Every year for Easter my family gathers on Good Friday and celebrates. The day starts at around 9am with all of my aunts and my grandmother in the kitchen, making pierogi. The finished dumplings are so delicious, when I make them for myself I usually make a couple of batches and freeze them so I have them for a while. We usually do just a potato filling. This year I did 5 pounds of potatoes mixed with 1/2 a pound of cheddar, finely grated. That amount of potatoes filled 2 recipes of dough. Alternately you can use the same dough and put a spoonful of your favorite pie filling inside and serve with ice cream or just powdered sugar for a fun desert. Other filling options traditionally include meat, and sauerkraut, but the sky is really the limit.
Pierogi Dough
Makes about 70 pierogi.
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
5 tablespoons dairy sour cream
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
pinch of salt
about 3/4 cup water
Sift flour into a large bowl or onto a flat working surface; make a well in the center.
Break eggs into well.
Add sour cream, 3 tablespoons oil and salt.
Blend ingredients with your fingertips.
Gradually add water, working and kneading mixture into a smooth, pliable dough.
Divide dough into quarters.
Roll to 1/16 inch thick
Cut into 3-1/2 to 4 inch circles.
Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling -- fold over -- crimp edges. (crimp very tightly, if there are any holes all of the filling will leak out when you boil them)
Boil in salted water (1/2 teaspoon salt per 2 quarts water)
Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until pierogi float.
At this point you can freeze the pierogi, or if you want to eat them right away, you can either pan fry, deep fry, or bake them until they are golden brown and lightly crispy. If you want to freeze them, I recommend laying them out on a greased sheet pan and putting them in the freezer until they are solid, then put them in gallon zip-lock bags to store them. If you put them in before they are frozen, they will freeze together into a solid mass and be impossible to separate without tearing the dough.
Enjoy!
12 April 2010
07 April 2010
Tunisian Addiction
The last few weeks I've been getting really, really excited about food with the fresh produce and such coming back to the Farmer's Market. I had my very first salad of the season this last weekend with mixed spicy greens, pea shoots, handmade croutons, walnuts, and currents all drizzled over with a raspberry vinaigrette. No real recipe for this one, simply great ingredients tossed together in a big bowl and happily consumed. One thing in my fridge that sometimes gets forgotten about (and tragically so) is the jar of Tunisian harissa paste that lives toward the back. I made a squash soup that was liberally laced with it back in October that was delicious. But then the jar got pushed to the back of my fridge and largely forgotten about for a while. Then I got inspired by a couscous salad at work. And I was off into the kitchen to see what I could do to replicate deliciousness.
Salad:
2 cups couscous (you really want the larger Tunisian style, or Israeli will do in a pinch), cooked and cooled
1 cup black olives, pitted and halved (do not use "California black olives" from the supermarket for this, I recommend a pitted kalamata or sahli olive)
1 bunch scallions, chopped
3 med ripe tomatoes, diced (you can use canned, just make sure to drain well)
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 lemon, zest
Dressing:
Harissa paste
lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt
couscous water
In a large bowl mix cooked couscous (the larger style is actually more like a pasta, cook accordingly and reserve about a 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid for the dressing), scallions, olives, tomatoes, most of the parsley, and carrot. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of parsley for serving.
In a smaller bowl, mix the dressing ingredients. I haven't given exact measurements for any of the dressing because I just kind of winged it, tasting as I went along. I started with about a tablespoon of the harissa and added the juice of one lemon (I only had one, more might be nice). I added the olive oil and reserved couscous water until I had a consistency I was happy with and what looked like about a cup of dressing total. Salt to taste.
Pour the dressing over the couscous and veg mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle reserved parsley and lemon zest over the top when you serve. This is a pretty versatile salad, I had it warm, room temp, and cool and it was excellent all ways.
I am using the last jar of tomato sauce that I made this summer for dinner tonight. I am now waiting (probably not so patiently) for tomatoes to come back into season.
Salad:
2 cups couscous (you really want the larger Tunisian style, or Israeli will do in a pinch), cooked and cooled
1 cup black olives, pitted and halved (do not use "California black olives" from the supermarket for this, I recommend a pitted kalamata or sahli olive)
1 bunch scallions, chopped
3 med ripe tomatoes, diced (you can use canned, just make sure to drain well)
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 lemon, zest
Dressing:
Harissa paste
lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt
couscous water
In a large bowl mix cooked couscous (the larger style is actually more like a pasta, cook accordingly and reserve about a 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid for the dressing), scallions, olives, tomatoes, most of the parsley, and carrot. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of parsley for serving.
