Canadian

Blizzard food at its best. This buttery crusted pie, filled with rib-sticking pork, will fortify you for any winter's night.

I first tasted pot stickers in the late 1980s at the tiny Mandarin Deli in Los Angeles’s Chinatown. Behind the glass window, a dumpling maker steadily worked, rolling out thin wrappers, filling them, and creating large pea pod–shaped dumplings. I watched intently, distracted only when my fragrant pot stickers arrived. The hearty dumplings were so hot that I burned my mouth, but they were well worth the minor injury. Pot stickers supposedly started out as boiled dumplings that a chef forgot about in the wok (guō) and they stuck (tiē) after the water had cooked away. His guests loved the contrasts between succulent filling, tender-chewy skin, and crusty bottom, and thus the pot sticker was born. The modern way to mimic the chef ’s delicious accident is to cook pot stickers in a skillet with water and oil, which steams the dumplings and fries their bottoms to a golden, toasty finish. They are technically called jiānjiao in Chinese, which means shallow-fried dumplings; but in the West, we commonly know them as pot stickers and pan fried dumplings. “Fried” dumplings can be pan fried or deep-fried.

Recently I went with some close girlfriends to Nova Scotia. There’s a lot more than lox going on up there! At the Normaway Inn on Cape Breton Island our favorite meal was brunch; this is my version of their Eggs Benedict. It’s good for B, L, or D—breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Even though peameal has nothing to do with the bacon we know and love, many still refer to it as "Canadian bacon." They call it that in Canada, the place on both sides of Quebec—joking, joking....Part of the history of Montreal is an overdramatized opposition to Toronto. Maybe it's hockey, maybe it's the separatist thing, or maybe it's just a friendly rivalry. Regardless, we love Toronto. It's where our favorite butcher, Stephen Alexander, has his shops (Cumbrae's) and it's the national capital of oyster bars (Rodney's, Oyster Boy, Starfish). It's also home to Kids in the Hall, John Candy, the Black Hoof, and, of course, the Saint Lawrence Market, where you can get a peameal bacon bun with maple mustard. Peameal is not made with peas anymore. Like most aspects of life, ranging from food to plastic, peameal is being taken over by corn. We make our peameal with dried yellow peas crushed in the processor. The purpose of peas or cornmeal is to wick and dry, thus preventing spoilage. You will let the meat brine for a minimum of four full days, ninety-six hours, in the fridge. It is necessary to have a brine injector; they sell them nowadays for under ten bucks in big stores.

This traditional dessert can be served warm from the oven or at room temperature. It's delicious topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, creme fraîche, or whipped cream.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Marilynn and Sheila Brass's Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, click here. Tarte au Sucre 1920s
We found this recipe handwritten on an index card filed among main dishes and salads. We believe it has ties to our neighbors to the north, with origins in France. Although it's simple and quick, this is a serious pie. We love the caramelized sugar taste of this tar, which is so representative of Canadian sweets.

Maple syrup and maple sugar infuse a simple vanilla custard with a rich caramelized flavor.

Eaten with great gusto all over Quebec, poutine was once just a late-night diner staple. It is now served at some of the province's finest restaurants.

Pouding Chômeur
This dessert shows the English influence on Quebec cooking. "Unemployed man's pudding" is made from ingredients that are inexpensive and abundant in the area. You'll find it on the menu at diners and cafßs all over Montreal.

Canadian bacon is a good option for breakfast meat, as it has less fat than regular bacon or sausage. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Teri Carpenter of Albuquerque, New Mexico, writes: "On a trip to British Columbia, we dined at Blue Heron Inn, on Porpoise Bay, in Sechelt. They served a fabulous onion and fennel bisque. Could you get the chef to share the recipe with Gourmet?" This bisque is so lush that demitasse cups make an ideal serving size. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 35 min

Large Scone Prince Edward Island traditionalists still enjoy four meals a day — breakfast, dinner (at noon), supper, and "lunch," commencing at 10 p.m. Typical fare includes bannock or biscuits, homemade jam, cheese, and strong tea.

Tarte au Sirop d' Érable "My husband and I had an absolutely fantastic dessert at Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens while on vacation in Quebec, Canada," Says Deb Kalikow of Natick, Massachusetts. "Maple syrup pie served with crème fraîche is its specialty. The pie capped off a perfect dinner of delicious French-Canadian dishes. We ate at another restaurant the next night and tried the maple syrup pie there. We were so disappointed by our first bites that we then went back to Aux Anciens Canadiens and waited an hour just to have another piece of their pie." Don't be tempted to forgo the cream with this pie; it perfectly complements the dessert's rich silkiness and balances the sweetness.

At the lodge, the tenderloin is also complemented by a spicy peach salsa.

Buckwheat — which grows well in cold climates — has a solid place in French-Canadian cuisine. Buckwheat crêpes can be traced back to Brittany, and buckwheat pancakes are a regular part of a Canadian breakfast. These "noodles," made from savory crêpes, are a contemporary twist on this classic dish.

"While in Vancouver, we had a wonderful meal at Diva at the Met. The star of the show was the Stilton cheesecake. Could you persuade the chef to part with the recipe?" asks Mark Horne of Laurel, Mississippi. Editors' note: Pairing Stilton and rhubarb may sound like a joke, but we had to try it. It turns out that the joke's on us — the combination is terrific. Chef Michael Noble caramelizes the top with a blowtorch, but we think the cheesecake is also delicious without the crackly crust.