Day Six - Canada

Eh?! You may be thinking, "Canada...what do they eat up there? Hockey?"  While not known for it's cuisine when to compared to countries like France or Italy or China, Canada is a wonderful country with it's own unique and distinct cultural identity (it is not, as Robin Williams said, "A loft apartment over a really great party").

One of my former colleagues over in undergraduate admissions, Taylor Bradley, is just a tiny bit Canadian (ok that's the understatement of the year).  She proudly wears her maple leaf, and had terrific things to say about her home and native land.  When asking her for her help with this blog, she said that Canada was a really cool melting pot of different cultures and cuisines (sound familiar?) and that made it hard to pinpoint a true "food identity." With that being said, Taylor went to her Nana's cookbook and was able to point me towards some recipes that would be good to try for this evening.


Poutine

2 Yukon Gold Potatoes
2 Cups French Onion Soup (I used some of the left over soup from "France" night)
2 Cups Shredded Gouda Cheese (cheese curds are preferred here, but I was unable to find them and had to improvise)
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
Pepper to taste

I have had this dish before several times and loved it.  I mean, come on, gravy and cheese on french fries, what a delicious idea. Any country that can come up with that is alright in my book.

I didn't do the french fry route this go around, but instead went more with a steak fry type cut.  I cut each potato into little wedges.

Then, I combined the potatoes, olive oil, and pepper in a large bowl and coated the potatoes.  The potatoes went on a baking sheet and I roasted them at 450 degrees until they were browned (about 30 minutes, turning once).

While the potatoes were roasting, I set about making the gravy.  I used the french onion soup that I had previously made as a base, and slowly simmered it on low in a sauce pan.  I added the flour to the soup and whisked until it was smooth.

Once the potatoes were browned, I pushed them to the middle of the baking pan and sprinkled the shredded Gouda on top.  I put the pan back in the oven until the cheese was melted, about 5 minutes or so.

I took the potatoes out and put into a casserole dish.  I covered them with the french onion gravy and served.

Tourtière

1/2 pound minced dark meat turkey

1/2 pound turkey gizzards

1/2 pound roasted pork   

1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups luke-warm water

2 cups mashed potatoes (I used the roasted potatoes from "France" night and mashed them with heavy cream)

1 tablespoon milk

This is a traditional meat pie (pronounced tour-tea-ere) that I cut a few corners on.  First, a good portion of Taylor grandmother's recipe consisted of how to make the dough.  I went with pre-made pie crust.  I'm sorry Nana Bradley...

It also called for ground pork (or a mix of ground veal and ground pork).  Here, I substituted for the darker meat from the turkey I had already cooked (along with the gizzards), and some of the roast pork from "Cuba" lunch.  I know it's not exactly traditional, but the leftovers are piling up in my fridge and I had to do something with them!

First, I combined the meats, onion, salt, and water in a pan over med-low heat.  I brought to a simmer until the liquid was gone and stirred often (this took awhile, the original recipe called for four hours so I'm sure that I rushed through it a bit).

Next, I mixed in the spices, and added the potatoes.  I beat the mixture thoroughly until it was combined. 

I then lined a pie plate with one of the crusts.  I spooned the filling mixture onto the pie crust, and then covered it with the remaining crust.

I sealed the edges, brushed the top crust with milk, and poked steam vents into the top with a fork.  I then put it in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

The result...well, was fat kid heaven...

Both dishes were incredibly savory and delicious.  Using the french onion soup was a perfect way to create the gravy for the poutine, and I couldn't tell that there was turkey in the tourtière. They were both very filling (probably way too filling), and there's almost a whole pie left over for us to enjoy. For a country that isn't known for it's cuisine, I was very, very surprised by how wonderful all of this tasted.

I'm going to bed stuffed and happy.  Thank you Canada, a polite country that really knows how to enjoy it's food.  Dreaming of poutine and pies is something I foresee in my future.