Pierogis. Now that's a word I never imagined I'd use in a sentence a decade ago. But 10 wonderful years of marriage to an eastern Pennsylvania coal region man changed a few things in this California gals heart... and recipe box.
While recently wasting time exercising my mind on Pinterest I came across a recipe for Pierogis and pinned it with the intentions of someday trying it out. Thanks to Stephanie and her wonderful blog, most of the recipe research was already taken care of for me and I had a lazy Sunday after church.
It's not often I find myself with three hours of time and no to do list a mile long. Guess that's a benefit of recovering from walking pneumonia -- too tired to do much of anything that uses exertion (ie, skiing all afternoon), but too bored to sit and watch a movie. So standing in the kitchen rolling pastry dough and stuffing pierogois was the perfect answer.
Pierogis (by the end of this post I WILL have learned to spell that word correctly) are stuffed pastry dough, typically a potato based dough, most commonly stuffed with potatoes and cheese. Since I've been allergic to casein for two decades, I've never tried them when visiting my husbands family back East. However, one time we were at a fancy schmancy 5 star restaurant in Las Vegas when lo and behold there were Pierogis on the menu: stuffed with roasted squash and dairy free. Let me just say: they were amazing!!!
Then I added a gluten restriction to my diet so Pierogis altogether disappeared from my radar. Just this month I came upon this savvy traveler/mom/gluten-free blogger, Stephanie, who was making pierogis and I knew I had to try it.
Back to this afternoon and my kitchen. With one helper available I set out to kneading the dough, rolling it and cutting circles.
I made a batch of traditional potato & cheese filling, as I've been reading that often time those with a CF diet can tolerate cheese that has been aged (Parmesan) and dairy that has been heated to high temps. So I'm giving it a try.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and since this post was made written after the photos were taken I can tell you what I learned:
Roll the dough thinner. 1/8 inch is flatter than I think.
Make bigger circles. Mine were 3 inch, then I increased to 4 inch. I think 5 inch would be perfect.
Wet the edges of 2 circles at a time. By the time I filled and sealed/pinched the first pierogi, the second was ready. So wet 2, fill 1, wet a third, seal the second, wet the fourth, seal the third, wet the fifth, seal the fourth.... you get the idea. Because sealing them tightly is crucial, and thankfully, mine all stayed sealed.
I made a batch of roasted butternut squash and apple filling just to be on the safe side keeping it casein free for me and my lil guy, and of course, to pay tribute to the California girl inside me. I think I didn't add enough flour, and will next time make this filling thicker and pastier.
Because I made them in the quiet afternoon but wasn't serving them until dinner, I placed them on the baking sheet and popped them into the freezer.
When the skiiers arrived home, I had a big boiling pot of salt water ready, and dropped them in for a few minutes.
Then my handsome Pennsylvania coal region man jumped into action frying some onions and sauteeing the Pierogis with butter.
It would be an understatement to say my family liked these.
My boys couldn't eat them fast enough - - squash and all!!! In fact, the next morning they asked for them at breakfast and said they would like it if I would make Pierogis for every meal from now on.
I'd call that a success!
