"That's on the menu!"

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It's always in the back of my head that I'd love to own a cafe one day where I would serve great coffee, smoothies, juices, breakfast and lunch items and desserts. There would be a great balance between healthy and unhealthy options and of course I would use local, organic and sustainable ingredients as much as possible. I'd want the place to be bright and super cozy. I'd hire a real chef but my menu would be inspired by all of my favorite foods and dishes. It's just a dream right now, but you never know!

That said, whenever I make something really delicious my husband will declare, "That's on the menu!". Last night I made The New American Grilled Cheese and I said to myself... that's on the menu! This is the kind of crunchy, meaty, cheese-oozing, grilled sandwich that I'd love to order for lunch with an ice tea.

I served these bad boys for dinner. To offset the heaviness of the dairy and meat, I served it with a Creamy Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup and an almost vegan (if it weren't for the honey) Spinach Salad with Apples & Fennel. Perfect dinner.

My recipe notes: I used Andouille sausage from Skagit River Ranch. It was AMAZING. I didn't mix butter in with the cheese. I didn't think it needed extra butter on the inside. I just used butter on the outside of the bread and dijon on the inside. I cut the sausage into coins on the diagonal, instead of cutting it lengthwise in thirds, then pan fried those until they were nice and browned. I used the panini grill and it turned out perfectly melted, golden brown and crunchy.

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