I make Italian Wedding Soup once in a blue moon, mostly because, although I regularly make meatballs, I don't usually make them small enough for soup. Yes, the Italians side of my family believes in bite-sized ones for soup, too. On my Mom's side of the family (that's the NON-Italian side), we have a family reunion in late summer or early fall. It bounces around from place to place as various family members host, and everybody brings pot luck. One year, I brought the makings of Italian Wedding soup. I make my own stock frequently, and usually have a good supply in my freezer, so I packed a couple of quart containers. I made the meatballs at home and froze them as well. I pre-chopped the veggies and put them in zipper bags - I'm addicted to escarole and wasn't sure I could find it in the middle of Pennsylvania. I put my dried spices in a plastic film canister, paced up my favorite soup pot and utensils, and a crock pot to keep it warm during the party. The aunt who was hosting that year got the use of her church's social hall, so about half an hour or so before the party, I got to work and saute'd the carrots, onions and celery (optional, but it tastes so much better with celery, I think). I cooked the pasta in the stock, added everything else (the escarole only takes a couple of minutes to wilt down nicely) and transfered it to the crock pot. It was a big hit. I had requests for the recipe for months. It's one of those things I mostly do on the fly, so I had to make it again at home and measure everything out so I could write it out. Thanks for sharing your story here, Tena - love the idea of bringing all the fixin's, then doing the soup in a crockpot. Perfect! I'll keep that in mind next time I head south to my in-laws... PJH

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