Mom's Tourtière Pie

Nothing says winter holidays for me like homemade Tourtière Pie. The filling is pretty much the same as gorton, which my mom used to stuff the turkey with, and which no decent after Thanksgiving sandwich was without: turkey, gorton, and cranberry sauce in a sandwich. At least for me. Since she is apparently too busy to make pies for me and ship them across the country, I've had to learn to fend for myself. So here it is. This makes enough for 2 pies. Great right from the oven, or cold from the refrigerator. Always great with cranberry sauce.

Mom's Tourtière Pie

oven: 375°

1 onion diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups water

2 lbs ground pork

1 lb ground beef

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of thyme

1 tsp salt

1 bay leaf

3 or 4 medium potatoes, diced and boiled separately
crusts for 2 pies, top and bottom

Saute onions and celery in a touch of oil until onions just start to brown around the edges. Add garlic and sauté for a minute. Add remaining ingredients except potatoes breaking up the meat and bring to boil then simmer for about 3 hours, adding a little more water as necessary while cooking. Drain and save liquid.  Add diced cooked potatoes to pork mixture. Use a potato masher to break them up a little and blend into pork, but you should still see potato bits. Add a little of the saved liquid to the mix to help hold together if needed. (If you let the liquid sit a bit, you can separate the juices from the fat.)  Put into two uncooked pie crusts.  Top it and cook as a regular pie making sure to vent crust, about 45 minutes at 375 degrees.  Makes two  pies, with maybe some extra. Or not. Depends on the size of your pie pans I guess.

Note: I use Pillsbury crusts and brush the top with beaten egg to "shine" it up.

Peach Tart

This is so easy. Cutting the peaches turned out to be the hardest part, and even THAT was easy. I had picked up a box of peaches from Trader Joe's and let them sit out until they were perfectly ripe. There are only two of us, so we ate as many as we could so I had to find a way to use them. Cobblers and Crisps came to mind, but everybody makes those. And I had a frozen sheet of Dufour Puff Pastry in the freezer I had been wanting to use, so the right answer turned out to be a Peach Tart!

RUSTIC PEACH TART

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (I prefer Dufour's)

7 to 8 ripe peaches

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon corn starch

3 tablespoons brown sugar

dash of cinnamon (optional)

2 tablespoons apricot preserves

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)


Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 15x10 pan with non-stick spray.

Sprinkle rolling surface with some flour. Unfold puff pastry and lightly sprinkle top with flour. Roll out to approximate size of pan then place in pan. Using a sharp knife, cut off about 1/2 inch on all sides making straight sides. Fold cut-off pieces back over edges making them double height. Score halfway through bottom layer inside of this second layer being sure to NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. This helps make an edge to keep the peach stuff in.

Slice peaches into about 8 pieces and place in bowl. Toss with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.

Combine the flour, corn starch and brown sugar (and cinnamon, if desired.) Sprinkle over the bottom of the crust (this will thicken and sweeten the fruit and its juices). Arrange the peaches on top using a slotted spoon into a slightly heaped but even single layer but DO NOT pour any of the juices from the bowl on the tart. Trust me, it will be juicy enough. DO NOT heap the peaches up in the center or the tart won't cook correctly.

Heat preserves and honey (either on the stove or a microwave) enough to melt. Brush over the peaches. (I also brush some on the crust around the edge, too.)

Bake 350° for about 40 minutes on a low oven rack, until fruit looks cooked and the crust is golden brown. If desired, sprinkle a teaspoon-ish of sugar over the tart for the last 10-15 minutes. It will give the tart added sparkle. This is completely optional.

DO NOT cut immediately! It needs to sit a bit and let the juices thicken up. If you cut it right away, all that delicious juice will run out before they can thicken as they cool. Trust me, it is worth the wait.

My notes:

• I have found I prefer Dufour's puff pastry (which I get at my local Whole Foods). Its the right size, though a little expensive. But it also tastes the best.
• I have used Stevia for the sugar and a Splenda/brown sugar blend for the sweeteners. It worked fine.
• As usual, I added cinnamon- I add it to everything, it seems.
• I used raw honey for the honey but regular will work.
• I like the "rustic" look, so I didn't bother lining all the peach slices up like some folks do. Tastes the same either way.
• I used a packet of raw turbinado sugar for the "sparkle".
• I was uncomfortable with what looked like a lot of extra liquid but it thickened up upon cooling.
• Depending on the size of the peaches, you may need more or less. When I thought I needed more, I would cut up another one and stir it into the left-over juices in the bowl, then use the slotted spoon and apply them to the tart. Repeat as necessary.
• Forgot to make the glaze last time I made it, and it was still delicious!