You know you are dealing with a family with a serious baking habit when you see 10 kg (22 lb) flour bags on the counter. Both of my daughters bake regularly, but the past few days it has been me up to my elbows in flour.
I am making our tourtières as I have done every year for the past 24 years--in honour of my husband's French-Canadian traditions.
I always make more than one type and make enough to share with my own family in Ontario as they have grown to love these tasty pies. With a salad and condiment, a tourtière can be a lovely and simple winter dinner. We like a non-traditional choice of condiment--Indian chutney. My husband's childhood choice was Heinz ketchup.
This year I am making three kinds: a meat and potato combination, a savoury veal-pork pie and a vegetarian version (with tvp) for my eldest daughter. I love to decorate them with cut-out pastry, so each has its own personality. The dove-decorated one is my favourite so far. I have four made and have five to go.
I actually had made tourtière before I met my husband as I was always interested in French Canada and used to watch a show by a French-Canadian chef
Jehane Benoît when I was a teenager--not the interest of every young girl growing up in Toronto. I studied French in high school and university. In fact, I am the only bilingual member of my family, although I still have an anglophone accent all these years later.
I wonder how many of you make foods that honour more than one Christmas tradition in your family.
