I was wrong, Rog says the pate chinois was made of hamburger, corn, and mashed potatoes, just like a Shepherd's Pie, with the mashed potatoes over the top and forming the crust.

The meat pies were made with pork, traditionally the "head" (grossing me out, here), etc. Of course, it all varies from family to family. Those meat pies were what his family called "gor-ton," or the tortierre as mentioned above.