how to make meat pie

Venison Meat Pie
Venison Meat Pie

Venison Meat Pie excerpted from Where the River Narrows: Classic French & Nostalgic Québécois Recipes From St. Lawrence Restaurant by Jean-Christophe Poirier. Written with Joie Alvaro Kent. Copyright © 2022 Jean- Christophe Poirier. Cover and book design by Jennifer Griffiths. Photography by Brit Gill

Where the River Narrows: Classic French & Nostalgic Québécois Recipes From St. Lawrence Restaurant

WHERE THE RIVER NARROWS is a loving homage to Chef Jean-Christophe (J-C) Poirier’s home province, Québec—the phrase is a direct translation of the Algonquin word “kebec,” describing the area around Québec City where the St. Lawrence River is hemmed in by towering cliffs. Québec is where J-C’s love for the nostalgic beauty of French cooking began. In his debut cookbook, he shares recipes from both cultures, Québécois and French, and the intersections between them—whether from the menu of his Michelin-starred Vancouver restaurant, St. Lawrence, or his kitchen at home.

With over 125 beautifully photographed recipes, J-C provides a full look at French and Québécois cooking with classic dishes like Tourtière, Pot-au-Feu, Tarte au Sucre, and Tarte Tatin, along with bistro favourites like Steak with Peppercorn Cream Sauce and Chocolate Mousse that your friends and family are sure to love.

For those who are devoted fans of St. Lawrence, where J-C showcases time-honoured traditions in a transportive dining experience, readers will find his signature dishes, like the famous Pâté en Croûte, Coquilles St-Jacques à la Parisienne, and Tarte au Citron Flambée au Pastis. Readers seeking reliable recipes for the basics and mother sauces of French cuisine can earmark the Chef’s Essentials chapter as their go-to resource. And to finish it off, a Menus section with suggestions for pairing dishes, selecting wine, and other tips and tricks, will help you pull off the feast of your dreams. Interspersed throughout are essays where J-C shares the full breadth of his culinary experience, his life as a chef and restaurateur, and how he cooks for his family at the end of a long day.

With his magnetic yet dry sense of humour, you’ll hear J-C’s voice as you recreate his most beloved dishes. Whether you’re an adventurous home cook or an armchair traveller, this enchanting book is just as much a pleasure to read as it is to cook from. (more…)

Family Recipes: Tourtière

I’ve come to realize that many of us have been bequeathed a cherished family recipe—a dish so delicious that we instinctively know it would be universally beloved. It may be elaborate and require the skills of a culinary savant to assemble it, or so simple, so unfussy, that even the most hardened of hacks can prepare it with ease. But when it is served, it is the unmistakable, reliable star of the meal, whether celebrating triumphs, comforting woes, or keeping family memories and traditions alive. It seems almost cruel to withhold such heirloom recipes from the world at large. Hence, I am championing the cause of the family recipe. I will entice the people in my universe to share favourite, nostalgia-infused family recipes, and I will give one of them centre stage in this very space on a monthly basis. In the end, we are all family, and these recipes represent the legacies of our shared passions. First up, the recipe for my mom’s tourtière. Enjoy!

A tourtière is a very traditional French-Canadian dish served by generations of French-Canadian families throughout Canada. As a child, I remember the smell emanating from the kitchen—that smell was a sure sign that the holidays were near. Not near like next week near, but near-ish like next month. Or the month after that. You see, tourtières are generally prepared early, weeks, even months before the holidays. And, then they’re frozen so that they can be enjoyed well into the new year. Also, they’re prepared in bulk. To muddy things further, my mom, the holder of the recipe, is not beholden to an actual written recipe. Thankfully, she has committed one to memory, just like her mother before her. But, that’s where the lineage ends. There is a faint recollection of the recipe belonging to this or that aunt, or perhaps, her great-great-great grandmother. But, since everyone aforementioned has departed this earth, origin cannot be verified.

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