My mother-in-law’s Christmas Eve tourtière recipe
2 Comments
Karen Hamilton
December 24, 2009
Since my husband will miss two Christmases in a row with his family in Winnipeg, I decided to surprise him at dinner tonight with the meal that his mother serves the family every Christmas Eve: greek salad and tourtière.
I had to call my mother-in-law for the recipe this week. It was one of those family recipes that hasn’t really been documented. Technically, she does have her notes jotted down somewhere, and I’m sure it was based on someone else’s recipe once upon a time, but my MIL does this savoury pie with her eyes closed nowadays. I hope I can do it justice and transport my husband if only briefly to his mother’s dinner table tonight.
For the pastry
You could always buy pastry shells from your local grocer, but for me and my family, Christmas is about making everything from scratch!
- 5 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 lb of (Tenderflake) lard, very cold
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 cups ice cold water
Mix first 4 ingredients above in a large bowl. Integrate the lard using a pastry cutter.
Using a cup measure, break in 1 whole egg and add in 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Add enough ice cold water to make 3/4 cup liquid. Sprinkle this liquid over the lard mixture and toss together.
Divide into 5 equal pieces. For each pie you’ll make, roll out 2 pieces large enough for your pie plate. Shape remaining pieces into flattened discs and wrap in wax paper. You can freeze these in a large freezer bag for 3-6 months.
For the filling
- 2 lbs lean ground pork
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper (generous grind)
- 1/2 teaspoon each of thyme, savoury, sage (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (1/3 teaspoon adding optional spices)
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic (optional)
- 1 cup boiling water (kettle)
- 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
On medium to high heat, crumble pork into frying pan. Add water, garlic, onion, and spices. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes. If there’s more than a 1/2 cup of fat in the pan, take out all but a 1/4 cup.
Mix in 1/4 cup of fresh bread crumbs and let cool completely.
Final Assembly
Lay one piece of your rolled out dough into pie pan. Fill to the brim with the meat mixture.
Lay the second piece of rolled dough over the pie. Press edges down with tines of a fork and cut excess off with a knife. Make Christmasy shapes to top pie with the excess dough. My mother-in-law does holly berries and leaves.
Brush top of pie with heavy cream or egg mixture (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water, beaten together). Lay down pasty dough decorations. Brush decorations very lightly with the cream or egg mixture.
Bake in oven at 375F for 30-40 minutes . You know it’s ready when dough is golden brown and sticking a knife into the very centre of the pie comes out piping hot.
Making ahead
If all you want to do on Christmas Eve is pop a pie into the oven, you can prepare everything in advance. As mentioned above, the pastry dough will keep 3-6 months in the freezer. You can make the filling up to a week in advance and assemble the final pie for the freezer.
To do so, wrap your uncooked pie in 2 layers of saran wrap and a layer of foil and place in your freezer. Thaw in the fridge the morning that you plan to serve your tourtière at dinner.
Bon appétit and have a wonderful Christmas Eve!
Categories: Dinner, Food, Recipes, Savoury
Rouxbe Cooking School Series: fun with pho, part 2 of 2
7 Comments Karen HamiltonJuly 26, 2009
I took the pho that I made from scratch (care of Rouxbe’s recipe, featured in Part 1 of this topic) on a little road trip to The Workspace, where several Blogathon 2009 participants were happy to volunteer as taste testers.
A few notes about how I prepared the final soup for my tasters:
- I had trouble sourcing certain ingredients from my immediate grocers, so not all of the garniture matches the recommendations from Rouxbe. Bruce helped me to find substitutions to create a “poor man’s pho” – re-purposing of the broth meat instead of getting sliced tenderloin, bean thread (glass noodle?) vermicelli that proved too difficult to find at H-Mart, and a abstinence from the recommended serrano chilies, since they were nowhere to be found.
- Because I made the broth last night and finished it this afternoon moments before heading to the Workspace, I didn’t do the extra step of chilling the broth in order to remove most of the oils and fat. This makes my broth oilier than it should probably be; I will update you on any differences once my husband and I complete this step for the broth that remains in our kitchen.
Feedback from my fellow Blogathoners
Four Blogathon participants that neighbour me here at The Workspace have this to say about my pho attempt:
Victor, in support of the Developmental Disabilities Association:
The pho was great. The broth was lighter than the usual pho I’ve had, but the flavor was a little bit different. It was a bit oilier, but didn’t have the MSG flavor to it (a good thing). Unlike other pho, I didn’t feel very thirsty immediately after drinking the broth.
