Celebrating Family Traditions with Tourtière Appetizer

Tourtiere

Once December 1st hits it is time to start planning, scheming, and dreaming of the holidays.   With dreams of sugar plums and tables laden with special treats dancing in our heads this brings us to another edition of the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club where each month we create a menu from the pages of Cooking Light magazine. Thank you for joining us for our holiday edition. This month we are extolling the virtues of family and sharing our holiday traditions, a theme chosen by our very own Sandi of The Whistlestop Cafe Cooking.

If you're like me you like to prepare as much as humanly possible long before the actual day and have the freezer laden with dishes ready for their moment to shine. We have talked about simplifying our holiday entertaining menus in past posts, but, we also want to have our guests feel that they are the centre of our "entertaining universe" with innovative ideas and presentations. You can have that WOW factor without a lot of work and fiddling with complicated recipes. One way is to present this twist on a Canadian classic.

Tourtière is a traditional French-Canadian spiced meat pie served by generations of French-Canadian families throughout Canada and the bordering areas of the United States. It is especially anticipated for Christmas Eve celebrations, but it's equally as tasty throughout the holidays or over the winter months. It also goes without saying, you don't need to be French or Canadian to have this dish become a holiday tradition. Every family has their own "original" recipe, passed down through the generations. Like the recipe, there is no one correct filling, as the pie meat depends on what is regionally available. It is a delicious, fragrant and savoury addition to the holiday table!!!

One year when L'il Burnt Toast was knee high to a grasshopper I decided to change things up Christmas Eve and offer a traditional tourtière, but, it did not go over well. Unbeknownst to me I had created a tradition of having both cheese fondue and chocolate fondue for the perfect family celebration. These days I still love to include this traditional Canadian dish so usually make a strudel version as a starter, but, this recipe from the pages of Cooking Light would work equally well.  The recipe bakes individual pies in ramekins with just a top crust which is a simple way to shave both fat and calories from each serving.

Of course I had to shake it up a bit. Mushrooms are unconventional, but tourtiere fans will be happy with the extra flavour. I also added a little thyme and savoury since my own recipe for this classic dish calls for it. What I absolutely LOVE about this dish is that it can be completely made-ahead, baked and then can be served at room temperature. Doesn't this make this perfect for a stress-free holiday table with a little bit of WOW.

Now let's see what the rest of our group has brought to celebrate. 

Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen starts us off with a very flavourful Cioppino, an Italian-style seafood stew perfect for a celebration.

Next I brought along these appetizing individual Tourtiere.

 Sandi of Whistlestop Cafe Cooking  brings the centre piece with a Honey Thyme Brined Turkey Breast.

Our newest member Susan of The Spice Garden brings along a comforting Green Bean Casserole. 

Before his upcoming trip to Italy  Jerry of Jerry's Thoughts, Musings and Rants ends our meal on a high note with Panettone.

If you would like to join us for one month throughout 2013 just send us a note and we will give you your choice of months to join in.

**Tourtière**

Cooking spray
1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried savoury
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1 (1-pound) russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (or your favourite pie dough)

Preheat oven to 400°. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and coat pan with cooking spray.

Add pork to pan. Sprinkle pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt, savoury and thyme; sauté for 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Using a slotted spoon, remove pork from pan. Add olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add 1 cup onion, carrot, celery, and potato; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and mushrooms, and sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return pork to pan. Stir in flour, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat. 

Place 1 cup pork mixture into each of 6 (8-ounce) ramekins. Roll pie dough to an 11-inch circle. Cut 4 (5-inch) dough circles. Combine and re-roll dough scraps. Cut 2 (5-inch) circles. Place 1 dough circle on each ramekin, tucking edges inside. Cut an X in the top of each circle; coat lightly with cooking spray. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

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