Prime Cuts

Comfort. That’s what’s on my mind as I sit 28,000 feet above … somewhere. This month, I’m doing what could be considered a fairly insane amount of travel. Take off, land, take off again. While visiting new places can be exciting, and though I love the job for which I go gallavanting across the country, hours and days spent on airplanes and in unfamiliar hotels make me long for the comforts of home. The comfort of my own bed, my own pillow, the sound of my kids giggling when they’re just waking up in the morning.

Near the top of the list of these homey comforts are the foods that, no matter how tired, beleaguered or stressed I become, always put a smile on my face, always make me feel good. For me, there are lots of yummy things that fall into this category: grilled cheese sandwiches with steaming hot tomato soup, freshly-baked bread, the stew that bubbled atop my mom’s stove in Winter.

For my money, though, there’s one meal that beats out everything else on this list of warm, satisfying delights, the one that really says “Home” to me: classic Italian sausage, peppers and onions. Just the thought of it is enough to get my mouth watering. Steaming hot, rich, and just a little spicy & sweet, this is one meal that never fails to warm me through and through. Served with warm, crusty bread and an ice-cold beer, this one’s sure to become a comfort to you, as well.

Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (the “real” stuff works great, too)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 Vidalia onions, sliced (Maui onions, if you can get them, are great for this, too)
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Fresh garlic (3-4 cloves, chopped)
1 cup Marsala wine (this is sometimes hard to locate and can, in a pinch, be substituted with Madeira)
1 can (15 oz.) diced or crushed tomatoes
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Fresh basil, roughly chopped
A warm loaf of fresh, crusty Italian bread

Preparation

In a large, deep saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame. Working in batches, cook the turkey sausages until they are golden brown. Once cooked, remove them from the pan and allow to cool.

Add the onions, peppers, salt and pepper to the hot pan, making sure to scrape up the good, browned bits left behind by the sausages. Cook until the peppers are softened and the onions are golden. Add the basil, oregano & garlic and cook about 5 minutes more. Add the tomato paste & Marsala, stir well. Follow with the tomatoes & red pepper flakes, stirring to combine. Cut each sausage into chunks; about 4 pieces per sausage. Add to the pepper & onion mixture and cook until the sauce is nice and thick, about 30 minutes. *Something worth noting here is that the longer this happy melange cooks, the better it’ll get.

My favorite way to serve this is in deep bowls, alongside thick slices of fresh Italian bread (gotta have something for sopping up the good stuff). If you prefer, get some good-quality sub rolls, making sure to hollow them out just a little; this really does make a sensational sandwich. All you need after that is to pop the top off a frosty, cold beer, and you’re ready to be transported someplace otherworldly.

The comforts of home. They’re different for everyone, but their effects are the same. No matter where we go, no matter how far we travel, these are the things that restore us, that reassure us. Take comfort in that.

Melissa DelGaudio is the principal of Honeybee Consulting, a social media consulting firm based just outside of Washington, DC. She can be found on Twitter @startabuzz. She enjoys her comfort foods while wrapped in one of her 12 monogrammed Snuggies.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Photo by: helios jinn