Tourtiere Maison (French Canadian Meat Pie)

COMMENTS:Bake in miniature size and use as an hors doeuvre, suggests the owner of this recipe, who uses muffin pans for his favorite dish for a December family reunion. To accompany the mini-tourtieres, he likes home-made tomato-and-peach ketchup and dry red wine. TIP: Add a pinch or two more herbes and spices. Heat oil in a large, heavy frying pan and saut=82 ground pork, veal and beef, breaking up meat until crumbly. Add garlic and onions, and saut=82 until vegetables are soft. Add beef broth, sage, ba= y leaf, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, parsley flakes, dry celery leaves and celery seeds. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add brandy and breadcrumbs. Blend in salt and pepper. Simmer briefly. Mixture should be moist. Cool. Preheat oven to 425F.. Line 3 9-inch pie pans with pastry, reserving an equal amount of the dough for top crusts. Fill each pan with meat mixture. Cover with pastry, cutting two slits in the center of each pie to permit steam to escape. Brush each pie with beaten egg. Bake tourtieres for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F. and cook until crust= is golden-brown, about 25 minutes. Serve hot or cool completely, wrap and freeze. Makes 3 tourtieres. From the MOTREAL GAZETTE, DECEMBER 5 1984. Posted to MealMaster Recipes List, Digest #156 Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 14:17:32 -0700 From: Jo & Pete <jopete@odyssee.net>