Monday, December 29, 2008

Potato Pierogies

Any thoughts on the new header? I've been meaning to do something for awhile and played around last night... Now, onto the excitement that is homemade pierogies :)

These are present at many family gatherings, not just christmas! My great grandmother used to make them all, but she never let anyone watch... so we've had to adapt it from several sources to get ones that closely match the ones she used to make! While you can put many different fillings inside these, the two most commonly at our table were potato and cabbage. Since I didn't like cabbage as a kid, these quickly became my favorite and the ones I enjoy making now. I tried to take some photos along the way to illustrate the process...


The filling


The dough


The dough rests while you clean the mess


Rollin and cuttin


Assembled


Up close and pinched


*drool*

Potato Pierogi
Yield: 48



Filling:
3c mashed potatoes (cook ~2lb yukon gold potatoes in well-salted water, drain **SAVE WATER** & mash)
10oz cottage cheese, drained
3 slices american cheese
1 onion, sauteed in butter

Mix all ingredients together. Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until needed.

Dough:
6c AP flour
1-2c potato water (saved from boiling the potatoes, see above)
2 eggs, beaten
2t salt

Make a well in flour, add salt, eggs, and 1c water. Mix well to make soft dough, adding more water if needed. Knead until smooth and does not stick (you may need to add more flour). *Today I made another batch (made too many potatoes last time!) and did most of the dough mixing in the mixer with the dough hook. It worked well and contained the mess, so that was nice! I added some of the flour, salt, eggs, water, then added the rest of the flour a cup at a time. It came together and started pulling off the walls of the bowl. Then I took it out onto a floured surface and added some more flour until the dough was no longer sticky.* Cover with a dish towel and let sit a few minutes.

Clean the counter, line 2-3 baking sheets with wax or parchment paper, get a glass or cookie cutter (I think the glass I used was ~3" in diameter). Dust your working surface with flour, and get ready to roll :)

Cut dough ball in half, working with 1 half at a time. Keep dough that's not being used covered. Same goes for pierogies as you make them. Roll out dough on floured surface (i'd guess it was about 1/8-1/4" thick) and cut rounds with glass. Stretch out rounds a bit in your hands, and fill with ~1T filling (this will depend on the size you use). Seal edges and pinch with fingers for the scalloped edge, or press with the tines of a fork. (If you do different fillings, this is a good way to differentiate them) Place pierogies in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.

You can do one of two things at this point, cook them immediately (7min in boiling salted water) or freeze them on the baking sheets. Since I was doing these by myself, I stuck them in the freezer, and a few hours later, repackaged them into freezer bags for safe keeping. When ready to eat, cook the frozen pierogies in boiling salted water for ~7min, or until they float. Drain and then toss with onions cooked in butter. Once you have these, you just can't have them any other way!!

21 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

LOOOOOVE the new header!! So cute!!

Pierogies = maaaajor nostalgia alert. And yes, NOTHING beats homemade!! Those frozen things are nasty.

Erica said...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I have never even heard of pierogies until I went to Penn State! Now I lurve them ;)

The header is adorable- I love it!

test it comm said...

Those are some nice looking pierogies! I also like to stuff mine with ham, onions, sauerkraut and mushrooms.

Happy holidays!

Reeni said...

Your amazing! That looks like so much work. I am embarassed to say that I have never had a fresh one, I am guilty of eating the frozen ones. I love the frozen ones so I can only imagine how these might taste!

Anonymous said...

Thoughts on the header? I LOVE it. You are awesome - very creative :o)

I love pierogies! Coming from a Polish background, I truly appreciate your homemade deliciousness!

MacDuff said...

Love the new header. And this post is awesome - my boyfriend was JUST telling me that he wanted to make something called "Pierogi Casserole." Heads up - it's mashed potatoes covered in noodles and cheese. I'm going to try to get him to try your recipe instead!

I like the new header. It's so unique! Go you.

Esi said...

I have never had pierogies...sad, but true.

Sharon said...

Love the new header! We had pierogies at Christmas and they were SO delicious. I'm bookmarking this so I can make them myself!

Anonymous said...

super cute header - it's SO you - i love how it fits with the whole aspect of the blog!

i havent had pierogies in so long - we used to get them from a polish shop in the city!

Darius T. Williams said...

I'm definitely drooling - these look fantastic!

-Darius
www.everydaycookin.com

Anonymous said...

I agree with everyone else--the header is adorable! And I'm totally impressed by your talent and creativity (do you hire yourself out--?). Love pierogies, and these look great!

Have a wonderful New Year's!

Meghann said...

mmmm... I LOVE perogies! And that header is Genious. You're very creative!

lauren said...

I think the new header is very cute! and I love pierogies - yummm!

vanillasugarblog said...

New header is a keeper!

And the last pic that is an all emcompassing drool photo is zeeeee best!
These are perfect!

Anonymous said...

I noticed the new header immediately and love it!

Maria said...

I have never made these before, but I do enjoy eating them. They look awesome! Nice job!

Tina said...

Yum! I never thought about making these! Yours look DELISH!

Every Gym's Nightmare said...

Happy New Year!!

Kelly Turner
www.everygymsnightmare.com

miss v said...

potato pierogies - i likey!

happy 2009!

Anonymous said...

I like the new header - very creative!
Oh man, this reminds me of my mom's pierogies. I like the cabbage ones too. I want some NOW! hehe

Adam said...

Ok, very, very, very delayed... but I love these. Pierogi dough is always so different family to family. It really does blow my mind, and they are delicious either way. I like how nice and simple your dough is. I've seen some with way too many eggs (alot of work), but this is nice.

I have a plum pierogi recipe if you want to compare... crazy

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