I was once almost Canadian. Had a half-marriage-proposal from a Calgarian. Visited Banff, drove through neighborhoods, practiced calling couches "Chesterfields" saying "thongs" instead of flipflops.
The move didn't work out. But I never lost my love for Canada. It still feels, somehow, personal. Like because it was almost mine for a moment, I think of it wistfully and sweetly, like a lost lover. Crave Ketchup Fries and Tim Hortons and plates of Poutine.
Or, maybe that's just me, the eternal foodie. Craving giant plates of pub food.
Perhaps we'll never know.
What we do know is, you nor I will ever have to live for a day without poutine.
Because we're making it. Like, tonight.
Big glorious plates Canadian-inspired, gravy-soaked fries. Only no gravy this time. We're going way tres foreign, heftily haute, topping it with a buttery alfredo sauce.
And bacon.
And fried mushrooms.
So, yeah. Maybe it's not Canada I'm all that wistful about.
Maybe it's just food. Food food food food foodie food food.
Not a lost lover, pining away for all that could have been. Just a hopeless foodie, angsting gloriously for all that shall be tonight.
Bacon. Canada. France. French Fries. Italy. Mushrooms. Alfredo.
In my face. On my plate. Forevermore.
Forget looking back. There's far too much to look forward to.
I see fries in our futures. And all we have to do is move into the kitchen and start cooking. 20 minutes later: Mushroom Bacon Alfredo Poutine.
Let's eat it on the Chesterfield, shall we?
Mushroom Bacon Alfredo Poutine
Serves 6 | 25 minutes
- 6 slices peppered bacon, chopped
- 1 pinto nameko mushrooms
- 32 oz frozen french fries (or 3 large russet potatoes, cut into fries)
- 1 cup coconut oil, for frying*
- 1 cup olive or avocado oil, for frying*
- 1/4 cup butter
- 6-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 3/4 cup parmesan, divided
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- 3 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley (or basil)
In a large skillet, cook bacon until golden, add mushrooms to skillet and fry both until deep golden and crisp. Transfer to plate, set aside, wipe skillet clean.
In a large pot, melt oils over medium-high heat. Add fries, cooking until golden. *As an alternative, fries can be air-fried or baked, if desired.
Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in garlic, cooking until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, then slowly whisk in cream. Add 1/2 cup parmesan, salt and pepper to taste. Toss spinach into mixture, heating just until the mixture begins to steam and spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and cover until ready to serve.
To serve: drizzle hot fries with alfredo, top with parmesan, bacon and mushrooms. Garnish with parsley, if desired.