Most often my daytime menu is driven by two forces in the kitchen:

1. available ingredients
2. desired cookware

Today’s Sunday lunch was a good example.  It started with a relatively new cast iron skillet I purchased recently from Food52 and was eager to try it out.  It was made by the Smithey Ironware Company of Charleston, SC, and it seems to be a fine example of American artisans at their best.

I’ve been cooking all weekend, so I was not desperate to use a bunch of items.  I did, however, have a nice, small Italian eggplant that warranted attention, and some leftover fennel, vegan sausage, and white beans I should use up.  Furthermore, it’s been DAYS since I had pasta, so the path was clear:

• sautée cubes of eggplant until tender, then remove
• sautée sliced onion, garlic and fennel together
• add sausage slices and white beans to the pan, and cook until blended
• add the eggplant back into pan, plus salt and pepper
• boil a single portion of linguini (135 gm)
• mix it all together with some pasta water, 1 tsp of whole-grained Dijon mustard, and grated Calabrian Pecorino
• serve in a big pasta bowl.

As I surveyed the scene it felt much like a dish from northeastern Italy — almost to Austria, except there the sausage would be pork, and the vegetables would include cabbage.  Fortunately, I remembered that I had a bottle of 2009 Lagrein in the cellar, purchased locally from importer Jeannie Rogers (Adonna Imports) about 7 years ago.  It was a perfect match, and a great way to spend 1/2 hour in the Südtirol for lunch.