The fruit of hard labor: pierogi!!! These happen to be prune-filled but we also made meat and mushroom with sour cream, cheese and onion, and sweet cheese and raisin.Yesterday I garnered up the courage to host about 15 women from church and friends for my second ever pierogi making evening (the first was back in 2006). With my kitchen bursting at the seams, we occupied all available counter and table space along with the stove top. It was truly a grand production. We had a number of stations: dough rolling, form making, boiling, and frying pan. Everyone performed admirably and best of all the end result was scrumptious.
It's hard to believe but I have the reputation of being a pro. Truth be told, I actually can count on two hands the number of times I've made them, but somehow that has earned me the title of "champion pierogi maker". Indeed I am a champion if effort counts :) I give pierogi making and pretty much everything I do my all. :)
My grandmother and aunt are the pierogi makers in our family. Unfortunately, I was never at home to get a lesson when they sat down to make them for our Christmas eve meal. Instead I had to settle for "watching" grandma make pierogi a couple times. Several years back while I was living in Arlington, I simply decided to give it a shot on my own. Well, my first attempt might not have looked so pretty, but they were very tasty.
I'd say I'm about as talented pinching Polish pierogi as I am pinching Chinese dumplings. So, a year or two ago I opted for a pierogi form/cutter and have been employing this amazing tool ever since. It's a life changer!
If you're looking for some good fillings, cooks.com is a good source. Check out: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,174,144166-236194,00.html.
Now that I've got pierogi down, I think it's time to move on to other Polish or Slovak goodies... I'm thinking about barszcz or borscht. After detesting dark purple beets as a child, I absolutely adore this delicious Eastern European soup.
