My husband’s birthday falls just a few days after Valentine’s Day, which means that he gets a full week of “Meals of Love” surrounding the two holidays. I mean, I like to claim a whole birthday month when it’s my turn, so at least I can make him a few extra special meals for this significant week every year.

To kick off the “Meals of Love” week, I started with his favorite thing: Spaghetti with Italian sausage. Which in and of itself is not a very exciting recipe, but for this extra-special week, I ramped up my usual “Sunday gravy” and made a sweet and spicy red sauce that really worked with the Italian sausage perfectly. Plus, the color was gorgeous and so appropriate for a Valentine meal.

I used grape tomatoes and red bell pepper to make the sauce extra fresh and sweet, and added a little dose of extra heat on top of the spicy Italian sausage to really create contrast.

Grape Tomato Sweet and Spicy Sauce

2 cups grape tomatoes
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 small can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/8 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
Salt and pepper

Warm olive oil in the bottom of a medium stock pot (I recommend this over a sauce pan because you are going to use an immersion blender later and you don’t want to splat all over your kitchen).

Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute a few minutes to soften. Add in the tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatoes, and throw in your grape tomatoes. Bring all of this to a low boil and simmer for at least 15 minutes, though longer if you have the time.

Add in the wine and spices, and continue to simmer until the tomatoes have softened and started to let go of their skins.

Then use your immersion blender to puree everything right in the pot.

Serve over spaghetti. I cooked spicy Italian sausage in another pan and let people add as much or little meat to their plates as they wanted, but you could just as well throw the meat into the sauce if that’s how you like it.

I know they say all the time to those of us who might need to shed a few times that “food is not love” and we are supposed to remember that when we want to console ourselves with a bite of something comforting and delicious. But my husband will beg to differ. I make no bones about the fact that I show my love to my family through the food I cook for them. It’s possibly the single most important thing I do as a wife and mother, to put a wholesome meal on the table several nights a week.

This sort of meal is easily created in under an hour and will, I promise, exemplify your undying love for those who eat it.