Dozens of people brought lasagnas, cakes, cookies, hams, ice cream, all lovely and appreciated. After a few weeks of this and a dozen added pounds I realized it was time to return to basics and stop "stuffing" everything, literally and figurative. I dug out a new Moosewood cookbook (moosewood restaurant, new classics) and picked, at random, a seemingly bland recipe. Since we are of immediate Irish descent it was fitting that a recipe called Valle d'aosta Cabbage Soup turned up. With some trepidation after a look at the ingredients I decided to lay it on my family, prepared for polite affirmations. The preparation, reminiscences during the prep, and the dinner itself will live forever. Although the dish is from the Italian Alps, we pretended all was Irish and it goes like this:

Valle d'aosta Cabbage Soup

• 4-6 cups cubed, dry bread (half pound)
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 6 cups thinly sliced or grated cabbage
• 1/2 (I used 1 whole) teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 6 cups veggie or chicken stock (I used a hearty veggie stock)
• 2 cups grated Fontina cheese (you know parmesan works in all these cases)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring large pot of water to boil.
Spread bread cubes over a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Toast briefly if bread is too dry. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and drizzle over bread. Set aside.

When water boils, blanch cabbage for two or three minutes until tender. Drain well. Spread cabbage over bread. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl and mix in nutmeg, pepper, and salt and pour on the cabbage and bread. Now, pour stock over all and evenly spread cheese on top.

Bake until cheese melts and starts to brown, 25-30 minutes.

What I ended up with could be considered more casserole than soup and it wasn't pretty to look at, definitlely not haute cuisine in makeup or looks. But good none-the-less. The kids added ranch dressing. Take a chance.

13 oz serving: 374 cals., 14.1 G protein, 23.2 G fat, 28.2 G carbs, 3.1 G dietary fiber.