Perogie

Tonight Laura and i made perogie.
We had a party to go to, and a parade with boom-boxes all playing different things, but in the end we decided to stay at home, warm and cozy together, and make the perogie. Was great to get the onions and garlic and saurkraut going. It's in my bones, of that i'm sure. The flour and water and eggs and moving it around the board with a wine bottle (or in this case, taiko drum stick) in lieu of a proper rolling pin. Cut the perogie out with a coffee cup rim then filled them and crimped by hand. The leftover dough was re-rolled out and sliced into thin noodles, just like my mothers mother. Made me think of her, downstairs in the basement kitchen. Yes there were two kitchens, and two stoves pretty much running all the time. She'd be bent over the solid oak table slicing noodles by hand all day, and she fed us all. An army of cousins marching through, getting bowls down, cold noodles and hot garlicky chicken broth. Was an amazing time that i thought would last forever.

Perogie Recipe

(apologies to any cookbook editors out there, ahem)

fillings:
anything goes here
there was a place in Cleveland that had fancy ones, like spinach and swiss cheese...
i tend to make two kinds, like grandma did

potato and cheese:
mashed potatoes (made with salt, pepper, butter and milk)
grated sharp cheese
let the potatoes cool, mix in the cheese and set aside

saurkraut:
good fresh kraut (with no preservatives) sqeeze out all the juice and save (for sour soup)
onions
garlic
butter
cook the onions in butter/olive oil till carmelized
add garlic and push all aside to the pan edges
add dry kraut with more butter and oil and slightly brown
mix it all up and set aside to cool

dough:
3 cups all purpose flour (this will make about two dozen)
3 eggs
3 pinches of salt
some water
(i start with a cup but add more as needed so the dough is not too sticky, and you can always add more flour to balance it all out)

beat the eggs in a bowl and mix in the water
put flour and salt in a bowl and make a dent in the middle
pour in the mixture of water and egg and mix it into a ball
then transfer to a table or large cutting board
use plenty of flour to keep it from sticking to the board and rolling pin
roll it out to about 1/8" thick
use a pint glass or coffee cup to cut out circles
then put in some of the filling, usually a tablespoon full does it
fold it over and crimp the edges with your fingers
(if the dough is too floury on the edges keep a bowl of water handy and with your finger apply some water to the edges before you fold them over, so that they stick together)

as you set them aside, don't pile them on top of each other or they'll stick together
and then come apart when you try to single them out

they freeze really well, but again, set them on a cookie sheet without touching one another and freeze them that way. After they're completely frozen you can sprinkle them with flour and put them in zip lock bags and they'll keep well for about a year.

when you want to cook them, either fresh or frozen, get a large pot of water boiling
place them in and cook until they float
pull them out and let drain in a colander

here's where the debate comes in: boiled or fried
many people eat them at this stage, with butter
but you can take it one step forward after boiling
and fry them in a pan with more butter/ olive oil and onion slices if you want

yum!