If you like Italian food like I do, you may have felt like a kid at Christmastime when our 2011 fall Menu magazine arrived. There were many recipes & tips that my family really enjoyed.

When I think of the holidays, we come together frequently to enjoy Italian food. And, in between all the parties, shopping, and decorating, it’s perfect for easy meals. By using a few simple, fresh ingredients, you can have a one-dish meal!

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Sausage isn’t just for summer grilling–it goes in pasta sauce, too. We know that many of our customers just love our everyday Italian Sausage. It’s the same great sausage recipe we’ve used for 15 years. But, in reviewing our sausage line we realized we could do better. So, we put a team together to start working on a more authentic Italian sausage recipe.

The first step was to create a wish list for all the flavor attributes we wanted to add.  Throughout the entire development process, we sampled over 50 sausage recipes. We tasted sausage from Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, Syracuse…and even traveled down Arthur Avenue in the Bronx looking for the best. All along the way, we compared our test samples to the national brand sausages on the market.

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Last fall I shared the story of the development of our latest Italian Classics jarred sauces. Since then, we’ve made some name changes. Our “mother-sauce” you may remember as “Pomodoro” is now “Grandma’s Pomodoro Sauce”. Our “Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce” also got a face lift…it’s now called “Grandpa’s Sauce”. Same products, just different names.

Why the change?

Back when we were developing these sauces, I happened to mention that the Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Sauce reminded me of a sauce my grandpa used to make (my dad’s dad). I just love the hearty flavor. It has a nice sausage taste with a little kick. Danny Wegman was in the room at the time and upon hearing my review, he smiled and suggested we call it “Grandpa’s sauce”. And…so we did!

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Often when chefs get together and collaborate, each chef will recommend adding this, adding that…and before you know it—you have a lot of unnecessary ingredients. Flavors get muddled, and it gets overly complex.

This was not my experience when I teamed up with Cesare Casella, Tuscan-born, New York City chef, for this season’s Menu magazine’s “Chefs Unplugged” feature.

Cesare’s approach on developing recipes is to take things away, putting fresh ingredients on a pedestal. Nothing is complex. The simplicity of Italian food is the key. It was a nice reminder.

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Last year as we were preparing for the fall 2011 season, our family took a trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. We were so inspired by the culture, passion for food, and delicious freshness of the ingredients.  Back at home, we developed our Italian Menu Magazine for this fall as a way to share that excitement with our customers.

We hope you will come experience a taste of what we found in Italy at our stores this fall. In particular, you’re invited to enjoy our Festa Italiana events during any of the four Saturdays, starting on September 17, (11AM – 3PM) and running through Columbus Day weekend, October 8.

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