Piggy Fries

The last time we were in the Fort Myer’s area, we ate more than once at Wahoo Willie’s Tiki Bar and Grill in Fort Myer’s Beach. One of the things I enjoyed on their menu was their Loaded Fries, a plate of fries covered with barbequed pork, barbeque sauce, shredded cheese and green onions. Basically a Southern version of poutine. It was delicious, but Fort Myer’s is a long way to go to satisfy a craving, so I came up with my own homemade version. It can be served as a meal, or as a group appetizer.

While I’m giving quantities below, you can adjust proportions and add or subtract ingredients to suit yourself.

650 grams straight-cut fries*

255 grams barbequed pulled pork+

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

barbeque sauce

Grate the cheese. Cook the fries according to the package directions. While they are cooking, heat up and shred the pulled pork.

Once the fries are cooked, either place them on a large platter (if you cook them on a large pizza pan, you can use that) or on 2 individual microwavable or ovenproof plates. Drizzle with barbeque sauce. Cover with pulled pork and drizzle with more barbeque sauce. Top with shredded cheese. Pop into the microwave or oven for a few seconds to melt the cheese.

Serves 2

* I used McCain Superfries Extra Crispy Straight Cut because I thought they’d be less likely to get soggy, but given the price (almost $7) for what was only two servings (I used the whole bag), I’d probably go with the store brand next time.

+I used Baton Rouge Fully Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork which came with its own barbeque sauce. I probably would use that again as the quantity was right and it was tasty.

Pineapple Date Bars

 

Another old recipe for you. I found this in Season’s Best Dishes by Mary Lee Taylor. Seems to have been one of those recipe books compiled to push a particular product, in this case Pet milk. Never heard of it? Neither had I, but it seems to have been similar to Carnation.

I was expecting a hard bar from this, but it came out more like a thin, fruit- and nut-studded sponge cake. I doubled the recipe because I don’t own an 8 x 12 inch shallow pan. By doubling, I was able to use an 11 x 17 cookie sheet. I also substituted regular milk for the evaporated as it didn’t seem worth opening a tin for such a small quantity. And I didn’t put in the nuts, as I had none on hand. It still came out.

1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained

1 ½ cups chopped and pitted dates

2 cups chopped nuts

1 ½ cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease an 11 x 17 inch cookie sheet.

Mix, then let stand, pineapple, dates and nuts.

Sift together flour and baking powder.

In large bowl, beat egg yolks until very light. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in milk and vanilla. Add flour, mixing until smooth.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in fruit mixture and egg whites to contents of large bowl.

Spread into greased cookie sheet. Bake until firm, about 35 minutes.

When cool, cut in 1 x 4 inch bars.

I haven’t tried it, but if you wanted a thicker cake, you could bake it in a 9 x 13 pan. Baking time would have to be adjusted upwards.