Potato Biscuits & Bacon Gravy Poutine

Moist & fluffy potato biscuits are topped with cheese curds, a homemade bacon gravy, and crispy bacon in this Potato Biscuits & Bacon Gravy Poutine...

If you happen to love poutine as much as I do, then I have good news for you, folks- I just took my poutine recipe game to the breakfast table! ;) As some of you may recall, I have been kind of obsessed with this traditional Canadian dish (& it's many variations) since I attended the Food & Wine conference last July. We were spoiled by this amazing and HUGE poutine bar for lunch one day of the conference, and I have been hooked ever since. Unfortunately, cheese curds are kind of hard to come by where I live. We have very few dairy farms here in West Virginia, and cheese curds are usually an artisanal product of local dairies. But then the other week as I was browsing the cheese selection at my local grocery store, I spotted them- Wisconsin cheese curds! Granted, there was only one kind made by a single brand, but to say I was ecstatic to finally have my hands on some cheese curds without having to drive hours for them (ahem... Ohio) would be an understatement. 

And I found them just in time too because Sunday Supper and the Food & Wine Conference had just announced their first recipe contest for 2016- a poutine recipe contest sponsored by the Idaho® Potato Commission. This hearty & comforting Potato Biscuits & Bacon Gravy Poutine recipe is my entry, folks... :)

Ham & Cheese Tater Tot Poutine

Fresh cheese curds and ham are served over top of crispy tater tots and then 

smothered in a turkey gravy in this easy to make Ham & Cheese Tater Tot Poutine...

Let's chat poutine for a minute, shall we? Some of you all may recall that my obsession with this delicious Canadian dish actually began for me in Orlando, Florida of all places. While I was attending the Food & Wine Conference there this past July, we were treated to an amazing poutine bar for lunch during one day of the conference. I bounced around from station to station falling in love just a little more with each cheesy, gravy laden bite. All poutine dishes have at least three basic ingredients- cheese curds, gravy, and french fries. Once you have those three things covered, the tasty variations and possibilities for poutine are endless.

Once I came home from my Food & Wine Conference experience, I desperately wanted to recreate and experiment with some versions of poutine myself at home. The only issue was that cheese curds are sort of hard to come by in West Virginia. Cheese curds are usually a product of local dairy farms, and dairy farms are few and far between in my state. That is why when I was invited to attend the Ohio Dairy Adventure in September I jumped on that chance! With visits to two local dairy farms and a stop at Pearl Valley Cheese on the trip's agenda, I was sure to get my hands on some fresh cheese curds. And once I found some, you had better believe that I stocked up on them. ;)

Once of the first things that I made with my cheese curds after returning home from my visit to Ohio's dairy country was this Ham & Cheese Tater Tot Poutine. Fresh cheese curds and ham are served over top of crispy tater tots and then smothered in a turkey gravy. This is the perfect busy weeknight or lazy weekend comfort food, folks...