I spent 9 hours yesterday making 100 pierogies. My daughter helped! Making the potato filling was difficult. I like to rice my potatoes to get a perfectly smooth consistency and these local potatoes were not cooperating. But, I was determined and didn't give up and I beat them into submission. I started by peeling 10 lbs. of them.
Boiled them.
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| While the potatoes drained, I grated cheddar cheese and added about 4 oz. of cream cheese and about 10 T. of butter. I used my chive butter which really adds to the flavor. Add the riced potatoes to the cheese and stir and stir. You don't add any liquid to this mix because you want it to be very dry. It has the consistency of PlayDough when it's right. |
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The dough is simply made with 1 egg (whisked), 2 heaping T. of sour cream, 1 C. water, 1 C. whole milk and 4-5 cups of flour. You don't want to add too much flour or the dough will be stiff. Add the last of the flour gradually while you need the dough. The final result will be a silky, easy to handle dough. This one recipe will make about 3 dozen.
We cut the dough in 3 inch circles and added about a tsp. of filling to each one. These little pockets of joy are then placed on a towel sprinkled with cornmeal. Don't sprinkle it with flour or they will get gummy. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook about a dozen at a time. Drain on towels.
Willie is a big fan of pierogies.
I parboiled mine because I froze them. If you freeze them uncooked, they will crack, If you cook them the whole way, they will be overcooked after you defrost and reheat them. Parboiling is the way to go. We cooked a few and floated them in butter to try them out. It was hard to not eat 10-15 of them. Self control! The pups split one of these and were very happy with the outcome.
You can see them trying to figure out how to get into the freezer. I freeze them on trays and then put them in ziplock bags after they are frozen.
I've had a request for a Polish dinner so I will be making a lot of Polish food this week. This is the first time someone has actually asked me to make Polish food. I am the one who is usually asking....do you want some Polish food? The Polish side of me is thrilled. The Scottish side is screaming for me to make haggis.
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