Fry Me Another! by Jenn McKinlay

Jenn McKinlay: Okay, so a million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth -- no, wait, we haven't been married that long! Let me start again, when Hub and I got married, I was told by many girlfriends that appliances as gifts were the kiss of death to romance. They told me that the minute you go from flowers and chocolate to a new iron, your relationship is like a shark that has stopped moving -- dead, deader, deadest. Yes, that's a thing.

Fast forward twenty years and enter middle age, and I still love flowers and chocolate but what I really want, no need, is Rosie, the robot maid, from the Jetsons, but that's a whole other post. Where is my domestic robot? I'm looking at you, Tesla! 

Hanna-Barbera / Everett Collection

In the meantime, I will take any appliance that saves me time, because with everyone moving at the speed of light around here, going in a million different directions, I need all the time savers I can get. So, this Christmas, abandoning all romance, I was surprised with an air fryer. A what dryer, you ask? An air fryer! And, let me just say, I wanted one and it is the bomb! Which is super accurate because it rather looks like one, too.

Jenn's Air Fryer in Action!

So far, I've made Poutine and fried chicken, natch. Next up is empanadas or fried apple slices - I haven't decided yet. Either way, it's so much fun to have something new to utilize in the kitchen

My first attempt: Poutine (French fries with gravy and cheese curds)!

Amazing fried chicken!: Recipe from My Forking Life

Next, I really want one of those thing-a-ma-jobs that vacuums while you sleep. I mean flowers are pretty and candy is dandy, but an extra half hour in my day not spent sweeping up dog and cat hair is the shazam! Good thing my birthday is coming up! 

So, what about you, Reds and Readers, what's on your appliance/gadget want list?

Poutine Done Right

INGRID THOFT

Last week I arrived in Montreal a poutine skeptic.  I'd had it before, the Canadian comfort food of french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds.  My first and only experience with the dish was in Vancouver, which seemed like a reasonable place to try it.  I wasn't wowed by the concoction, but my niece in Montreal insisted that I hadn't had good poutine, and she knew just the place to remedy that.

At Dirty Dogs, the lighting was low and the menu extensive.  French fries, gravy, and cheese curds were just the bases of the poutines on offer.  My niece opted for the Soprano:  bruschetta, bacon, mozzarella, and pesto.  My mom—always up for an adventure, culinary or otherwise—opted for the Eastwood.  It was topped with caramelized onions, barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, and bacon.  The Dirty Sanchez featured crushed corn tortillas, four cheese sauce, sour cream, salsa fresco and green onions.  I decided to go all in or whole hog as it were:  Le Pig Mac was a heaping bowl of the french fries, gravy, and cheese curd base  topped with mac n' cheese, pulled pork, barbecue sauce, and caramelized onions.

It was very dark in Dirty Dogs, hence the poor photo

Did I lose you?  Probably.  You're probably thinking that the combinations I've described sound disgusting and weird.  I thought the same thing, but I put my hesitation aside and was rewarded for it.  It was delicious.  We sampled one another's, all of which were great, but I have to say that my Le Pig Mac was so tasty, I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing.  Sure, my arteries had hardened and I'd ingested enough calories to fuel a Canadian hockey team, but it tasted fantastic!  This weird, messy heap of food was just the ticket for a cold Montreal night.

My mom, of course, wanted to learn about the origins of the dish, but an online search netted little information.  The best we could find is that in 1957, a truck driver in Quebec asked that cheese be sprinkled on his french fries, and a tradition was born.  It seems a bit flimsy to me, so maybe some of you Canadian readers could enlighten us?

Lest you think that all the food in Montreal falls into the drunk or hangover category, I can assure you that we had many delicious meals with nary a cheese curd in sight.  At a Spanish restaurant, I had a bowl of bright orange carrot cumin soup that was creamy and flavorful.  A plate of jet black squid ink pasta at the art museum was delicious as was the salmon tartare.  Before heading across the border, we tucked into eggs benedict that was as beautiful as it was tasty.

I would return to Montreal in a heartbeat.  It's a beautiful city with friendly people, amazing street art and fabulous food.  And I would definitely make a return visit to Dirty Dogs.  I need to try Le Angry Goat (roasted red pepper, arugula, baby spinach, goat cheese, pesto, and balsamic glaze)!

Have you tried poutine?  Or is there another dish that made you a believer, despite your reservations?