Nana Mary's Sausage & Peppers

Being of Italian descent, I remember as a child going to my great grandmother's house in Staten Island, NY and just remember the smells of her tiny kitchen.   Nana Mary was a short 4'11" Italian cook, remembering she had to stand on a stool in front of the stove, stirring tall pots of homemade tomato sauce or as Nana said "gravy".  Sunday's were a day for family to get together and my mom would drive me and my brother from Long Island to Staten Island every Sunday for dinner with our relatives.    We have a large Italian family and Nana would cook large amounts of gravy loaded with homemade meatballs, sausage and pork chops with homemade pasta.  Starting her cooking early in the morning for a 2:00 afternoon meal. 

It gave her great joy when everyone was at the table eating her meal.  Which started with a homemade plate of Antipasto, fruit, different cheeses, deli meats, and that was before the meal.   My uncle made homemade red wine in his basement and I can remember the grown ups drinking wine from small jelly glasses. 

Food traditions are a very important part of our family and I have carried those traditions down to my children.  Although, it might be hard to have a sit down 2:00 Sunday dinner, I often make recipes I remember from Nana Mary. 

Sausage and peppers from Nana Mary is a simple uncomplicated dish that originally Nana would serve over fresh pasta, but I love the recipe as a sandwich and so does my family.   Made from homemade marinara sauce, onions, peppers, garlic and special seasonings I serve the sausage and peppers on hero rolls, and watch as my husband and son devour several sandwiches each.   As I watch them eat, I feel like Nana Mary did and it makes me smile!