Appetites: Meat pie makes a comeback

Frozen, microwavable versions may have given pot pies a bad reputation, but homemade meat pies have been experiencing a resurgence.

Cookbook author and chef Amy Thielen joined Appetites this week to tell us more.

First, meat pies cross cultures and so can include a variety of ingredients.

"Usually in a meat pie there's some kind of a binder, and there's always a vegetable ... but there's all different kinds of meat pies, you really can't go wrong with the meat and the crust. Anything else you put in there is good to go," she said.

In her family, Thielen said, pot pies with ties to Canada are a staple.

"For Christmas every year we always make something called tourtiere, which is a meat pie. It's stuffed with pork, and the pork is heavily spiced," she said. "And it smells like Christmas to me."

Jamaican and venison meat pies are also really exciting, Thielen said. But if you're not a fan of meat, there are plenty of vegetarian pie recipes to try, too.

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