Pierogies may be Key to Pittsburgh
Steeler Superbowl Victory
By Cynthia Bowan
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I had eaten pierogies before I began dating Merrill in high school. I mean, Western Pennsylvania, and especially, the Greater Pittsburgh area, has always been Pierogy Central!
There is a beautiful church, St. Mary's Ukrainian, still standing near the old Park Road School in Ambridge where we grew up, that folks call "The Church That Pierogies Built". Every Friday, the little old ladies of the church would gather to make pierogies, which would then be sold for lunches and dinners. Fillings were traditional: mashed potatoes and cheese, sauerkraut or lekvar (prune butter). The stuffed triangles were cooked in boiling water, drained and then heated in butter with sautéed onions. They were sold by the dozens, hundreds of thousands over the years…and even though the church was built, the ladies (and some gentlemen) continued to make pierogies.
I knew that Merrill's family was Russian Orthodox, but I didn't realize that his mother made pierogies at home. I guess I just thought that everyone bought them somewhere. So it was a pleasant surprise to have Orthodox Christmas Eve at their home, and have her pierogies served as part of the traditional meal.
Years later, Mom tried to teach me to make them. She could turn them out as fast as any machine at Mrs. T's pierogy factory, perhaps even faster. As we worked, she told me stories of her growing up and making pierogies. Then she told me
about a neighbor who lived next door. The lady was not of Polish or Eastern European descent, but her husband was, and this man talked on and on about his mother's pierogies.
So the lady asked Mom to tell her how to make them. She went home with the basic recipe, happy in the knowledge that she would have a special dinner for her husband that night.
The next day, she was back at Mom's door, teary-eyed, wondering what she had done wrong and why her husband had collapsed in laughter at the dinner table.
It seems she made THREE giant pierogies, one with sauerkraut filling, one with mashed potatoes and cheese and one with lekvar…
Merrill and I were married in his last year at Optometry school in Chicago. So there we were, far from home, and on one of my days off from the hospital, I decided to make him pierogies. It took me a very, long time. So long, that he walked in from school just as I put the pierogies into the boiling water. He walked over to the stove, and tried not to laugh. "So, we're having pierogy soup tonight?" he asked.
I was horrified to see pieces of dough floating around in the hot murky water; the fillings had all leaked out,
so sauerkraut was evident, but the potatoes had all dissolved…
We had tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches for dinner. Ask me sometime about the sandwiches - that's another story… Oh, and I never tried again…
Our children love pierogies, which we serve with sides of applesauce and sour cream. Sometimes, I also sauté red, yellow and orange bell pepper strips with the onions and lots of butter… and our children love to celebrate Orthodox Christmas Eve dinner.
In fact, Doug called home this past January to tell me that he had gone to his nearby Harris Teeter grocery store to buy some of Mrs. T's pierogies that Christmas Eve, and he had to reach way into the freezer to get the last two boxes of potato-cheese. He thought it was great that pierogies were almost totally sold out in a North Carolina store on Orthodox Christmas Eve. It's well known in the Triad (Greensboro, High Point and Winston -Salem) that there is a huge population of former Northerners, and also a goodly number of folks from Pennsylvania…
Well, for those of you, who might have been in a coma or a cave somewhere, let me give you a quick basic course on Pierogies. Exactly who started making them is not
clear, but the Polish people seem to have a lock on that. They call them Pierogis, which means "small pies". Jewish people call them pirogen; Russians call they pelmeny or arenike; Italians call them ravioli. Pierogies, as I wrote above, are usually boiled, pan-fried in butter, or baked, with sour cream as an accompaniment. Folks even dip them in egg and crumbs, deep-fry them and serve them with marinara sauce - don't knock it until you have tried it, they are fantastic.
These days, there are many different fillings. Paula, who used to be one of my husband's optical assistants, would bring us her mother's fantastic pierogies; some stuffed with pizza sauce and pepperoni, or my favorite, sautéed mushrooms and grated Swiss cheese. The Church Brew Works, a great restaurant in the Lawrenceville area of Pittsburgh, has a wide range of fillings, including a Southwestern black bean one that is awesome.
During the recent Super Bowl, I am certain that many homes around us had pierogies in some form or another while the game was going. I would not be surprised if eating those culinary delights helped the Steelers to win!!!
Well, just as folks don't have to be Italian to love pasta or Chinese to enjoy
General Tso's and so on…you don't have to be from Pittsburgh to love pierogies! I hope you will give one of the following a try, frozen or from scratch, traditional or avant-garde, and as always, CYH - consider yourself hugged!
Pierogies
Dough:
2 c. flour
2 eggs
½ tsp. salt
8 T. water
2 T. vegetable oil or shortening
Mix all ingredients together. This forms a soft dough. Roll out, cut circles or squares, and fill. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork. Boil a few at a time. They are done when they float to the top. Drain well. Sauté a couple finely chopped onions in about 1 to 1 ½ sticks of butter. Add the pierogies and pan fry until they are heated through, tossing to coat well. Serve hot.
Potato Filling:
8 potatoes
1 chopped onion
4 T. butter
1/2 c. grated Cheddar cheese
Boil and mash the potatoes. Sauté onion butter; add to the potatoes with the cheese and mix well.
Notes: If you are having a hard time getting the edges to stick together, you may have too
much flour in the dough. Add a little water to help you get a good seal. Also, if you don't want to cook all of the pierogies right away, you can refrigerate them (uncooked) for several days or freeze them for up to several months.
Pierogy Alfredo
1/2 dozen potato and cheese pierogies
1 jar (17 oz.) Alfredo sauce
1 1/2 c. (6 oz.) boiled ham, cut in thin strips
1 c. frozen tiny peas
Ground black pepper
Thaw pierogies in boiling water for 5 minutes, uncovered. Drain and keep warm in saucepan.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat Alfredo sauce, ham and peas over medium heat until hot, about 10 minutes (thin with milk, if needed). Stir in drained pierogies and season with pepper to taste; heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley, if desired.
Pierogy Casserole
12 frozen pierogies (potato or potato and cheese)
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 lg. onions, thinly sliced
8 oz. pkg. mushrooms, sliced
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 clove
garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. pepper (or dried red pepper)
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare pierogies according to package directions for boiled pierogies, drain. In 12-inch skillet, sauté onions, mushrooms and garlic in oil until soft and golden. Add crushed tomatoes, parsley, pepper and 1/2 cup water. Heat to boiling. Cook 5 minutes.
Arrange pierogies and tomato mixture in shallow baking dish. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serves 4.
Western Style Pierogies
1/2 dozen potato and cheese pierogies
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup mushrooms
2 cups canned black beans, drained
Black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Thaw pierogies in boiling water for 5 minutes, uncovered. Drain and set aside. In skillet coated with cooking spray, cook onion and garlic until tender. In saucepan, warm beans, onion, garlic, pepper and cumin. Arrange pierogies on a plate and top with black bean mixture. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serves 3.
Pizza
Pierogies
Sauté pierogies in vegetable oil over a low flame until they are lightly browned on both sides. Place on a baking sheet. Spoon on marinara sauce and top with grated Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350F. until cheese melts.
Pierogies with Onion Gravy
Boil pierogies according to pkg. instructions; drain well. In a skillet, cook 1 small chopped onion in butter. Add one jar of brown gravy and heat until warmed. Spoon over pierogies and serve hot.
By Cynthia Bowan
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Pierogies | Pierogy Alfredo | Pierogy Casserole | Western Style Pierogies
Pizza Pierogies | Pierogies with Onion Gravy
