As previously mentioned, it’s pantry, refrigerator, and freezer clean out this week.  The goal is to use ingredients that are already in my house for this week’s dinner menu.

During my inventory of the freezer, I found a roll of breakfast sausage that I bought a couple of weeks ago and never used.  Given that I bought 10 lbs of potatoes last week, because they were on sale, and the over abundance of eggs from our chickens, that was dinner.

Some time ago, a friend of mine in Oregon began posting pictures about “poutine” that she was making.  I had no idea what it was.  I knew that it had something to do with potatoes, but other than that, “poutine” was just another funny sounding word.  Well, I Googled it, as we all do, and discovered that it’s nothing more than French fries topped with cheese curds and a brown gravy.  Poutine has become so popular that chefs and home cooks are creating all sorts of topping combinations.  In fact, a few weeks ago, I had poutine in a St. Augustine restaurant that was topped with bratwurst and a horseradish gravy.  The possibilities are endless.

With that said, the poutine plan for last night was oven baked fries with steakhouse seasoning, country sausage gravy, and a fried egg.  How did the kids like it?  Well…let’s just say, there were no fries left…no sausage gravy left…no leftovers.  Win-win-win!

Country Sausage Gravy Poutine with  Fried Egg

5 large russet potatoes-peeled and sliced into fries

2 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP steakhouse seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 lb. ground breakfast sausage

2 TBSP butter (if sausage doesn’t yield any fat)

2 TBSP flour

2 c. milk (I use a mix of milk and half & half)

Egg-fried to your liking

Fries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash and dry peeled and cut potatoes.  This will remove any extra starch from the potatoes.  In a large bowl, toss potato slices in oil, steakhouse seasoning, and garlic powder.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes.  Then, turn broiler on high and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown.  Turn potatoes and return to broiler for another 3-5 minutes or until browned.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat.  Brown sausage. If sausage does not yield any fat, add butter and melt.  If sausage does yield enough fat, omit butter. Add flour and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.  Flour may begin to brown.  That’s ok.  Just don’t let it burn.  Add milk and cook over medium heat until gravy thickens, stirring frequently. Add more milk, if necessary.

To serve, place French fries in the middle of the plate.  Top with sausage gravy and a fried egg.