‘Italian Cooking’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Sausages and Peppers with Red Wine Marinara {Cucina Antica}

April 26, 2018 · Clean Eating, Narrative

A hearty and easy version of Sausages and Peppers, with a little help from my friends at Cucina Antica.

Last week, a friend texted me that her son had a craving for sausages and peppers. She sent me a screenshot of their conversation and it literally cracked me up. And it was one of those days where she was going in ten different directions and dinner was looking like nothing more than a banana … and one of those rare afternoons where I would be home long enough to make some sausages and peppers to satisfy a teenager’s craving.

I also had a recipe due for my friends at Cucina Antica, so it was total kismet with the timing.

I don’t make sausages and peppers that often, because neither of my kids will eat peppers or onions, so then it’s just … sausages.

This recipe isn’t any exception, but they both inhaled the sausages, and my friend’s son (and the rest of her family) got fed too, and I got my recipe in for Cucina Antica, so win/win.

Did you know that April is National Garlic Month? Yea, me neither. I’m firmly entrenched in the “more garlic, more better” camp, and this recipe with six cloves of garlic is a prime example. Did you know that garlic is in the onion family? Besides the flavor punch it can bring to a dish, it also has great medicinal attributes as well. It promotes a healthy heart and immune system with its antioxidant properties and helps maintain healthy blood flow. Some people believe it also wards off acne, warts, toothaches, and evil spirits.

Sausages and Peppers are one of those recipes that can take a little while to make because you want that “cooked all day” flavor. But I turned this into a busy weeknight version with a little help from a jar of Cucina Antica‘s Garlic Marinara. You may have heard me mention their sauces last month — I’m a new fan because they’re all natural and even Whole30 compliant (*just a sidebar: while the sauce used in this recipe is Whole30 compliant, the recipe isn’t. To make it Whole30, use ghee instead of butter, and skip the red wine).

Satisfying cravings and keeping our eating clean, one bite at a time.

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Recipe: Meatballs

January 19, 2015 · Narrative

The most tender, delicious meatballs that ever were. And the perfect thing to cook up when you want to proudly wave that Italian flag.

I have a small list of mini goals I am focusing on this year. I won’t call them resolutions, because there is nothing magically “new year” about them. Just little goals I have set for myself to work towards.

And cooking more Italian food happens to be one of them.

Which was especially reinforced when Nick exclaimed “We’re Italian??” at a New Year’s Day brunch.

It was a momentary lapse, for sure, but it just reminded me of how little Italian food I cook.

For two reasons.

One, because my interests in cooking are ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Kind of like me.

Not a bad thing in the least, but I think it’s important that my kids are reminded of their cultural background.

Even better when it’s through food at our table.

Because food = love.

I want them to associate certain things with their Mom and childhood.

Good, homecooked meals should be in the top five.

And the second reason I don’t cook a lot of Italian food?

Because carbs.

Hard to crack open an Italian cookbook and not find it rife with pastas and breads.

And while I’m not NOT eating carbs, I usually keep them at a bare minimum.

And so here we are.

Working on that mini goal of “cook more Italian,” and these meatballs.

Our weekend was decidedly chill, which was 100 parts awesome. And because it was planned that way, I also set aside a chunk of time to make Sunday Gravy. With meatballs. And garlic bread.

And this “weekend chill factor” was further buoyed by an ice storm that had all newscasters begging people to stay off the roads.

And so we did.

Pajama-clad from Saturday afternoon through mid-day Monday.

Perfection.

And so were these meatballs.

Ridiculously simple to make, they are moist, huge, and filled with subtly impactful flavor.

Which also means: everything a meatball should be.

Make them.

And tuck the recipe into your repertoire for when you have a lazy Sunday or want to embrace your Italian heritage.

Whether or not you’re Italian.

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Recipe: Sicilian Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic, and Almonds {Eat. Live. Be.}

February 21, 2013 · Narrative

Two years ago, when I first started clean eating, people would ask me what “clean eating” meant.

And to answer them, I pulled from a variety of explanations.

“You eat God-made food, not man-made.”

“Food that’s not made in a factory.”

“Food that’s in its most natural, wholesome state.”

The other day, while browsing Instagram, I spied another excellent way to explain what clean eating is … you don’t eat food with ingredients.

And it really is that simple.

Oreos have ingredients. Tomatoes do not.

For example.

And tonight’s new recipe (and dinner!) is a great representation of that concept.

Pasta.

Cherry tomatoes.

Anchovies.

Raisins.

Capers.

Almonds.

Extra virgin olive oil.

Basil leaves.

In exactly twenty minutes, you have a perfectly healthy, completely delicious meal on your table. Without the guilt. Without having to run to the store to search high and low for special items. Without a second thought.

Twenty minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, you whirr the rest of the ingredients in a food processor. Top it over the pasta once it’s done.

That’s it.

For realz.

A little sweetness from the raisins. Full-bodied flavor from the raw tomatoes. Slightly salty bites from the capers. Just all ’round goodness that you can feel right about putting on the table … and into your mouth. And if you find yourself thinking ick from raisins, almonds, and anchovies mixed together, I promise since they’re blitzed in a food processor, you won’t notice them at all, just the combined wonderful flavor they produce together.

And if that doesn’t motivate you, the 20 minutes from start to finish to make this dish certainly will.

The recipe is from Nigella Lawson’s newest cookbook, Nigellissima (which I don’t have yet, but this recipe was shared in a recent issue of People magazine). I’ve found that her recipes, and those from Jamie Oliver, all fit pretty neatly on the clean eating spectrum.

Dig in!

*PS in the grand scheme of things, pasta is not clean eating. But we have it in moderation at best. Once a month, at most. Had a run to the grocery store been in the cards today, I could have used a whole wheat pasta, or other enriched pasta, to make it even better. For those that like spaghetti squash (I haven’t jumped on that bandwagon yet), this sauce would be great over that as well.

*PPS If you read Sweetnicks by typing in the url and going to the actual site (as opposed to a reader), you may have noticed me playing with the header image over the past few days. I wanted to make a change but wasn’t quite exact about what I wanted. Yesterday and today I had a chalkboard image as the background, and liked it, but didn’t love it. And it didn’t help that two other opinions I asked for didn’t like it either. And then late this afternoon I had an inspiration for a different background, and that’s what you see now. Which I love. And luckily my back-up opinionators do too. I kept the font, words, and sizing all the same (and it has been consistent forever and a day), because I feel like that’s part of my branding. The background image? It happens to be a piece of a watercolor Madeline painted me last month. Which makes me love it even more.

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