New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas, a delicious way to bring good luck and prosperity for 2012

When I was first learning my way around the kitchen, The New York Times Cookbook (Harper and Row, 1st published 1961) was my constant companion. Its editor was an immensely talented writer and cook named Craig Claiborne. So you can imagine my excitement when, quite a few years and many successful New York Times recipes later, I spied an open seat next to Mr. Claiborne on a Manhattan-bound Hampton Jitney, then my preferred way to get back and forth to the city. I took my seat and introduced myself.

Quebec’s Gift to the Holiday Table: Tourtiere du Porc Adapted from Martin Picard of Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon

         In French Canada, Tourtiere, a wonderfully rich pork pie,  occupies a place of honor that’s likely unmatched by any other dish.  It is served ubiquitously on Christmas Eve. This holiday party even has its own name: "Reveillon".  In French the word means ‘awakening’. This midnight gathering is a feast of indulgent food and song.  In many families, a Christmas Eve nap is a must to prepare for the long night ahead. Then, after midnight mass, family and friends return home to a rich buffet of comfort food all laid out to welcome the cold and weary worshipers.  Helped along by a steady flow of mulled wine of cider, the end of the meal is often the point where everyone breaks into song singing Christmas Carols.   The other event that is often an occasion for a Reveillon is of course, New Year’s Eve itself. 

No Reveillon would be complete without
 Tourtiere,  and plenty of them

         Since our trip to Montreal last Fall, I’ve had a Reveillon of my own.  My interest in all things Quebecois has been awakened.  So I wanted to bring a traditional French Canadian Tourtiere to our table over the holidays.  Now a traditional Tourtiere is a pork pie consisting of both ground meat and pulled pork, its seasoning a unique blend of cinnamon and ground cloves.  But tourtiere is a very expansive recipe and the Quebecois make all manner of fillings depending on where they live (think seafood tourtiere) and what they have on hand (think wild game tourtiere).  Interestingly, the word ‘tourte’ means ‘passenger pigeon’ in French and folklorists believe that the earliest French Canadians first made pigeon pies. When the passenger pigeon was hunted out of existence, they turned to pork.  Because basically pork is the king of meats in Quebec.

Monte’s Ham and Cheese Strata

  

         This is a wonderful brunch dish, with its glorious topping of cheese and crispy oversized croutons atop a creamy egg and tender ham filling.  It’s very easy to put together.  You make it the night before and its flavors meld together so in the morning, you just pop it in the oven and in a little over an hour you have something very special for your breakfast or brunch table.  I like to serve this with a simply dressed green salad.  Here is the recipe:

Recipe for Monte’s Ham and Cheese Strata

Serves 4-6 depending upon appetite.

2 cups of cooked Monte’s Ham, trimmed of its outside, glazed layer and cut into ½ inch dice

Ciabatta or other Crusty Country bread –about 4 cups -- cut into 1 inch dice

¾ lb. of Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Dubliner Cheese, grated

6 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 ½ cups of Whole Milk

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1 heaping tbsp. Dijon Mustard

1 pinch Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled briefly.

Spray a 1-quart souffle dish with non-stick spray.

Arrange a third of the bread cubes to cover the bottom of the dish and sprinkle them with 1/3 of the cheese.

Top the cheese with all the ham; top the ham with the remaining bread. Sprinkle the remaining cheese generously over the bread.

Press the layers together slightly.

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, mustard, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the mixture evenly over the strata.  Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the strata

Cover the soufflé dish and refrigerate overnight.

45 minutes before cooking, remove the strata from the refrigerator

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  

Bake the strata for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours until the top is golden brown and the filling is set.  Serve.