French Canadian Holiday Baking (Online)
Taught by Laura Scheck
Laura Scheck is the founder of Teaching Table, a culinary education platform that aims to inspire others to cook foods that are better for their bodies, their families, and their communities. Laura previously worked as a teacher and adult educator and was trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute, making her uniquely suited to share her passion for food in an educational way. Teaching Table provides public cooking demos and workshops, lessons targeted towards individual needs and special diets, private cooking classes & events for cooks of all ages and experience levels, as well as tips, techniques, and recipes via a blog and social media.
My French Canadian heritage inspires this festive class with both sweet and savory holiday bakes. We will start by mulling wine with orange, star anise and other spices to warm your home and your palate. We’ll bake a traditional Quebecois pie with scratch-made butter pastry. Choose either Tourtiere, made from Gorton (spiced pork) and mashed potatoes or Salmon Pie, a simpler, more sustainable alternative to the pork. Tourtiere, a savory meat and potato pie is a staple of holiday meals across Quebec. It is typically made from pork, but may also include game, like venison, and is best accompanied by Dijon mustard. Lastly, we’ll bake up a batch of Hermits, a fruit and nut-studded spiced molasses cookie, that French Canadian children often leave for Pere Noel (Father Christmas). The version I grew up with was baked in logs and then cut into bars. They usually contain raisins and sometimes walnuts, but you can include other dried fruits and omit the nuts if you choose.
Practice basic baking skills, test your hand at some advanced tricks and learn pronunciations for all of these words, including French, Canadian and New England variations of each. Impress your holiday guests with some new showstoppers.
Menu:
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Tourtiere (traditional Quebecois Pork Pie)
or
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Salmon Pie
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Hermit Cookies
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Mulled Wine
This is a virtual hands-on class. There is some prep required for this class, particularly if you make the pork version. You’ll receive a detailed list of ingredients, materials and prep instructions at least 1 week before class. A hand held electric mixer is recommended for the hermits.