The noodles were different than regular pho, but I actually liked the difference. It was a refreshing change.
Only thing I would change is a little bit more flavor to the broth, but overall it was very yummy!
Lorraine, in support of the Federation of BC Writers:
The Pho was delicious, especially the broth, which was rich with subtle flavours without being heavy. I enjoyed the noodles too.
Raul, in support of the BC Cancer Foundation:
This Pho tastes a tad too delicate, almost too light. The flavors are smooth but not characteristic of a Vietnamese pho. My belief is that there is a lack of richness and complexity of flavor (something we would expect in a Vietnamese pho).
Karen, in support of the Vancouver Public Space Network:
The broth meat and sprouts added great texture. The soup was very tasty and rich with tendon taste, and the herbs perked up every bite.
Thank you all for your donation of your tastebuds and stomachs, and best of luck with your Blogathon efforts!
Giveaway time – 1 more annual Rouxbe premium membership
Another sponsored gift from Rouxbe for the Tiny Bites Blogathon effort, this time going to Raf A. (YaletownYuppie). Congratulations, Raf!
Feel sad that you’re missing out on all of these giveaways? Donate to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society before 5:30am on July 26th to qualify for the $450 Tiny Bites Grand Prize. Every $10 you donate gets you one entry to the draw.
Of course, you can also go for the gold and top Dawn D.’s $175 donation to win Top Donor bragging rights and an incredible 3-restaurant progressive dinner for two.
You decide.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Culinary Resources, Dinner, Food, Recipes, Savoury
My recipe for Lumpiang Prito (pork and vegetable spring rolls)
3 Comments Karen HamiltonJuly 25, 2009
Lumpia is one of my favourite Filipino foods to eat in the summertime. There are several types of lumpia, ranging from the fresh lumpiang sariwa to the meat lover’s lumpiang Shanghai. I myself am partial to lumpiang prito, which typically comes in the format of vegetables (and optionally pork) stir-fried, stuffed, and deep-fried in large egg roll wrappers.
You can get creative with the vegetables you choose. Sometimes we put in potato matchsticks, diced water chestnuts, chopped celery, green beans sliced on the diagonal…but the recipe below is our standard base and the one that our guest prefer.
Ingredients
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1″ matchsticks
- 1 head of chinese cabbage, shredded
- 600g of bean sprouts
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 30 large egg roll (wonton) wrappers, thawed
- Oil for frying (canola, grapeseed, sunflower)
- 1 lb of ground pork
Directions
- In a large wok, sweat garlic and onions over low heat until fragrant.
- Increase head to medium-high and sauté ground pork until meat is no longer pink.
- Add soy sauce to taste.
- Toss in carrots and stir-fry for at least 5 minutes or until slightly softened.
- Add shredded cabbage and stir-fry for at least 5 minutes or until colour perks up.
- Rinse and drain bean sprouts and add to wok, stirring until incorporated. Taste mixture and season with soy and/or fish sauce till you are satisfied with the flavour.
- Drain mixture of excess moisture and transfer to a storage container. Refrigerate until cool. This will be the filling for the lumpia.
- Wrap 1 tablespoon of cooled filling in each egg roll wrapper. Place in a single layer on a large flat surface and let dry. If you are going to cook them right away, let them be; if you will keep them for later, store them in a single layer in the freezer until you’re ready to cook them up.
- In a deep fryer or pot, heat oil to 180C and maintain at this temperature.
- Drop a single layer of lumpia into the oil and cook 3 minutes on each side or until a very light golden brown (they will darken to golden brown as they dry).
- Drain on a plate of paper towel and serve promptly.
Makes 25 – 30 lumpia.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Dinner, Filipino, Food, Lunch, Recipes, Savoury
About Tiny Bites
Tiny Bites is a food blog that explores all things edible and imbibable in Vancouver, British Columbia. More >
Our Forum: Chefs’ Table Talk
Chat with other Tiny Bites readers and BC's restaurant pros on the province's newest food community forum.
Articles by Karen Hamilton
Read the food and non-food articles that I've contributed to sites other than Tiny Bites.
Tiny Bites on the web
You can find additional Tiny Bites contributions at these sites:
