Wow, I've been boiling pasta like a chump this whole time.
One side of my family is from Quebec, so tourtiere (a type of meat pie) is a big thing for us. Of course, there's tons of different versions depending on geography and whatnot, but ours is a spiced lamb and pork pie. Not to brag, but I was the one chosen from my generation to carry on the recipe (which has been passed down for generations).
The other side is from Italy, so we really do it up with the baking at Christmas. There's one cookie my mom makes that's like an anise sugar cookie that I really like. Another is a chocolate cookie with dried fruit and cloves. The latter is my favorite, but I've yet to master the recipe.
I was in Denmark some years ago and discovered smorrebrod (an open faced dark-rye sandwich with pickled herring) and akvavit (a spiced/herbed vodka-like liquor). I ate/drank it pretty much every day there. I only ended up in Denmark kind of randomly, but I had way more fun (and so much more great food) than I expected.
I'd probably kill for a good bottle of akvavit right now.
