Pierogi mania

Oh my. I can't believe I've recovered from my crazy six-hour pierogi-making class. For those non-Poles out there, pierogis are similar to dumplings and are made with a variety of fillings. I never learned how to make them from my grandma, who crafted the best pierogis I've ever had (and cooked up my favorite apple ones which I can't find anywhere) so I figured I'd better learn this trade on my own so I could pass some true Polish culture to our kids.


This class really did give me everything I needed on how to make some scrumptious pierogis, and it was amazing to see what we accomplished in just a few hours. Many of us had never touched pierogi dough before, let alone made it from scratch. Yet by the end of this whirlwind class, we came away with about 10 different types that were all made with our own little hands.

These pix show some of the highlights. We learned to make the dough, roll it out into the little pierogi rounds, stuff them with all the delicious fillings and press them together. The mushroom filling, for example, had shitake, button and portabella shrooms. MMMM. The photo here shows the saurkraut, I believe.


Then after pressing our pierogis closed, which is a true art form, they were ready to be boiled, brushed with oil and then packaged -- or devoured. Some of the fillings, by the way, included cherry; blueberry; saurkraut; farmer cheese with onion and potato; mushroom, cabbage and onion; potato and cheddar cheese; and potato with cheddar cheese and bacon. My faves were the cherry and the mushroom versions.


It still stuns me that we were able to create all those different pierogis from scratch. As you can imagine, the hours were filled with busy hands chopping mushrooms and onions, shredding cheese and cabbage, prying sticky dough off fingers and tossing salt and garlic powder from table to table. We rolled, stuffed, folded and pressed like you would not believe. And let me tell you -- flour was a-flying.


A highlight, though, was talking to all the Polish people and debating the best places to buy kielbasa and purchase authentic pierogis or reminiscing about St. Francis Catholic Church, which I've mentioned I attended as a kid. (It was one of the main Polish parishes in Detroit and quite a few of my fellow pierogi-makers had a relative who was baptized or married there.)

Yes, I came away with some terrific recipes and a new skill, but it's the comraderie of pierogi-making that makes it so much fun. I can't wait to try to make my own this Christmas with my mom...and eventually my kids. Now, if only Patrick would eat them...