Who wants labor on Labor Day? Certainly not the cook

Keeping it simple makes lunch even better.
By LEAH ESKIN
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Labor is so laborious. First you have to get dressed and get to the office and get coffee and get those pencils sharpened and get through the e-mail and the voicemail and the mail mail and at some point-definitely before lunch-you have to actually do whatever it is you are supposed to do. You know, work.
Which has its compensation. Sometimes, right in the thick of a particularly productive five minutes you might find yourself absorbed in, well, work. You might enjoy these quiet moments, free from background brainbuzz, like Amazon, eBay and Epicurious. You may experience mental clarity.
Soon remedied by the break. You admire Roz Chast's catalog of labor-saving devices: Sandwich. Nap. Novel. Though those are simply the basics. Casting for your own labor-saving devices you glance around your workspace. At the office, there's the reliable loop: walk to the printer, drop in for a cubicle visit, stroll out for coffee, loiter by the elevator. Chat.
The home-office offers even greater variety. Fixate on the window. Wonder how the grass seed is doing. Check. Attach hose. Sprinkle. Consider a glass of water. With ice. Or iced coffee? Pour coffee. Add cream drips. Start grocery list. Wonder what's for dinner. Check fridge. Remember job. Return to desk. Stare at computer. Reach for glass. Remember sprinkler. Repeat, with variation.
And though you're sure such heroics have saved you from hundreds of hours of hard labor, you also contend that the off-duty brain continues to stew, sometimes in useful ways. Or report for duty refreshed.
So, when Labor Day finally beckons, you see no point in getting worked up over knocking off. No celebration of work-release should demand a day working the hot grill. You pause to appreciate the labor-saving sausage. Someone else has already done the work of chopping and spicing and mixing and shaping. Likewise you admire the sandwich, which assembles a whole meal in a handy, edible, wrapper. Making the sausage sandwich a marvel of effortless dining.
LABOR DAY LUNCH
LOW-STRESS SAUSAGE SANDWICH
1 small bulb fennel
2 large yellow onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and black pepper
6 Italian sausages, spicy or sweet
6 long rolls, split
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
Slice: Trim stalks and outer leaves from the fennel. Cut the bulb top to bottom into 1/2-inch thick slices, stopping shy of the root to hold the bulb together. Cut onions crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Grill: Lightly brush fennel and onion with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill directly over medium heat, turning once, until tender, 12-15 minutes. Trim the root from each fennel slice. Chop fennel and onion slices into 1/2-inch dice.
Grill: Cook sausages directly over medium heat, turning once, until firm and no longer pink in the center, 16-17 minutes. Toast cut sides of the buns directly over medium heat.
Fill: Pair sausages, buns. Scatter on fennel, onions. Drizzle with mustard. Serve warm, with hot potatoes and cold beer.
Serves 6.
HOT POTATOES
12 new potatoes (about 11/4 pounds)
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Coarse salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Toss: Cut potatoes in half. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, rosemary. Season with salt, pepper. Thread potato halves onto wooden skewers (soak skewers briefly in cold water first).
Crisp: Grill the skewers directly over medium heat until the skins begin to crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
Reduce: Meanwhile, pour vinegar into a small pan set over high heat. Boil until syrupy and reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Pour remaining oil onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle on warm vinegar. Set skewers on the platter. Turn, coating the potatoes in sauce. Serve hot.
Adapted from Weber's" Art of the Grill"