Copy Cat: Suzie Q

Today, I missed my dear friend Jaren. I stalk her blog religiously (numerous times a day) and seeing her little girl run around with a pony tail, sweet whispy blonde hair, and her toothy grin makes me miss both of them so very much. When Jaren (my first real friend here in Columbus) and Clara left to head to Vegas, Clara was still so new in my eyes, just an itty bitty baby, and now, 10 months have gone by, and she's a precious little girl! Missing Jaren made me want to have her fly into town so we could go to a fabulous restaurant here in town, a place where she used to work: Hucks.

I Love Hucks. It was the first place we went out to eat when we moved here, and I have so many great memories of just eating there. I've had many 'firsts' at Hucks: crawfish, catfish, fried pickles, chicken and dumplings, po boys, and the most monsterous burgers and cheese sticks you've ever seen! You know what they say, " you never forget your first time!" And I won't!

All this missing of the friend and thinking of the food drove me to recreate the best sandwich they have on the menu: The Suzie Q. Although it wasn't a *perfect* replica, it sure hit the spot, and I'd say it was quite a decent knockoff! Mmmmm Mmmmm. Now run, recreate, enjoy.

Ingredients:

* Thick tasty bread of your choice
* Mayo
* Pesto Sauce
* Thick cut black forest ham
* Asparagus
* Provolone or Swiss Cheese (the original is made with provolone, but I like swiss more)

To Make:

* Mix small amount of mayo and pesto sauce together. I used 1 part pesto to 2 parts mayo- I didn't want the pesto to completely overpower the sandwich- it was the perfect mix
* Sautee the asparagus in a little butter on medium heat on the stove, just to brighten them up and cook them slightly- you will still want them to have a crunch!
* Plug in your panini press or whatever you have to grill your sandwich- I used my tried-and-true grilled cheese maker that was the sole reason I survived college. Seriously, I had people from my dorm floor bring their own fixin's for a grilled cheese and they made them in my room. Probably the only reason I had friends. Hmmmmmm. Thank you grilled cheese maker!
* Butter one side of each piece of bread so you have a nice crispy crust as it grills
* Layer ham, then cheese, then line the asparagus along the top. Top with a gooey layer of the pesto mayo, and the last piece of bread
* Grill sandwich until cheese is melty and the bread is a nice golden brown

Then, enjoy your tasty lunch, and picture yourself on a sturdy wooden chair in the middle of a wonderful Mississippi restaurant!