Nicole Graham, Weston, NB

By Alain Bossé
Food photography by Steve Smith/VisionFire

In all the years of running our Saltscapes recipe contest we’ve never had one winner in two separate categories; until now.

Earlier in the comfort food category we introduced you to Nicole Graham and her winning blueberry scones. Nicole wowed the judges with a second recipe for cheeseburger poutine. She told us that this is a recipe that she makes for her family often and in her entry she uses Thousand Island dressing. During our interview she shared with us her homemade version of that dressing.

Congratulations, Nicole on your winning recipe and for being the first to place twice in one contest.

Cheeseburger Fries

Serves 2-4

8 large potatoes

2 tbsp (30 mL) oil

1 tbsp (15 mL) Montreal Steak spice

Salt & pepper to taste

1 lb (500 g) ground beef

1 small onion, diced

8 pickles, sliced

2 cups (500 mL) shredded mozzarella cheese

For the sauce:

½ cup (125 mL) Thousand Island dressing*

¼ cup (50 mL) sour cream

2 tbsp (30 mL) yellow mustard

Preheat oven to 425°F (220 C) Cut potatoes in fry shaped slices. Toss and place on a baking sheet with 2 tbsp (30 mL) oil, Montreal steak spice and salt to taste. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once. While baking, cook ground beef with salt and pepper until well browned. Set aside.

For the sauce:

*If you’d like to eliminate the store-bought Thousand Island dressing and go with something homemade Nicole suggests combining a quarter cup sour cream, one tablespoon mustard, one tablespoon ketchup, one tablespoon white vinegar, and two tablespoons mayonnaise.

Combine Thousand Island dressing, sour cream and mustard mixing well, set aside.

When potatoes are fully cooked, sprinkle ground beef and cheese over top. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Top with diced onion, pickles and sauce. Serve immediately.