This English-style game pie has a rich holiday flavour that is a lovely change from tourtière. Look for fresh rabbit at many grocery and specialty stores.
This is a rib-sticking pie with a tender biscuit-thick crust like the one served at the Restaurant Acadien at Chéticamp. Serve with pickled beets, cranberry sauce or chili sauce.
This classic is usually made with ground pork, often with the addition of potatoes for thickening. Mushrooms are unconventional, but tourtière fans will be happy with the extra flavour.
Game meat is always leaner than domestic meat, so special care must be taken when roasting to prevent it from drying out. Larding it with bacon or pork fat is a traditional method, and it's important to never cook it past medium.
This recipe is done in a pressure cooker (I use a 6 quart Fagor) with a triple-ply base. I am always trying different recipes in the pressure cooker. Risotto is one of my favourites. I use it as the main dish with the addition of lentils. With or without lentils, I serve it as a side to roasted salmon with wilted spinach. I specify arborio rice but use Carnaroli or Vialone Nano, if you can find either, for the best results. Green lentils are used since they hold their shape in a pressure cooker. Romano cheese is my personal preference over parmesan.
This impressive roast is coated in a crispy, flavour-packed crust that adds elegance to your dinner plate. To carve, remove the bones and cut thin slices across the grain. If you have guests who prefer different levels of doneness, save the centre slices for the rare-beef lovers and the outer pieces for those who prefer their meat well done.
Instead of a traditional tourtiere, this year I'm serving a puff pastry-topped pie that's especially festive with tiny onions and chestnuts. For variety you can replace the chicken with pork or veal. To use canned chestnuts instead of the fresh, add these already-cooked nuts when adding the mushroom mixture.
This traditional pea soup is the ultimate in Quebec-style comfort food. Look for an unsmoked ham hock in the meat department of your local supermarket. If you can't find one, a smoked ham hock will work – just reduce the salt in the recipe to 1/4 tsp.
We've simplified traditional huevos rancheros by layering the ingredients in a zesty brunch casserole. Assemble the dish the night before so that, in the morning, all you need to do is crack the eggs, garnish and pop the casserole into the oven. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some sliced avocado or a side salad.
The common variety of ducks (Peking/Lac Brome) raised in Canada are tasty but quite fatty. So, years ago, I developed this method of cooking it based on Chinese recipes where the whole duck is steamed, then deep-fried. The meat's flavour gets a boost from overnight salting; the steaming rids it of most of its fat and tenderizes the meat; and the final finish in a hot oven makes the necessary crisp skin.
