Through the miracle that is the Canadian melting pot, my family has for the last 20 years made a tortiere (a french-canadian meat pie) for Christmas eve, despite the fact we have absolutely no french roots.
Since my wife and I are not travelling home this Christmas I thought about trying my hand at a tortiere this year. I know the usual French-Canadian suspects on this forum aren't big foodies, but do any of you perhaps have an 'old family recipe' you'd care to share, or at least any hints or pointers? I can find all sorts of recipes on the web, butof course they're all somewhat different from each other.
:frog:
Is this like a mincemeat or a savory pie like a Cornish pasty? I can give you a Pennsylvania Dutch mincemeat recipe if you want to try something different and superior (since ethnic Germans > ethnic French). :)
It's a savory pork pie (although my family usually used beef, all the recipes I found say it's traditionally made from pork).
And I'd certainly look at your recipe, but it's not really what I was looking for.
And I'm not going to touch the German/French rivalry, since I have no horse in that race, and Slav > all others. :cool:
We'll save the pyrogies and holoptchi for Christmas day. :mmm:
Sorry... any opportunity to bust on the French is hard for me to avoid. :blush: I'm still trying to pretend I have no French ancestry. :)
Anyway, didn't want to derail your thread but actually a pork pie sounds interesting. If you do get a good recipe via from non-Languish medium (or maybe via PM), can you post it here? I'd try it.
I'll see if I can get my aunt in Lancaster, Pa. to send along her mincemeat recipe.
It's called 'tourtière' and now's the time to brush up your french:
http://www.rockdetente.com/montreal/actualites/annie-le-soir/73863-la-recette-de-la-tourtiere-du-lac-st-jean-par-l-academie-culinaire-de-montreal/
G.
My families recipe is an all pork affaire with spices & cloves. To be different put in bite size pockets of dow.
Or make this http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/tourtiere-mini-turnovers-114739.aspx
You can also try the Lac St-Jean tourtiere. Deep dish, slow cooked & made with cubes of meat (wild games prefered) & potatoes.
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 18, 2009, 02:05:12 PM
Or make this http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/tourtiere-mini-turnovers-114739.aspx
Wow that looks awesome. :mmm:
And here's another one in english:
http://www.recipefeast.com/recipes/tourtiere_2108
G.
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 18, 2009, 02:05:12 PM
You can also try the Lac St-Jean tourtiere. Deep dish, slow cooked & made with cubes of meat (wild games prefered) & potatoes.
Quebecers don't like to admit it, but there are French-speaking towns in Western Canada. One Christmas when I was in Peace River, Alberta, the law firm I was with held a Christmas party in a tiny community named Ste. Therese and they served a tourtiere kind of like what you described. It was amazing.
Quote from: Caliga on December 18, 2009, 02:09:13 PM
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 18, 2009, 02:05:12 PM
Or make this http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/tourtiere-mini-turnovers-114739.aspx
Wow that looks awesome. :mmm:
You shouldn't be allowed to make it. French Basher!
Also, using a aluminium plate is a big ass mistake. Real metal or Pyrex.
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 18, 2009, 02:16:01 PM
You shouldn't be allowed to make it. French Basher!
Pardonnez-moi. En actuellement, je t'aime :)
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 18, 2009, 02:19:39 PM
Also, using a aluminium plate is a big ass mistake. Real metal or Pyrex.
How come? :huh:
And G - do either of those recipes look right to you? Or better than the 100s of other recipes you can find on the web?
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2009, 02:38:18 PM
And G - do either of those recipes look right to you? Or better than the 100s of other recipes you can find on the web?
Tourtière is like spaghetti sauce - there are as many recipes as there are people who make them. The first link in french is a specialty of Lac St-Jean - different from the standard one (in english) which I posted afterwards. My best friends mother make one where there`s very little spices so that the taste of meat is what you get. *shrug* I suggest you pick what you like and make up your own.
G.
I rarely use a recipe as I am cooking; I will look at cookbooks and on-line recipes to get an idea of what I want to do and make sure I don't screw up ingredient ratios to badly then I wing it, and make up my own thing. I have never cooked a big important dinner though; my kids know there is mac and cheese or frozen burritos if I get too adventurous and screw dinner up, so there isn't much pressure there.
Quote from: sbr on December 18, 2009, 02:57:28 PM
I rarely use a recipe as I am cooking; I will look at cookbooks and on-line recipes to get an idea of what I want to do and make sure I don't screw up ingredient ratios to badly then I wing it, and make up my own thing. I have never cooked a big important dinner though; my kids know there is mac and cheese or frozen burritos if I get too adventurous and screw dinner up, so there isn't much pressure there.
Pretty much the same here, except I don't have to worry about any kiddies not liking what I cook. Well, actually, we are planning to have our niece and nephew over for a meal in the not-too-distant future, but it's be something like cheeseburgers or spaghetti anyway.
Quote from: sbr on December 18, 2009, 02:57:28 PM
I rarely use a recipe as I am cooking; I will look at cookbooks and on-line recipes to get an idea of what I want to do and make sure I don't screw up ingredient ratios to badly then I wing it, and make up my own thing. I have never cooked a big important dinner though; my kids know there is mac and cheese or frozen burritos if I get too adventurous and screw dinner up, so there isn't much pressure there.
Once I've made something once or twice I always start playing around with the ingredients. This actually drives my wife nuts, since if she likes something she sees no reason why you should mess with it.
That being said if I'm making something I've never made before (like this) I'll darn well stick with a recipe.
This thread is making me jones just a tiny bit for a Jamaican meat pie.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2009, 05:31:52 PM
This thread is making me jones just a tiny bit for a Jamaican meat pie.
Is that some sort of sexual metaphor?
Quote from: Jacob on December 18, 2009, 05:44:23 PM
Is that some sort of sexual metaphor?
I'm boycotting your posts until you start being nicer to Timmy. Unless the post is really interesting. Or really funny.
Quote from: Jacob on December 18, 2009, 05:44:23 PM
Is that some sort of sexual metaphor?
No, Cookie, it isn't. It's basically exactly like what they're describing/linking, except it has ground beef instead of ground pork... and for some reason the pastry is orange (I dunno if it's just food coloring or some spice folded into the dough like turmeric or something). In any event, Jamaican meat pies (also called "Jamaican beef patties") are excellent. :mmm: