Perogi Party!

One thing I love to do is cook with friends. A couple of weeks ago I got together with two of my pals and we made my friend erock's family perogi recipe. Perogi (also spelled pierogi) are Central and Eastern European dumplings. They may be filled with sauerkraut, meat, fruit, or in erocks family's case, potatoes.You can actually buy peroigi in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores, though I have yet to try them.

Perogi are great to make with friends (or family) because they can be quite laborious, especially if you want to make a lot to share with friends.

First boil potatoes.

While you are boiling the potatoes, finely chop lots of white onion.

Then prepare the dumpling dough.

Then prepare the filling: onions, cheese, and potatoes.

Roll out the dough so that it is very thin. Cut circles (we used the open end of a glass). Spoon filling onto a dough circle, fold the dough over and crimp the edges with your fingers. 

In small batches, boil the perogi until they come to the surface. Some may split open, but that's ok. 

Drain the boiled perogi.

If you won't be frying them until later, let them continue to cool on lightly floured wax paper and then refrigerate.

erock's family recipe for perogi:

Dumpling:
8 cups all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons oil
Enough warm water to blend
Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, add the yolk and oil to the flour. Mix together and add a little bit of warm water until the dough comes together. Knead the dough into a ball, and cover the bowl with a towel until ready. Let the dough rest while you make the filling. 

Filling:
1 large onion
2 large potatoes (we used Russet)
8 oz cream cheese
Salt and pepper

Peel, boil, and mash the potatoes. Finely chop the onion. Fry the onion in butter. In a large bowl, combine the onions, mashed potatoes and cream cheese. Add lots of salt and pepper. (In erock's experience, the filling should taste overly peppered and salted so that the cooked dumplings have enough flavor. Also, cream cheese is used because the Polish cheese erock would use is unavailable in the U.S. and cream cheese comes close to its consistency and flavor.)

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. It should be very thin so that the cooked perogi don't taste too doughy. Use the open end of a glass or a biscuit cutter to cut the dough into small circles. Spoon a small amount of filling onto half of a dough circle. (About two tablespoons.) You don't want too much or else you won't be able to keep the filling within the dough. Fold the side of the dough untouched by filling toward the side with filling. Bring the dough edges together. Crimp the edges with your fingers to keep the filling contained within the dough.

Simmer the perogi, about five at a time, in boiling water until they float to the top. Use a slotted spoon to remove the perogi from the water and transfer them to a cooling rack placed inside of a cookie sheet so they can drip dry. Fry in butter in small batches. Eat hot!