Must be my Italian heritage, because associating love and food comes naturally to me. My grandmothers, my mother, my aunts always made sure my siblings, my cousins, and I were never hungry, expressing their affection with a bowl of cheesy pasta followed by a hunk of heavenly chocolate cake. Cue Dean Martin singing “That’s Amore.”

Here’s an off-the-cuff attempt to combine Valentine’s Day and songs about sugary delights with some sweet sounds by Love, the Modern Lovers, Alejandro Escovedo, Chaka Khan, etc. Hopefully, it’s a 60-minute soundtrack to warm your heart and cure your sweet tooth, with an extra special nod to dogs of all ages.

Read more Extra Helpings stories at austinchronicle.com/daily as we lead up to the release of our special annual food issue. The Austin Chronicle’s First Plates Awards & Food Issue is on stands Thursday, February 13.

This article appears in February 7 • 2014.

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