"I've had this recipe in my files since 2008 but hadn't made it until now -- 2012, partly because of the idea of adding lettuce to a hot soup and expecting it to be slimy. I was pleased that the lettuce ribs retained a lot of their crispness, which was a nice contract to the creamy soup and chewy bacon pieces. The soup had an almost cheesy consiste"

"This was awful! I spent most of the afternoon tenderly cooking the soup and carefully following the instructions. You might as well call it Salt Soup. My whole family agreed that it was inedible, and I ended up pouring the disaster down the garbage disposal.

If you don't have high blood pressure before you eat this, you will have it after ..."

"Fantastic meatballs! I reduced the amount of salt in the sauce by half -- based on earlier Ina Garten recipes that came out way too salty for my taste -- and used a full pound of pork instead of a half pound of pork and a half pound of veal -- based on an earlier reviewer's comments -- and replaced the black pepper in the sauce with crushed red pe"

"Fantastic flavor, with practically no hint of the green olives, other than color. I've made this twice. My two recommendations are (1) to make sure it's cooked thoroughly (par-baking won't work for this) and (2) don't exceed the amount of mozzarella, thinking it'll be cheesier.""

"Fantastic meatballs! I reduced the amount of salt in the sauce by half (based on earlier Ina Garten recipes that came out way too salty for my taste) and used a full pound of pork instead of a half pound of pork and a half pound of veal (based on an earlier reviewer's comments) and replaced the black pepper in the sauce with crushed red pepper, be""

"Fantastic! The first time, I usually prepare a recipe exactly as written, so any rating and remarks I leave are fair. I felt a need to change this only modestly, reducing the amount of salt in the sauce by half (based on earlier Ina Garten recipes that came out way too salty for my taste), using a full pound of pork instead of a half pound of pork"

"I planned this out to work over a couple of days, making the sauce the first day and then finishing it the second day. It was very much worth every effort and every minute. I've always been a fan of eggplant parmigiana, but this version is the best I've had, and I can't imagine a better recipe exists. Bravo!

"UN-BE-LIEVABLE! Wow. I served this at an open house on New Year's Day. A number of guests stopped me in the kitchen to tell me how wonderful this bread pudding was, but I hadn't actually tasted it myself. Finally, I sat down to sample it, and, in front of my guests, I muttered Oh My God. Seriously, it was THAT good. If I could give this 10 stars, that would still be insufficient. Anyone giving this fewer than five stars shouldn't be commenting on recipes. (Sling mug at will, but I don't care.)