In Celebration of Hockey

With the return of NHL hockey I decided some homemade poutine was in order.  Fortunately a couple things came together lately to make this fine endeavor successful.

The first is the discovery of Cozy Cow Dairy right here in northern Colorado that is a source for fresh cheese curds.  Freshness not only ensures the tasty flavor but provides the essential squeak that is a signature of this dish.  My previous supplier of curds were shipped from out of state and several purchases over time proved that they were not very fresh.  Cozy Cow seems to crank out fresh curds about every 10-14 days or so based on their twitter and facebook feeds.  Yes, follow them and they announce fresh curds, right out of the vat.  Fantastic.

So here is the second thing that helped make this tasty evening great.  One of my lovely family members bought me a deep fryer for Christmas.  So no frozen fries in this dish!! Once the curds were obtained I rounded up a couple russet potatoes and did my best to slice them into something like fries.  No fancy kitchen doo-dads here, just a sharp knife and a cutting board.  Here you can see them laid out to dry after a few minutes in ice water to remove some of the starch.  

The final ingredient is gravy.  I went with the jar here and I'm not afraid to say I think that it's probably as good as I could make.  You, on the other hand might be great at making gravy, me, not so much.  Not to mention I didn't plan ahead so that I would have something to make it from.  

 Here's the fries in their golden glory, right out of the fryer!!  

And...the finished dish!  The cheese and fries were great but the gravy was a bit strong for me.  I'll be looking around for something a bit less bold and lower in sodium.  But it was still a tasty dish and a great way to kick off the NHL season.
 

A Poutine Newbie in Colorado

The first time I had poutine it was home-made.  And frankly that was a trick.

Fries are not a problem to come by, or make.  Same with gravy.  Best of all I had the guidance of a real live Canadian.  But there was one thing that was a huge challenge.

Finding cheese curds.

Well, first I had to figure out what the heck a cheese curd IS!  Never even heard of such a thing.  Turns out neither had anyone in any store where I inquired about it.

Not completely true, some people knew what I was talking about, furrowed their brow and asked, why would I want cheese curds?  I would then tell them I wanted them to make poutine.  Next question: what's poutine?  It's french fries, cheese curds and gravy.  No more questions after that, mostly just a look of disgust or a tip about my health.

Keep in mind that Colorado is considered one of the healthiest, skinniest states in the union.  Add to the equation that I live very near Boulder where people exercise and hike and bike more than they work and you can understand the horror I was instilling in these people.

Eventually I did find cheese curds.  Turns out Longmont isn't as redneck as ya'll think it is.  The Cheese Emporium is a long time business establishment and besides pricey and fancy cheese and olives and such, they have just what I needed to complete my trifecta!  Cheese curds from Wisconsin, or some such cow-filled state.

Unfortunately I can't find anything close to fresh curds.  There are Colorado cheese companies but they don't seem do curds.  So in addition to the obvious problem of freshness, they don't squeak worth a damn.  Something I was really looking forward to hearing.

Nonetheless this creation turned out to be one of the best things I've ever tasted.  Perhaps the only artery-clogging food that even comes close is the cheese stuffed, crispy-fried chile relleno.  Something that is far more accessible in this area than traditional French-Canadian cuisine.  No matter!  Let the poutine search continue.