - 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half (if you can't find cherry tomatoes, just cut regular tomatoes into 1 inch chunks)
2 cups broccoli (broken into 1" - 2" pieces) (blanched in boiling water for 1 minute and cooled in an ice bath)
1/2 - 1 medium red onion (if you want this salad really oniony, go with a whole onion, otherwise, I caution you, and just go with half!)
1 large lemon
1 bunch scallions (sliced into 1" pieces)
2 large carrots (thinly sliced)
1/2 lb. rotini pasta (if you can' find rotini pasta (the curly-q spirals), it's ok to substitute bow ties)

Dressing Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. white cider vinegar (or just plain white vinegar is fine!)
3 cloves garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
3 Tbsp. fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
3 Tbsp. fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried)
3 Tbsp. fresh parsley (or 1 tsp. dried)
2 Tbsp. fresh dill weed (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1 tsp. mustard
reserved liquid from artichoke hearts (approximately 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup sliced roasted peppers
reserved liquid from roasted pepper jar (approximately 1/4 cup)
reserved liquid from sun dried tomatoes (approximately 1/4 cup)

***Reserved liquid measurements are approximate!  You will probably have more from the artichoke hearts and less from the peppers and sun dried tomatoes, that's ok!***

Instructions:

1.  Bring 2 - 3 quarts of water to a boil.  Add 1 tsp. salt.

2.  While the water is coming to a boil, cut most of the stalk off of the fresh broccoli, and then snap off the florets with a small part of the stalk intact, using your hands.

3.  Add the broccoli to the boiling water for 60 seconds; then remove it from the water using a slotted spoon, and place it in an ice bath.  (An ice bath is ice water placed in a bowl. This stops anything put in here from cooking and instantly cools it down.)

4.  KEEP THE WATER BOILING ON THE STOVE!

5.  Add 1/2 lb. (usually 1/2 a box) of rotini pasta.  (Rotini is the curly-q pasta; but you can use bow ties, too.)  Boil the noodles for 8 minutes and NO MORE!  You want al dente noodles; not mush! 

6.  While the noodles are cooking, cut the carrots as thin as possible or use a mandolin on the thinnest setting.

7.  Get yo'self a BIG ASS bowl.  Start putting your veggies in there as you slice and dice them so you have plenty of room on your cutting board.  This bowl is where the salad will go anyway, so get it out!

8. Cut the ends off of the red onion and cut it in half lengthwise.  Remove the skin.  Slice and then dice as small as possible.  (This is the part where you may only want to use 1/2 the onion, depending on how onion-y you like things.)  Add it to the big ass bowl.

9.  Drain the black olives and slice into rings.  Add it to the bowl.

10.  Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters, and don't forget to reserve the liquid!  Why not pour the liquid directly into the blender (or food processor to save on dirty dishes! :)  Place the artichoke hearts ONLY in the big bowl.

11.  Cut the sun dried tomatoes into thin strips, and don't forget to reserve the liquid!  Add just the liquid to that blender (or food processor) because that's where it will end up anyway! :)  Place the sun dried tomatoes - you got it - in da bowl!

12.  By this time, your noodles are probably done.  8 minutes max!  Drain and rinse the noodles under cold water and set them aside.  (I know you're wanting to place them in the bowl, but not yet!)

13.  Keep on cutting!  Cut the green part of the scallions into 1/2" pieces, then cut the white part into thin rings.  Yes, place them in THE BOWL!

14.  Cut the tomatoes in 1/2 if using cherry tomatoes.  If you have regular size tomatoes, then go for 1" chunks.  Add them to the bowl.

15.  NOW, add your noodles to the bowl and toss everything about a bit.

16.  Prepare the dressing. Ok, ok, I'll break it down into steps for you. If you wanted to conserve on dirty dishes, you already should have your sun dried tomato liquid and your artichoke heart liquid in the blender or food processor.  If it's not there, get it there.

17.  Juice 1 lemon and put the juice without the seeds in the blender.  (I'm not going to type "or food processor" in every step, so just play along if you are using one please!)

18.  Take the garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, dill weed, salt, sugar, pepper, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, roasted red peppers, and the liquid from the red pepper jar in the measurements listed above and put them all in the blender, too.

