Sausage, Peppers and Onions, Oh My!

The idea of a sausage and pepper sandwich was completely foreign to me until 2003. I had to have heard about this sandwich before then, especially since I grew up on Long Island where there is a deli on every corner, but I really don't remember ever having a run-in with a sausage and pepper sandwich until 2003. Is it an Italian sandwich, or the New York version of a Jersey Shore hoagie, or did I just grow up in a sandwich deprived household? Probably the latter, but I will mention that my father is a cheese-steak hoagie, "walk-the-boards" type of a guy.

Anyway, in 2003, while living in Albany, my good friend Maureen introduced me to the sausage and pepper sandwich. I remember the day she asked me to join her and her family for a sausage and pepper sandwich dinner. My first thought was, "oh, how plebeian," but in the interest of maintaining my friendship with Maureen and also maintaining my curiosity for all food, I agreed to join her for dinner. So, in 2003, I had my first sausage and pepper sandwich and quickly developed a deep love for the wonderful delicacy. I say delicacy, because there is nothing plebeian or street-fairish about this sandwich. It is truly a sophisticated sandwich.

I have been "on vacation" this week and have had a lot of time for the truly important things in life, i.e., cooking and eating. As Maureen has been on my mind a lot lately, I decided to make sausage and pepper sandwiches. The task presented itself as a daunting one, and I won't lie, I was a nervous wreck making them. If I were eating alone, I would be fearless , but because my dining partner, a.k.a. my boyfriend, has caste this Hester Prynnish, stigmatizing "sandwich-virgin" label on me, and it will take a light in the sky in the shape of a sandwich to erase this label, I knew that I had to succeed with this dish. Yes, my boyfriend is a sandwich guy. I know this because when I met him, he considered it a selling point that he had a deli-slicer in his kitchen. So, needless to say, I felt the pressure to make a good sausage and pepper sandwich as he is quick to judge any sandwich that comes across his plate.

I began this sandwich making adventure by slicing a Vidalia onion, mincing a few cloves of garlic, slicing some green peppers and sautéing them in a little olive oil. Maureen's recipe also calls for about a cup of red wine, cooked until it is reduced, and a can of tomato sauce. The whole mixture is seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano.

Well, of course, I didn't have the oregano so I decided to substitute it with basil. Poor choice. My red wine reduced too much, my tomato sauce tasted like ketchup and for some reason, my pepper and onion mixture didn't have that sauciness I wanted. Maureen's sausage and pepper sandwiches are juicy and the bread soaks up all that wonderful sauce so nicely. My sandwiches were dry, too basiley and dreadfully boring. George didn't say anything, but I knew that while he was eating he was recasting that ever-stigmatizing judgment that reeked of "damn your Northern European background." Well, it's true, I don't know sandwiches. But, once again, in the interest of maintaining my curiosity for all food, I plan on taking a sausage and pepper sandwich lesson from Maureen!