Food Photo of the Day ~ Poutine

Poutine, a French Canadian dish dating back to the 1950's. You can make your own chips (French fries) or use store bought; this is a great build your own dinner to warm up to. French fries sprinkled with local cheese curds, green onions, sautéd mushrooms, Canadian bacon all smothered with gravy is absolutely irresistible. This does not replace traditional poutine, of course, or even poutine served at a Poutinerie however this came pretty close and satisfied our poutine craving! 

Stay warm! - JD   

Tourtiere

This was my first time making Tourtiere and there are plenty of recipes with a few alterations. It is my understanding that a traditional tourtiere recipe does not have potatoes; the addition of potatoes makes for a dense, thicker Tourtiere. This is one of my daughter's favourites and I received a double thumbs up from not only her, but my son and my husband. My son thinks the more seasoned a tourtiere is the better and he also added his final touches by creating the vent design on top of the pie.   

Tourtiere

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1 Ib ground pork

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup water

2 or 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice or all spice

1 teaspoon summer savoury

1 teaspoon sage

1/4 teaspoon pepper

*other seasonings to use, thyme, oregano, or cinnamon

2 homemade pie crusts or 2 ready made pie crusts 

Preheat oven to 450ºF.

In a large sauce pan combine the ground pork, ground beef, onion and the water. Mix well. Cook covered over low medium heat until the ground pork and beef are cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Place the peeled and quartered potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with water and boil until just tender. Drain and give them a rough mash. Add to the cooked meat mixture. 

Remove from heat and add the salt, mustard powder, mixed spice, summer savoury, sage and pepper. Mix well to combine the meat, potato and seasonings. 

Roll your pastry out and line a 9 inch pie dish with it.

Fill with the meat mixture. 

Roll the other pie crust out. Cover the top of the pie with it. Roll or pinch the edges. Press down the edges with the tongs of a fork. Then cut several vents on top. Brush with an egg wash and place in the pre-heated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely golden brown.     

Notes: Normally Tourtiere does not have the addition of potatoes therefore you may omit them, if you wish. You may also wish to tweak the amounts of the seasonings according to your taste. I made one large pie, as I do have a deep pie dish and a large quiche baking dish, I used the large quiche baking dish and made two batches of pie pastry to accommodate.   

Original Canadian Cookbook

This isn't the original copy from 1958, this is the new edition print from 1975. It reads like a household management cookbook would. I have only a few Canadian cookbooks and what peaked my interest besides the snowy landscape scene through the window on the front cover was the culinary choices it offers... 6 Canadian menus, French-Canadian cuisine and Canada's Multicultural kitchens. I think the latter of the three is more prevalent today. At the time Helen Gougeon was the leading authority on Canadian food since the 1950's when her cookbook, Good Food was publish. Each recipe had to be easy to follow, economical to make and sufficiently different to give variety to a meal. Something that today's home cooks are still striving to achieve.  

Many recipes come to mind when one says Canadian cuisine. Of course this cookbook has the classics like French - Canadian Pea Soup, Tourtiere, Quebec Baked Beans, Sugar Pie, Succotash, Tomato Relish, Bacon Corn Bread, and Canadian Salmon. In this cookbook there are recipes that haven't even crossed my mind at being a part of Canadian cuisine. Like the Zucchini Crêpes and the Casserole of Onions. 

Zucchini Crêpes
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3 cups grated zucchini, coarse or fine
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
melted butter
grated parmesan cheese

Combine grated zucchini, egg, salt and pepper in a boel. Sift flour and baking powder over zucchini and mix thoroughly.
Drop by large spoonfuls onto a lightly-oiled frying pan or griddle and cook till brown on both sides.
Serve with melted butter and grated parmesan cheese. These make delicious hors d'oeuvres in which case you should make them very small. Serves 6.

Casserole of Onions
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2 lbs. onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon basil or sage
3 tablespoons butter or bacon fat
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Mix salt, pepper, paprika, celery seed and basil or sage together.
Place layers of the sliced onions in a shallow greased casserole and sprinkle the mixed seasoning between the layers.
Dot top of casserole with butter or bacon fat and pour hot water over mixture. Cover.
Bake in a 400º oven for 1 hour. Then sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and a little melted butter to taste. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes longer or until the crust is golden brown. Serves 4 to 5. 

And thirdly Apple Cider Pie...

Apple Cider Pie
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6 medium tart apples
1 to 2 cups cider
flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pie shell

Peel and core apples and cut into eights.

Place apples in a pot and cover with cider. Cook over slow fire for approximately 30 minutes, or till soft. 
Remove from heat and if the sauce is not thick add a little flour.
Add sugar and spices.

Bake a pie shell for about 5 minutes, then pour apple filling into it. Cover top, lattice-fashion, with uncooked pastry strips and bake at 450º for 8 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º and bake 25 minutes longer.