Partridge and pheasant both have delicate chickenlike meat with a distinct boost of flavour. This celebratory pie will be a hit.
Tourtiere is the creme de la creme of pies. Lightly spiced and herbed, this pork pie is especially anticipated for Christmas Eve celebrations, but it's equally tasty throughout the holidays and winter months. Tourtiere is completely make-ahead, delicious when turkey or chicken take over for pork and perfectly complemented by a tangy relish such as chili sauce.
One of the pleasures of the cooking traditions of the British Isles is seafood pie, with its bounty of northern seafood in a creamy sauce topped with flaky pastry. You can make the pie a day ahead and refrigerate it or freeze it. If you prefer, use pie pastry (one double-crust recipe) instead of puff pastry.
In Canada, we harvest the sweetest, most delicious lobster in the world. If you're short on time or fridge space, most grocery stores or fish markets will steam lobsters for you on request, but boiling them fresh at home is always preferable. Serve them with one (or all) of our signature butters or seasoned mayo.
My family absolutely loves this dish. It is one of those wonderful dishes that is best prepared the day ahead which leaves you plenty of time for entertaining when your friends are over. It came about as my son was dating a girl who was a vegetarian, I wanted to make a dish for supper that we could all enjoy with her. I looked at a variety of recipes and formulated this one, which we have come to love - I have shared the recipe with garlic loving friends who just can't get enough! All the ingredients can be grown in my backyard, although I usually buy the eggplant at the St. Jacobs Farmers market in Waterloo, about 15 minutes from my home. Serve this with a caesar salad and some crusty bread and voila! A meal your friends won't soon forget!
Veal and Ham Pie belongs to that special category of meat pies we associate more with French pat?than with the British antecedents of our Canadian cuisine. This splendid pie takes some time to put together, but is worth every minute. In the true tradition of a Canadian picnic, the responsibility for making the dishes should be shared by the group. It\'s advisable that this dish be prepared by a picnicker with a free afternoon one or two days before the outing.
My inspiration for the recipe began with an amazing cheese course I had at a dinner party at my sister's house. Rosemary honey drizzled on sharp cheese on a gourmet cracker. Divine! I knew my recipe had to have a rosemary honey component (and lucky for me I had overwintered a rosemary plant from my garden.) Thyme honey, my alternate choice and made the same way, was also delicious. I also wanted to focus on local prairie ingredients...you can't find lemons or olive oil here so I didn't put any in my recipe! I love risotto and thought it a good way to bring the sharp cheese into the recipe. I don't like the constant stirring of the usually method so tried local grains baked instead. The oats are creamy and the barley still has slight bite so it is a great combination. A friend who was sampling my recipe stated, "the risotto was a real surprise, the star of the show." I choose pickerel because it is a local prairie fish, is quite mild, and blends nicely with the other flavours. Rainbow trout also works nicely. The carrots and parsnips were grown locally and the rosemary honey just brings out the flavours wonderfully. To serve: Scoop a generous portion of risotto onto plates. Place an array of vegetables to the side of risotto, then top with a half fillet of pickerel. Drizzle with remaining rosemary honey and garnish with sprig of parsley. Excellent with any British Columbia Meritage or Pinot Grigio Note: If you have any leftover risotto, it is delicious for breakfast with crispy bacon on the side!
These twisted treats are delicious both savoury or sweet, and guaranteed to be fun to eat!
Menu:
Lake Brome Duck Breast with Cranberry and Kumquat Chutney
Oven Roasted Nova Scotia Organic Fingerling Potatoes
Organic Nova Scotia Carrots in Maple Syrup Glaze
Salad of Organic Nova Scotia Micro Greens and Sprouts with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette and Honey Goat Cheese Puffs
Inspiration: The inspiration for this meal comes from the 100 mile challenge featured on Food Network. I am currently involved with a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm here in Nova Scotia and am quite passionate about eating Slow Food, which is locally grown. I want to reduce my carbon footprint by using as many ingredients as possible that come from the province where I live in rather than from afar. It is nice to know, not only where your food comes from, but who grew it as well. Our children are quite excited each week to see our food box arrive, and always wonder what our farmer has sent us. Part of what I like about this recipe is that although it appears complicated, it really is quite simple and requires nothing out of the ordinary for most kitchens these days, with the exception of the kumquats. I have also included the recipes for the side dishes I like to serve with this meal. Preparation time includes preparing and cooking the side dishes as well. There are substitutions for the vegetables, for example using new baby potatoes or baby carrots, and substituting a peppery arugula for the micro greens. Food doesn't have to be pretentious or difficult to taste good. This recipe calls for one duck breast for each person, which for some appetites may be alot. The recipe could be stretched to serve 8, if the breasts are on the larger side. Wine Pairing: Jost L'Acadie Blanc Chardonnay (The Flight of the Silver Dart Commemorative) or Domaine de Grand Pre L'Acadie Blanc
Presentation: When presenting this dish, place a spoonful of the chutney in the centre of a warmed plate. Slice the duck thinly crossways and fan half over either side of the chutney. I place the carrots at one end of the plate with a bit of the glaze and the potatoes at the other, and drizzle balsamic glaze on each plate.
