Category Archives: Food

My grandmother’s steamed Christmas suet pudding

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Steamed Christmas suet pudding
Steamed Christmas suet pudding. If your mould has a hole through the middle (like the mould I used for this pudding), you’ll need to reduce the steaming time from three hours to two — even perhaps a bit less. This pudding is resting on a full-size dinner plate. This pudding was made in a mould made especially for steamed puddings and purchased at Paderno (paderno.com) in Moncton. (See a photo of the mould at the bottom of this post.) Click on the photo for a larger version.

When I mentioned this recipe online, I received several requests for copies, so here it is!

The recipe is my maternal grandmother Rose Pineau’s of Prince Edward Island. My mother had lost the recipe, however I found out my cousin Claudette Longuepee had it, so she was kind enough to share. Here it is:

Pudding:

– 1/2 tsp nutmeg
– 1/2 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp ginger
– 1/2 tsp cloves
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1 cup molasses
– 1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 1/2 tsp vinegar)
– 1/2 cup granulated sugar
– 3 cups flour
– 2 eggs
– 1 cup suet (chopped finely)
– 1 1/2 cups raisins

Beat eggs and add sugar. Add suet and molasses. Stir, then add the flour. Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk and add to flour mixture. Add spices and raisins. Pour into buttered mold (i.e. coffee can or mould made specifically for steamed puddings), cover mould with tight-fitting lid and steam for three hours.

PLEASE NOTE: If your mould has a hole up through the middle — such as in a “real” steamed pudding mould that resembles a bundt pan — you should reduce the steaming time by at least one hour, otherwise your pudding will be overcooked and very dry. The three-hour boiling time is for a coffee can. If you don’t have a cover for the coffee can (obviously a plastic one will melt), simply fold over a couple of pieced of foil and tie tightly with string.

To steam, place your covered mould in a large pot filled with water. Water should be about 2/3 of the way up the mould. Water should be kept simmering.

Check your pudding after 2 hours to see if it’s done. Again, the three-hour time is for a coffee can.

Hard sauce:

– 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
– 2 cups water
– 2 tbsp flour
– 2 tbsp granulated sugar
– 2 tbsp butter
– 1/2 tsp vanilla (or more to suit your taste)

Serve the pudding warm in a bowl with warm hard sauce. This is a very sweet pudding.

Steamed pudding mould from Paderno
This is the steamed pudding mould I made for the photo of the pudding above. It was purchased at Paderno (paderno.com) in Moncton. The above pudding was badly overdone and dry, which is why I recommend a much shorter steaming time if you use a mould like this with a hole up through middle. (If you take the cover off, you’ll see the hold inside like a bundt pan.) Click on the photo for a larger version.

Vintage dessert recipes from Moncton’s Marven’s Biscuits

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My late father worked at Marven’s Biscuits for 29 years from 1949-1978, so Marven’s memorabilia always interests me.

After my father died last August, my cousin Louise Richard and her husband Maurice gave me a very special gift of an antique Marven’s cookie tin. In her Christmas card, Louise included a couple of vintage promotional recipe cards that Marven’s issued in the 1950s or 1960s. I’m sure more than a few households saw these on their dinner tables in that era!

Enjoy these recipes for breton squares, napoleons, cream ‘n’ cinnamon pie, and cherry-mallow pie. Click on each photo for a larger version. (Editor’s note: For a PDF version of the recipes, click here.)

Vintage Marven's recipe for breton squares.
Vintage Marven’s recipe for breton squares.
Vintage Marven's recipe for napoleons.
Vintage Marven’s recipe for napoleons.
Vintage Marven's recipe for cream 'n' cinnamon pie.
Vintage Marven’s recipe for cream ‘n’ cinnamon pie.
Vintage Marven's recipe for cherry-mallow pie.
Vintage Marven’s recipe for cherry-mallow pie.

Moncton’s Cy’s Seafood Restaurant vintage recipe book sure to bring back memories

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Cy's Seafood Restaurant - InsideThose of you who either grew up in Moncton or visited Moncton on a regular basis probably remember the old Cy’s Seafood Restaurant which existed on the site of the current Château Moncton.

Enjoy this Cy’s recipe book from the 1960s / 1970s era. They are all tried and true and are credited to Chef John Speranza.

Recipes include:

  • Lobster newburg
  • Stuffed oysters
  • Baked stuffed shrimp
  • Spaghetti carbonara
  • Meat sauce
  • Broiled lobster (Not a big fan of splitting a live lobster in half, so feel free to try a more humane technique.)
  • Barbeque spareribs
  • Manicotti
  • Chicken cacciatore and noodles
  • Seafood casserole
  • Spaghetti alle vangale
  • Lasagne
  • Shrimp newburg
  • Oyster fiorentina
  • Minestrone soup
  • Pear parfait

There was no copyright information in the recipe book, so I consider this to be in the public domain. It was likely used as a promotional item many years ago. Click on each photo for a larger version. (Editor’s note: For a PDF version of the book, click here.)

Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes cover
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes cover
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 1
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 1
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 2
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 2
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 3
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 3
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 4
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 4
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 5
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 5
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 6
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 6
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 7
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 7
Cy's Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes - Page 8
Cy’s Seafood Restaurant Old Favorite Recipes – Page 8

Poutine râpée in the Greater Moncton area and in social media – Updated Aug. 9, 2022

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My paternal grandmother Léonie Cormier making poutines râpées in the 1950s at her home on Wesley Street in Moncton.

Are you looking for poutine râpée in Greater Moncton? Look no further! Here are a few places you may want to check out:

  • If you’re in the Cocagne area, you can buy directly from Caissie Poutine Râpée.
  • The Dieppe Co-Op sells poutines and râpé from Chez Mémére on Fridays. Go early! They often run out. (There are sometimes cold leftovers sold on Saturday.)
  • Poutines are often available at the Dieppe Market on Saturday mornings.
  • Chez Mémére is located at 241 Lewisville Road in Moncton and is open Thursday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (or until they’re out of poutines). Tel. 506-384-4343 The restaurant sells poutine râpée, râpé, fricot and pets de soeurs.
  • Menu Acadien at 55 Ohio Road in Shediac serves most traditional Acadian foods, including poutine râpée, râpé, desserts, etc. Tel: 506-532-6366
  • Saint-Antoine Poutine Râpée is located at 70 Irving Blvd. in Bouctouche. (The Saint-Antoine location is no longer open.

Some poutine-specific restaurants seem to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it’s best to call first. Also, many sell fricot, meat pies and Acadian desserts.

And finally… did you know there’s an Acadian Poutine Râpée Facebook Group with more than 10,000 members? Yup! There is! I founded the group a few years ago and there’s always lots of discussion going on with local Acadians and our cousins from New England and elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.

Did I miss any? Let me know! And… which one is your favourite? Do any of the store-made or restaurant-made poutines hold a candle to your own? Email me to let me know.

Please note: The Claude brand of canned poutine râpée, fricot, etc. haven’t been made in about 20 years and are no longer available.

(This post was updated on August 23, 2021)