The Sopranos ended its run six season run in 2007. Being an Italian raised in NJ, you know many of us were glued to our TV screens for every episode right until the crazy ending (which still bothers me). But what does this have to do with veganism or The Food Duo? Well, you may think absolutely nothing, but hold on a sec…

We know what’s happened to the stars of the show, but what about the supporting cast. Trust me, while we love Tony and Carmela (no not Macaroon - she has a second “l” in her name), we miss seeing our favorite cast members on TV or in films. For instance, my one of my favorites is and will always be Steve Schirripa who played Bobby Bacala. Maybe it’s something with his character’s love of trains, but nonetheless he was awesome. So what’s going on with Steve since the show? Let me tell you…

While he’s been in a number of TV shows and films, Steve’s been immersed in the food industry! He hosted and produced a cable cooking series called “Steve Schirripa’s Hungry.” He’s even written a few books like The Goomba Diet: Living Large and Loving It. What’s really peaked our interest is his move into developing a brand of pasta sauces called Steve Schirripa’s Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties!

Certified USDA Organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, no sugar added and VEGAN, Steve offers his consumers truly authentic tasting and fresh sauces, that pass my stringent standards for what makes a great sauce. In my humble opinion a good sauce should meet or exceed the following standards:

• Fresh ingredients
• Not too thick, but not watery
• Full of flavor
• Nice balance of spices, using fresh herbs when possible
• “Saucy” aroma
• Shouldn’t be done in 30 minutes. The best sauces take hours to make…like Grandma’s (or Nonna’s)

Uncle Steve’s sauces come in 3 varieties: Marinara, Tomato Basil and Arrabiata Sauce. We’ll be making dishes with the Marinara and Tomato Basil over the next few days, but let me tell you about the Arrabiata Sauce. If you’re not familiar, Arrabiata Sauce is like a spicy marinara. By spicy, I’m referring to a kick, not the heat. It’s slight, but bumps up the flavor of a traditional marinara sauce. Both Macaroon and I love a good Arrabiata.

Whenever I try a new sauce, I take a little taste right after opening the jar. Wow! When I opened up our jar of Uncle Steve’s Arrabiata, the first thing that came to mine was that it was so close to my grandmother’s sauce. I called Mac over to try it. The woman went for seconds and thirds! So, you know that’s a winner when you can’t enough of a good thing.

We served up the Arabbiata with vegan stuffed shells I made with a spinach cashew ricotta for our family’s Easter lunch (recipe coming soon). The flavors of the sauce melded so nicely with the ricotta and the pasta that I need to make another batch, for sure, My parents, brother, sister-in-law and family friends were surprised by how delicious the sauce was and that it was by Steve Schirripa (who they also love). A true winner!

We can’t wait to try the Marinara and the Tomato Basil. We have plans for them. The Marinara’s going to be used for a vegan eggplant or parmigiana or rollatini. Tomato Basil is going with some spaghetti with vegan meatballs!

Right now, Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties sauces are available for sale online on the company’s website in jar sets of 3. Each jar is priced at $7.99, which we think is well worth it. Think about it. Organic sauces can run you as much as $10.00 or more per jar. The price point of $7.99 for a 25oz jar of this what we consider to be a high quality is quite reasonable.

We hope to begin seeing Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties in local stores in the future!

Click here to learn about Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialities
Follow on Twitter at @UncleStevesNY & @StevenSchirripa