Poutine with Mushroom Gravy and Garlic Cheese

First off this week has been crazy, not to mention that we still have two parties to attend over the weekend! So all apologies for the lack of cooking that has been occurring; I only hope that my exercise efforts are counter-acting said festivities. That aside...Happy Canada Day!!! or belated at least. So if you can't get Wojtek to Canada...bring Canada to him! Poutine, for those of you that don't know, is a food strongly associated with Canadian cuisine. Essentially it is all things terrible combined into one dish...fries, gravy and cheese curds! There are many variations but for this version I opted to go for flavor through herbs and veggies rather than using a fattier meat based gravy. The fries were freshly cut by hand and seasoned to make them carry a bit of flavor rather than fried crunch and oven baked until crisp. The mushroom gravy was accentuated by the addition of mushrooms and caramelized onions in sherry and the "cheese curds" were replaced by 100 Calorie Pack Mozzarella Garlic & Herb cheese bites. The end results according to W, "...best poutine I've ever had!" Clearly he is too sweet for words, but it really did turn out great and would make for a good introduction to this classic Canadian fare if you have never tried...plus not bad when only 7pts, pair with asparagus and you've got a great meal. Poutine with Mushroom Gravy and Garlic Cheese