Sausage and peppers with sweet vinegar pan sauce

Heat a little oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the sausages.

Roll and rotate the sausages until browned on all sides and bouncy but still slightly squishy in the center; swap their places since the middle of the pan is hotter. Drop the heat a little below medium so the bottom does not burn.

Seed and slice the bell peppers into big pieces, slicing into the flesh side; cut the onion into big wedges.

Take the pan off the heat for a minute and remove the sausages to a board; split them lengthwise.

Return the pan to the heat and lay the sausages in cut side down; brown the cut sides, moving them around, and remove as they finish.

Add the vegetables to the hot fat and fond, turn the heat up and keep everything moving to deglaze the pan; stop before they are as tender as wanted.

Deglaze with at least a quarter cup of red wine vinegar and a spoonful of sugar; scrape the pan to a dark brown sweet and sour syrup.

Taste a pepper and season with salt and pepper.

Return the sausages, toss in the pan sauce to reheat, turn off the heat and add fresh oregano.

Variation, polenta: bring about three cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt, whisk in half a cup of fine cornmeal continuously until it gelatinizes, then cook on low at least half an hour, adding water if needed.

Variation, polenta: melt in butter, grate in a little parmesan or pecorino, taste for seasoning; spread on the plate by tilting it.

Variation, sandwich: toast a hoagie roll under the top element for no more than a minute and fill.