ACADIAN FOOD: A pie and a pie

I have a family in New Brunswick I had not seen in several years. They adopted me when I first worked there, taking me sailing, cross-country skiing and on road trips. They also like to feed me.

Gisele is a first-class cook. She’s also Acadian so I’m lucky enough to try traditional specialties from her kitchen.

She recently made me a clam pie - clams and potatoes baked in a pastry shell. She used meaty bar clams (also called surf clams) her mom had cleaned and jarred. Yummy and filling.

Gisele picked up some new recipes from a recent trip to Normandy, so she served the clam pie with a sausage-stuffed baked tomato. My God, the French know how to eat.

Another time, she made Tarte Normande, an apple and cream pie. Gisele says she’s not much of a baker, but I think this would’ve fooled anyone.

To me, most Acadian dishes fall into the comfort foods category, like poutine râpée. It’s totally different from the poutine (fries, gravy, cheese curds) most people know.

Acadian poutine is a boiled ball of grated mashed potato with pork in the middle. Some people eat it with brown sugar. Despite what it sounds like, it’s actually pretty good. Gisele knows how to make that too.