Our Neighbors to the North

The winter Olympics may be over, but we haven’t forgotten about our curling, hockey dominating, Dudley Do-Right neighbors to the North just yet. That’s right, Canada ay was the focus of our latest feast of the week.

Aside from maple syrup and Canadian bacon, however, what would be considered your typical Canadian fare? To find out, I consulted my Québécois-turned-New Englander friend Tracy who graciously, and with the help of her grandmother, provided the food for this week’s Canadian grub fest.

First up was a rural Quebec original, first concocted in the 1950s. Today many restaurants and food chains throughout the country offer their own versions of the greasy, calorically rich dish known as poutine.


Also called disco fries in the Northern U.S., poutine consists of French fries topped with cheese curds, typically Frommage Beaucronne, and a light chicken or veal gravy.

Originally considered “low-food” by urban French-Canadians, poutine is now jokingly thought of by some to be the national food of Canada.

Next we savored another Quebec creation, tourtière. A meat pie typically made with beef, pork and veal and often enjoyed around the holidays, tourtière is another one of those dishes that varies greatly depending seasonal ingredients and individual family traditions.


Both the three-meat pie, which had a hint of cinnamon, and the saucy cheese fries were instant hits with Mr. Meat and Potatoes (go figure) and although I couldn’t help but feel a little sinful, I went back for a second helping of tourtière before polishing off the rest of the poutine.

For dessert we sipped a 2007 Jackson Triggs Vidal Icewine, since Canada is the world’s largest producer of Icewine after all. Golden hued with honeyed fruit flavors and a silky finish, after a heavy meal it was all the dessert we needed.

This week Canada takes home a gold medal for deliciousness, but where my waistline is concerned, they come in dead last.