And... We're Back!

So, I was off work for about 11 days.  Couldn't WAIT to throw myself into cooking and blogging.  But there was Christmas to contend with, which I got.... ONE PICTURE OF (at least the food), then there was all the after Christmas hoopla, followed by...  me getting sick.  Bleh.  So anyway, not much exciting in the food area.

Offspring 2 and I have vowed to outpace our calorie consumption more successfully in the new year.  Not to really eat differently (which, when you love food, and love to cook, is pretty useless), but to at least work a little harder at chipping away at that vast divide between calories consumed and calories burned.

Pfft.

With a rude gesture at the overly perky video 'trainer' on the new exercise video, I put this together.  The original recipe called for sweet potato fries - which I am 100% for, but I had this little bag of baby potatoes sitting on the counter needing to be used.  So I adjusted accordingly.

First of all, the recipe called for these...  cheese curds, which to be honest, I've always found the thought of rather off-putting.  But I figured 10 million Canadians couldn't be wrong, eh?  So I picked some up.  After adding them to the hot potatoes and covering in gravy, they started getting all melty, and I got it.  I really did.

Poutine with Roasted Potatoes

1 small bag (about 1/2 lb) baby potatoes
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
1 shallot
4 Tbs wine (I used white - the recipe called for red)
1/4 tsp thyme
Pinch of brown sugar
Salt and pepper
2 cups beef stock
4 Tbs freshly chopped parsley
1 cup cheese curds

Heat oven to 400º.  Toss potatoes with olive oil on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and add garlic.  Toss well.  Return to oven and cook another 10 - 15 minutes, or until garlic is cooked through.
 
**  You'll start out with this
 

and end up with this...  **




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And yes, I realize I didn't follow my own instructions and cooked the garlic the entire time.  But really, unless you want garlic 'chips', go with the shorter cooking time.  :-)))
 
Now onto the gravy...
 
In a medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add shallot and sauté until softened.  Add flour and stir well.  Cook and stir for about a minute.  Deglaze pan with wine, then add thyme, brown sugar, and slowly pour in beef stock.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook and stir until mixture thickens.  Toss in parsley.
 
Toss potatoes and cheese curds together.  Pour gravy over the top.  Enjoy!

And yes, those are roasted Brussels sprouts again.  We eat a LOT of Brussels sprouts.