"Kate Connally" > wrote in message
...
>I made Tourtiere for Xmas eve. I also had some extra
> kale left over from when I made my Portuguese Turkey,
> Potato, and Linguica Soup earlier in the month with my
> leftover T-day turkey carcass, so I cooked the kale with
> garlic, olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and red wine
> vinegar.
>
> ORIGINAL CANADIAN TOURTIERE
>
> 1/2 lb. ground pork
> 1/2 lb. ground veal
> 1/4 c. chopped onion
> 1/4 c. water
> 1/4 tsp. white pepper
> 1 tsp. salt
> 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
> 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
> 1/4 tsp. celery salt
> 1/4 tsp. savory
> 1-2 potatoes, boiled and mashed
> 1 pastry for 8" double-crust pie
>
> Preheat oven to 425F. Place pork, veal, onion, and water in a saucepan.
> Simmer until color changes. Adding seasonings; simmer for a little
> longer. Thoroughly drain meat. Mix in mashed potatoes. Fit bottom
> pastry into 8" pie plate. Fill with meat mixture. Cover with top crust.
> Seal edges as desired and vent top to allow steam to escape. Bake for 10
> minutes; lower oven temperature to 400F and bake for 20-25 minutes or
> until crust is golden brown and filling is hot. Serves 6. Note: If you
> prefer a spicier tourtiere increase seasonings to your taste. (From Good
> Friends Cookbook)
>
> Since I have 10" pie plates I doubled this recipe. Also, I sort
> of combined it with a couple of other recipes as far as cooking
> technique was concerned. I basically briefly sauteed the onion
> in my large skillet and then added the meats and the seasonings
> and some water and cooked it until the meat was done. Then I
> mixed in the mashed potatoes and let it cool before putting it in
> the crust. I used sage instead of savory (one of the other recipes
> called for sage and I was out of savory).
>
> For the crust I used my usual Betty Crocker recipe. This crust
> turned out to the be the very best crust I have ever made. The
> texture was perfect, beautifully flaky. I'm now afraid to ever
> make pie crust again as I don't see how I can ever live up to this
> crust! I usually make very good pie crust! I'm very picky about
> pie crust and almost never like anyone else's and especially not
> the crap you get in bakeries and restaurants. However the last
> couple of years, for some unknown reason, I have been coming up
> with less than perfect crusts, even when using Betty Crocker's
> recipe, which is our family standard. (Although, even my *bad*
> pie crust is better than most!)
>
> So the Tourtiere was excellent! And the kale was a nice
> accompaniment.
>
> GARLICKY KALE
>
> 2 pounds kale (~ 2 bunches)
> 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
> 4-5 cloves garlic
> pinch red pepper flakes
> splash red wine vinegar
> salt to taste
> freshly ground black pepper
>
> Remove stems from the kale and chop the leaves coarsely. Wash and drain
> well but do not dry. Heat a large saute pan, add 3 tablespoons of the
> olive oil and enough kale to cover the bottom of the pan, and cook over
> high heat while stirring to rotate the leaves. Add more kale as the
> leaves wilt. When all the kale has been added, season with salt, cover,
> and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally; the cooking
> time will depend on the maturity of the kale. Young kale will be tender
> after 4-5 minutes. It may be necessary to add a splash of water if the
> leaves begin to scorch. When the leaves are tender, remove the lid and
> allow any excess water to cook away. Remove the kale to a warm bowl and
> set aside. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along
> with the garlic and red pepper. Saute just until you smell the aroma of
> garlic. Sprinkle the garlic and red pepper over the kale and toss with a
> splash of vinegar. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at
> room temperature.
>
> For dessert I made my Baklava (recipe was recently posted) which
> is made with pistachios and an apricot syrup.
>
> For Xmas day brunch I made Egg and Grits Breakfast Casserole.
> I think I got this recipe on rfc or maybe on rfr. I've made this many
> times, it's one of my favorite recipes.
>
> EGGS AND GRITS BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
>
> 3 1/2 cups milk
> 3/4 cup old-fashioned grits
> 3 lg. eggs
> 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
> 1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
> 4 tbsp. butter, cut up
> 1/3 lb. sausage, browned and drained well
> 1 med. onion, chopped
> 4 oz. diced green chiles
> 1/2 tsp. salt
> 1 tsp. pepper
> 1 tbsp. cilantro, dried (2 tbsp. if fresh)
> 1 tsp. cumin
> 4 12" tortillas
>
> Heat milk in a saucepan until almost boiling. Slowly stir in grits and
> stir. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until
> thickened, about 15-20 minutes. While grits are cooking preheat oven to
> 350F. Beat eggs and mix well with cheeses, cut up butter, sausage, onion,
> green chile, salt, pepper, cilantro, and cumin. Mix this into cooked
> grits completely. Pour into a buttered 9"x13" pan. Place tortillas over
> top evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Serve with fresh
> salsa. (I don't bother with the tortillas. Also,
> I usually use a lot more sausage. I put in at least 1/2 lb., sometimes
> a whole lb. Also, you can use instant or quick-cooking grits.
> It doesn't really matter. I often just buy a package of Mexican
> 4-cheese blend of shredded cheeses. That's what I used this time.
>
> I usually have Mimosas with my Xmas brunch but this year I made
> Bellinis. I used Freixenet instead of Prosecco as the Prosecco
> was too expensive. I used frozen peaches. It was pretty good.
>
> My aunt made Xmas dinner. We had Greek - moussaka, spanakopita, and
> pita and hummus. For dessert she made apple dumplings. My aunt makes
> the world's best apple dumplings.
>
> On Saturday I made my Grittibanz (recipe recently posted) and Pear
> Honey. I used the Pear Honey recipe Barb Schaller sent me since I
> have lost my old recipe. It's pretty good but very different from
> the recipe I used to use. It's just pureed pears and sugar. It
> turned out great. I gave a Grittibanz and a jar of pear honey to
> a friend and one of each to my aunt. I was going to give some to
> another friend whom i could not reach and since I didn't have room
> in the freezer to save the bread for her I have to eat it all myself,
> in addition, of course, to the one I made for myself. Damn! What
> a pain! ;-)
>
> Yikes! I haven't been this prolific at Xmas for quite a few years
> now. I can't believe I did all that cooking. Well, actually I could
> when I was doing all the dishes! It took me all week to get the dishes
> done! ;-)
>
> Happy New Year!
> Kate
>
> --
> Kate Connally
> “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
> Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
> Until you bite their heads off.”
> What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
>

that sounds wonderful, Kate. How was the weather in your neck of PA for
Christmas? Ours was damp and dreary.
-ginny