Cooking Game Day Grub with My Dad, Chubby

As you can imagine, every Sunday dinner at my parents' house was what you would imagine as a typical Italian-American dinner. My mom cooked the most delicious Italian food, and it always seemed to taste especially good on that day. We always had soup, a macaroni dish (what we call pasta), meat dish, some sort of vegetable, Italian bread and maybe a dessert. Each week the menu varied, but the key components stayed the same.

Sunday dinners were NEVER missed, it was just not heard of. It was a time when the family gathered and ate together—it was a sacred time.

Well...that all changed when football season started!

Let me backtrack and clarify a few things about my family and how it relates to football.

Chubby is what I call my dad and he is a huge football fan. How did he get stuck with this moniker? It kind of evolved over time, and my brother and I have been calling him that nickname for the last 20 years. It is just a pet name that we have for him; it is not disrespectful, just a term of endearment.

Chubby is sort of chubby—a gentle giant with a heart of gold. My dad is just over 6 feet tall and built like a lineman, with a killer beard. He had the Brett Keisel beard before it was fashionable.

Chub or Chubby (he answers to both names) is an amazing cook. And during football season, he did most of the cooking on Sundays.

This genre of food was known in our house as football food. My dad is a master of the crock-pot, the wizard of chicken cutlets and the sultan of soups. Chubby made all of the “other food” (the non-Italian food) in our house.

Chubby can cook anything, and it will be nothing short of a gastronomical delight. My dad is full-blooded Portuguese. My dad learned to cook Portuguese food when he was younger. He would make these culinary treats for us when we were growing up. This is just his specialty—he is not limited to this type of cuisine.

It was always fun to help my dad cook. When we would be in the kitchen, and the football game was on in the background, there was just a hint of excitement in the air. The football food would be cooking and the aroma of the food would spread throughout the entire house.

To this day my dad can make a Portuguese soup that will bring you to your knees. His pot roast is mouth-wateringly fork tender and his sausage and peppers are mind blowing.

To say my dad knows his way around a kitchen is an understatement. My dad could make almost anything and it would be incredible. He could cook some Italian dishes (if my mom allowed it), but my mom did most of that type of cooking.

Now we still ate the Sunday dinners like we normally would. The only difference is that we just noshed on cold weather football food.

My dad is not a team-obsessed fan; he just liked to watch a good game of football.  On Sundays, the TV went on after lunch and stayed on most of the day. He just liked to watch football and eat good food—the perfect combination.

When the play-offs came and during the Super Bowl, Chubby stepped up his game. He then brought out some favorites that only came out during the play-off season. We would eat Chubby’s chili, Chubby’s chicken wings and Chub’s onion dip and chips. We would all gather for these games, and spend most of the day eating and watching the sports channel. It was always so much fun!

Sometimes we had a large crowd and other times it was just the immediate family. No matter the amount of people, the food portions never changed. Chubby’s worst fear was that half time would come and he would run out of food.

One of the most iconic foods in the Italian-American community is the ever-present Sausage and Peppers. This dish is also the perfect football food (it has the Chubby’s seal of approval).

Make this dish and keep it warm in a crock-pot all day. It can feed a crowd at half-time as well as during overtime.

I always remember a pot of this cooking in my parents' basement cooking during football season. It seemed to be the quintessential football food, especially during the Super Bowl.

I am sharing a version of Sausage and Peppers that comes from Saveur Magazine. It is just like we had growing up. This dish is so versatile and simple. It can be eaten as is or Alla'Chubby style—served on a torpedo (hoagie) roll with a dash of grated cheese.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe; it is really delicious and easy to prepare. If anyone asks what you are making for the Super Bowl, tell them you are making Chubby’s Football Food.

Buon Appetito.

Sausage and Peppers

Serves 4–6

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. sweet Italian sausages
6 tbsp. olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½″ strips
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½″ strips
½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup chicken stock
½ tsp. dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

Instructions:

Bring sausages, 3 tbsp. oil and ⅓ cup water to a boil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat; cover, and simmer until sausages are half-cooked, about 8 minutes.

Uncover and cook, turning, until sausages are browned all over, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 4 pieces each; set aside.

Return skillet to heat along with remaining oil. Add onions and bell peppers; cook until soft, about 6 minutes.

Add chile flakes and garlic; cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Return sausages to skillet along with stock, oregano, and salt and pepper; boil.

Cover and cook until sausages are cooked through, about 10 minutes; uncover and cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.