Grilled French Sausages

You might be thinking these French Grilled Sausages are simply fancy hot dogs. I assure you, mes amies, they are so much more. And they will become your go-to item on the grill this summer.

Right around this time last year, we were honeymooning in Paris. One of the best meals we had – and this is going to sound insane – was a grilled sausage picnic that we ordered from a deli near our hotel. We carried our packed lunch to a nearby park and sat in the sun, enjoying our lunch next to others taking mid-day breaks in the sunshine. The sausages were delicious, but what really made this special was that the sausages were served in slices of baguette. Because, apparently when you're a Parisian, you can eat french bread all day and still look like a model. Would this be a good time to point out that I gained 7 pounds on our honeymoon? But anyway.

I've brought this idea back to Portland, and now we always use baguettes in lieu of boring hot dog buns. And although our French 'dogs didn't include it, I always top it all of with caramelized veggies. And spicy brown mustard. And voila, Grilled Sausages, French-style for your summer grilling pleasure.

French Grilled Sausages

Serves approximately 4
1 package smoked andouille sausages (4-5 links)
1 baguette
1 green pepper, cut into julienne-style strips
1 red onion, cut into julienne-style strips
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
Optional: mustard

For veggie topping: Heat butter and oil in a large pan on medium high heat. Add onions and pepper slices, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. During this time, feel free to add more oil and butter if needed. Next, turn down the heat slightly and cook for another 15 minutes, until veggies and sticky and super soft.

Set veggies aside and cook the sausage links on a grill (or on stovetop on medium heat) until cooked through.

Slice the baguette "buns" to (roughly) match size of sausages. Slice each baguette open (stopping before cutting all the way through), and fill with a sausage, grilled veggies, and a spicy brown mustard.