French Fries and gravy, Poutine

I have been a little busy this new year and have neglected my passion for food long enough.  I have been studying and working to finish school and that finally happened in december but the biggest part of being done with school was having to take and pass my board examination.  thankfully that happened last friday the 14th and now I have a new job lined up and nothing else to do but enjoy life so I am back at it in the kitchen and will hopefully get to spend an appropriate amount of time making wonderful food and practicing my writing about it.

Canada isn't exactly known for its cuisine, there is the bacon and thats about it,  but there are a few things from Canada that most people know about and if they don't they should most definitely look into.  The first being Martin Picard, his restaurant Au Pied De Cochon in Montreal should be a vacation destination for anyone serious about food.  He is the inspiration for the Poutine that I made for New Years day lunch.  Which brings us to the second thing that Canada has given us that is catching on all over the US.  Poutine,  it is the simplest of dishes yet the greatest cure for a hangover ever invented, quite simply, poutine is french fries, cheese curds and gravy.  To most this probably doesn't sound that great but I assure you if you have never had it try it and you will change your mind.  Poutine doesn't have to be simple though, it can be as complex as Martin Picard's, Poutine Au Foie Gras which incorporates the foie into the gravy and is served with a large slab of foie on top.  It is this dish specifically that inspired my New Years Poutine.

In its most basic form poutine is made by taking cheese curds and placing them in a bowl, covering them with hot and salty french fries and drowning them in brown gravy.  Thats it and by it self stands as a great dish.  But why stop there for my New Years poutine I fried the fries in duck fat, made the gravy using duck fat, flour and duck stock and topped it all off with duck breasts,  gizzards and hearts stewed in cream of mushroom soup with wild rice.  It was fantastic and was exactly what a few of us needed to soak up the activities of the night before.

So whether your hung of or just hungry try poutine and don't forget to be adventurous and try things that are out of your normal eating zones.  For my next poutine I was thinking about a pork themed poutine with bacon gravy and fried pigs ears.  I will let you know how it turns out.