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Okie Poutine

Quite a while ago I wrote a review of a local restaurant called The Mule. You will notice that I did not love everything about my dining experience there, but there are several things that this restaurant does really well. One of those things is an appetizer they called "Okie Poutine."

 In case you are unfamiliar, poutine is a Canadian dish that literally translates to "mess," and is comprised of french fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy.  At The Mule, they have made it a little more regional, using Watonga cheese curds (Watonga being a town in Oklahoma that is known for its cheese) and cream gravy (because brown gravy just isn't a thing here). It. Is. Delicious. You might balk, thinking that cheese and gravy have no place in the same dish unless the eater is supremely hungover, but don't be so sure! It turns out that cheese and cream gravy are actually best friends.

So I became determined to make this dish at home, and that's exactly what I did, and what I am going to encourage you to do in the comfort of your own home.

Start with french fries. I used Ore-Ida crinkle cut fries, but if those aren't your bag, then use whatever you like. Just make sure you cook them so that they are nice and crispy on the outside, because they are going to have to support quite a bit of other stuff.

While the fries are in the oven, make some cream gravy.

Start by melting about half a stick of butter (1/4c) in a saucepan.

Add about 1/2 cup flour and stir it around. I didn't strictly measure the flour, I just sprinkle it in while stirring until it's combined and absorbed but not so dry it will burn. You'll know when it's the right amount.

Let this mixture brown for a minute, but watch it closely. When it's ready it will smell kind of like baking sugar cookies, but slightly less sweet. You'll know it when you smell it, because it's delicious smelling.

When the roux is browned, pour in the milk. I used about 1-1 1/2 cups, though I don't strictly measure. I just add in some milk until it looks like I will get the amount of gravy I want.

Give everything a good stir and add some black pepper; a pretty good amount.

Then add some salt.

Then some seasoned salt. Feel free to eyeball those amounts because you will want it to taste the way you like it.

From this point on you are going to have to keep an eye on things. You don't necessarily have to stir constantly the entire time, but if you leave it alone to cook too long, it will get lumpy and gross. I recommend using a whisk. You will also want to keep the heat at medium-low. My knob is 1-10, and I keep it at around 4.

So it will thicken as you stir. Cook it long enough to make it good and thick, because you don't want it running all over the place. And remember that it will thicken as it stands.

So when you fries are ready, pull them out of the oven and cover them with these. Cheese curds, fresh from Watonga! Yay!

I am super vigilant about grouping my fries together and making sure each fry has some cheese touching it. I like cheese on my fries.

Put the curd covered fries into the oven with the broiler on low. DO NOT LEAVE THE KITCHEN! I don't know about you, but my broiler is very intense, and food will go from browning to completely burnt in about a millisecond. Keep an eye on things and watch as the cheese curds melt into the fries. YUM.

Now, when you pull them out and the cheese is all melty, feel free to go ahead and just eat delicious cheese fries. Cheese curds make delicious cheese fries because they maintain really great texture. They don't get soupy or crusty. They melt and get all stringy and mostly stay that way, so they cling to the fries and provide maximum cheesiness. Sublime!

But we are going to add gravy to ours.

And this is the finished product! Eat it while it's piping hot and revel in the richness.

This is in no way a healthy dish. But if you share it with friends you will understand why I felt compelled to create it myself so  I don't have to get gussied up and go to a restaurant to have it. Enjoy!  

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