The Scali bread looks wonderful. I'm just getting back into baking bread and my skills are pretty rusty. It's difficult to find authentic Italian bread in New Hampshire. We usually stock up when we visit family in NY and Jersey. Oh yes! Dozens and dozens of loaves of scali bread. Wrapped and ready for the freezer. The soup, or the pasta has always been a thinnly veiled excuse to eat that particular bread - crunchy on the outside,soft and tender inside and loaded with sesame seeds. It's always the same at the end of the meal, coffee and Regina cookies, good conversation, and watching adult and child alike licking their fingertip to snag the last of the table scattered sesame seeds. YUM. I "created" a version of IWS when my kids were little although I didn't know it. We just called it meatball soup; my youngest called it The Italian Flag soup because of the colors; red tomatoes, green string beans and the white of the tortellinis. Aside from the meatballs which were made ahead and frozen, this was a fast half hour soup made with what was on hand and never the same way twice. Onions, garlic, carrots, mushrooms minced and sauted. Beef , chicken stock, sometimes mixed; water to stretch. A bay leaf or two, Italian spices. A can or two of tomatoes; Italian style, stewed, even Muir Glens Fire Roasted. All good. Then comes the meatballs, baked; green beans and tortellini simmered til tender. Salt and pepper to taste and a good Parmesan to top to finish. Now it will have your Scali bread to round out the meal. Sounds wonderful! I've already started the sponge. Just a few stray thoughts. Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the dark meat for your meatballs. Frozen kale and escarole can usually be found somewhere near the spinach. And for FRAN s; cilantro and meatballs? Really? I know it's the most used herb in the world but that's mostly Asian and Latin. Italian meatballs, not so much. Now I'm a big advocate of different strokes for different folks and if you really,really like cilantro - go for it. There's an I Hate Cilantro website. That's where you'll find me! I tried to be fair, even made room in the garden for several years. Couldn't give it away. Everyone thought it tasted like soap. The closest I get to thinking it might be ok is when I mix it with a bunch of mint. Cilantro, mint and meatball? Again not so much. But like I said, go for it. You just never really know how it will turn out. Thankyou KAF for the great recipes and this great site. I'm always amazed and inspired by the wonderful stories and this great group of cooks and bakers. Thankyou!! Gail, this is literally food for thought - love your long post here. Thanks so much for connecting - and I agree, each to his own. There are NO FOOD POLICE out there... PJH

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