19.  Blend for 1 minute on high speed.

20.  Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.  Refrigerate the salad for minimum 2 hours if you possibly can do so.  The flavors will meld even more if you can store the salad overnight.  Just be sure to mix the salad before serving because some of the dressing will settle on the bottom of the bowl.


Yield:  Serves 6 heaping bowl fulls for 6 hungry people.  If you want to use this for a side dish, it serves 8 - or 4, with 4 portions leftover.

Special Notes:


Other salad additions could include blanched baby asparagus spears chopped into 1 inch pieces.

This stores 3 - 4 days in the refrigerator.

This is a great "make-ahead" item to bring to a bbq.... and there's NO mayo in it, so you don't have to worry about keeping it at sub-zero temperatures!

Silky, salty sour cream and potatoes are a classic combination.  You probably think of baked potatoes topped with a white dollop of rich, thick cream, or perhaps classic chips and dip. When you transform the ingredients into a soup, you get spoonful after spoonful of that slightly tangy-salty flavor with the satisfying bite of a starchy potato.

This is one of those recipes handed down for at least four generations now in my family.  It all started waaaaay back in Hungary when probably my great-great grandmother, if not generations further back, made the most out of what they had, and stretched it to feed their families.  It's so simple and savory that even in times like these when food is more than abundant, you can't help but serve up a bowl with a side of bread for a meal that hits the spot.

My "Gan", or my grandma, had this recipe in her repertoire.  I remember her teaching me how to make it, step by step - a pinch of this, and eyeballing ingredients until they "looked right".  I never wrote it down until now.  But!  I'm glad I am - because I want at least four more generations to carry on the tradition of her potato soup. 

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Ingredients:

3-4 large baking potatoes
1 16oz. container sour cream (NO light/diet versions here!  You don't want to skimp on flavor!  I prefer to use Breakstone's Sour Cream.)
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vinegar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. caraway seeds (optional)
chopped chives (optional)

1.  Peel the potatoes.

2.  Chop the potatoes into bite size pieces, approximately 1 inch "cubes".  They're not really "cubes", but that's ok!  The imperfection of the soup is what makes it so authentically homemade!

3.  Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with about 3 inches of water.  (It's ok if the water looks starchy!  No worries!)  Add a pinch of salt to the water.  Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until fork tender.  As the potatoes boil, you'll see a starchy foam come to the top of the pot.  You can just skim it off with a spoon and discard it.

4.  While your potatoes are cooking, in a separate bowl, mix the 3 Tbsp. flour with enough water so it's a little thicker than milk.  (This will thicken your soup.)  Mix until it's smooth.

5.  Add the entire container of sour cream to the flour-water mixture.

6.  Mix the sour cream and flour-water mixture until it's well-blended and smooth.

7.  When the potatoes are fork-tender, add the sour cream mixture to the pot and stir.  Lower the heat to medium.  Stir occasionally until the sour cream mixture assimilates with the water to form a soup.

8.  Add 1 tsp. of vinegar.  Stir.

9.  When the soup comes to a boil, turn off the heat.

10.  The garnishes are optional, but boy, they make your soup look appetizing!  Snip some chives into small bits and place aside.

11.  Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with a sprinkle of chives and some caraway seeds. 

Special Notes:

This will easily serve four people and can suffice as a main meal if you pair some good bread with it on the side.

Leftover soup can be stored in containers in the refrigerator for 4 - 5 days.

3.  Puree on high until velvety smooth.  (If you don't have a food processor, you can use a good blender.)

Ingredients:

4 oz. Greek feta cheese
3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil or grape seed oil (whichever you prefer)
1 large garlic clove (or 2 tiny ones), minced
1/4 cup fresh mint, minced  (or 1 Tbsp dried mint), plus a few fresh sprigs for garnish
1 tsp. dried oregano
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 1/2 tsp. dried peperoncini or 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

5.  Pulse for about a minute to break up the feta cheese and start the blending process.  Scrape down the cheese mixture towards the blades.

6.  Run the food processor in the on position for about 1 minute more.

Special Notes:

You can easily double this recipe for a party-size platter.

If the seasonings or garlic are too pungent for you, feel free to adjust them accordingly.  Feta cheese is a strong cheese, so I like to lay on the flavor to make a difference I can taste.

You can store this spread in a container in the refrigerator for up to a week.