Sausage and Peppers
You may be sick of hearing this by now, but I really do have the greatest mom. When I was growing up, despite working a demanding sales career, she always had fresh cut veggies set out on the counter when I came home from school, and she always had a home-cooked meal for us.
On Wednesdays, she would have her best friends over. They called it “Ya Ya Happy Hour” a nod to a book they all read called Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which, now that I am typing this, I am going to read. I digress.
For me, Wednesday nights were the BEST, because I got to see some of my best friends — Alexa, Simone, and Adri — and we got to play until it was bedtime. PLUS we got a delicious home cooked meal, made just for us, from one of the moms.
One of the most famous meals from the Ya Ya Happy Hour Era was my mom’s Sausage and Peppers. So famous, in fact, that Adri had chefs re-create it, so she could serve it at her wedding.
Yeah, I know… you are SO lucky that I care SO much about you that I am sharing this recipe. Do I have your attention? :)
Okay, here’s the recipe…
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What you’ll need:
2 pounds of sweet Italian sausage
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of finely chopped yellow onions
3 sweet red peppers, stemmed, ribs and seeds removed, cut into medium-size julienne
1 cup dry red wine
1 can (2 pounds, 3 ounces) Italian plum tomatoes, including the liquid
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Dried red pepper flakes, to taste
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (FYI: I sometimes leave these out)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
6 (or more) garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
How to Make it:
Prick the sausage links with fork and put them in a pot with 1/2 inch of water. Set the pot over medium heat and simmer the sausages, uncovered, in the water for about 20 mins. Eventually, the pot will boil dry and the sausages will begin to fry in their own fat. Turn them occasionally and cook for another 10 mins, or until they are well-browned. Remove them from the pot and drain them on paper towel.
Pour the sausage fat out of the pot but do not wash the pot. Set it over low heat, add the olive oil and onions, and cook them, covered, until tender, about 25 mins.
Add the peppers, raise the heat, and cook uncovered for another 5 mins, stirring often.
Add the wine, tomatoes, water, oregano, and thyme, and season to-taste with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 mins.
Meanwhile, slice the sausages into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. When the sauce has simmered for 30 mins, add sausages and fennel seeds and simmer, uncovered, for another 20 mins.
Add parsely and chopped garlic and simmer for another 5 mins.
Serve as is, or over a bed of pasta to your friends and family and tell them about the Ya Ya sisterhood tradition.
Enjoy!
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