Italian Wedding Soup

When I was in college I worked for a catering company for a few months. I loved catering. Catered events were intersting because it was one big display of a person's large sum of money, and I always thought it was so neat to see how people chose to spend that money. Blue or purple, glass or silver, beef or chicken, the possibilities were endless. I also liked to watch the evening progress, as we went from all the plates and linens set neatly on the tables, to mingling guests, laughing and eating, to cleared tables, with only water glasses remaining. But my favorite part of the night was when the event was over and all the servers gathered in the back around the uneaten food from the buffet. What would I be taking home for dinner? Funny to think that was my favorite part, but usually by the end of an event my feet were killing me and I was starving, so the thought of digging into a prepared gourmet meal was pretty enticing!
One of my favorite things to take home was the Italian Wedding Soup. SO yum! I had never had it before my catering gig, and hadn't had it since... until tonight! After remembering earlier this week how much I love Italian Wedding Soup, I decided to find a recipe and put it on the meal planner. Below is the recipe I used, which is a little altered from this recipe I found from Emeril. Hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!

Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients:
7 Cups chicken broth
1/2 lb frisee or escarole
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 minced shallots
1 Tbsp minced parsley
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Cup cooked pastine (tiny pasta - stars, orzo, whatever), tossed in oil to prevent sticking
2 eggs, beaten, plus the leftover egg white from the egg yolk

Directions:
Bring the broth to a boil. Add the escarole, and simmer while you prepare the meatballs. In a small bowl, combine the turkey, garlic, shallots, parsley, and the egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper. Form into 3/4-inch meat balls (they are so tiny and cute!). Drop the meat balls into the broth and simmer until they are cooked, about 5-8 minutes. Drop in the pastine, and taste to adjust the seasonings. Turn off the heat. Begin to stir the soup in a clockwise motion and slowly drizzle in the beaten eggs, so it will form strands.

Yield: about 4 portions