In a smaller bowl, mix the dressing ingredients. I haven't given exact measurements for any of the dressing because I just kind of winged it, tasting as I went along. I started with about a tablespoon of the harissa and added the juice of one lemon (I only had one, more might be nice). I added the olive oil and reserved couscous water until I had a consistency I was happy with and what looked like about a cup of dressing total. Salt to taste.
Pour the dressing over the couscous and veg mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle reserved parsley and lemon zest over the top when you serve. This is a pretty versatile salad, I had it warm, room temp, and cool and it was excellent all ways.
I am using the last jar of tomato sauce that I made this summer for dinner tonight. I am now waiting (probably not so patiently) for tomatoes to come back into season.
04 March 2010
Sloppy Jalopy
Everyone should have an easy dinner now and then to fall back on. I actually tend to use the easy ones on my days off of work, so that I have more time to get things done around the house or out in the world. I can't unfortunately take all the credit, but the original recipe is posted in a private forum, and I've heavily modified to make use of ingredients I generally have on hand. If you don't like things really spicy, cut the paprika by half, an omit the jalapenos all together. You could also replace the jalapenos with sweet bell peppers (I'm not a fan of the sweet, so I don't use them almost ever). Pair this with a great onion roll or kaiser roll from a local bakery if you can get them (I used the New Yorker rolls from Zingerman's Deli). I also pulled a package of corn on the cob that I froze last summer from our CSA and heated that up for along side. Expect around 15 minutes for prep (including browning the meat).
Venison Joe:
3 lb ground venison, cooked
2 c. onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 1/2 c. ketchup (about 16-18 oz)
1/2 c. water
3 med. jalapenos, minced
1/2 T. horseradish
4 T. brown sugar
4 T. mustard
4 T. cider vinegar
4 T. worcestershire
4 T. spicy paprika (if you can't find spicy, use chili powder instead, but don't just use the bland red powder most grocery stores stock as "paprika")
Put all ingredients in crock pot, stir and forget about it (6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high).
A few final notes: the sauce is rather liquid when it first goes in, but cooks down to a great thick consistency. If you are pressed for time or don't want to use the crockpot, omit the water in the recipe to achieve similar results and mix together in a regular sauce pot on the stove. Add the venison, and cook for 10 minutes or so until everything is heated through.
Alternately if you are going to be gone longer then 8 hours, add more water to the sauce so that it does not burn. Another 1/4 cup should give you about 2 to 3 more hours.
Venison Joe:
3 lb ground venison, cooked
2 c. onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 1/2 c. ketchup (about 16-18 oz)
1/2 c. water
3 med. jalapenos, minced
1/2 T. horseradish
4 T. brown sugar
4 T. mustard
4 T. cider vinegar
4 T. worcestershire
4 T. spicy paprika (if you can't find spicy, use chili powder instead, but don't just use the bland red powder most grocery stores stock as "paprika")
Put all ingredients in crock pot, stir and forget about it (6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high).
A few final notes: the sauce is rather liquid when it first goes in, but cooks down to a great thick consistency. If you are pressed for time or don't want to use the crockpot, omit the water in the recipe to achieve similar results and mix together in a regular sauce pot on the stove. Add the venison, and cook for 10 minutes or so until everything is heated through.
Alternately if you are going to be gone longer then 8 hours, add more water to the sauce so that it does not burn. Another 1/4 cup should give you about 2 to 3 more hours.
08 February 2010
Green Beans Even Kids Love
Tonight's dinner was so typical of the dinners that happen around here on weeknights. Meat, potatoes, and something green. I have a pretty all purpose way of cooking the something green, but tonight it was green beans and turned out kind of awesome. So when you read this keep in mind that the "green" part of this is pretty flexible. I like it with beans or mixed greens (collards & mustard usually), but you could use it with a range of vegetables as long as they have a little heft to them. This is not what you want to do with your delicate greens. Save those for the salads and such people!
Green Beans for Everyone
2# fresh green beans - trimmed and cut to about 1" lenght (you can use frozen here if you are in a hurry)
8oz bacon - diced
1 medium onion - chopped
In a large skillet (I use my wok so there is enough room for everything) cook the bacon until it has given up most of it's fat and is starting to crisp up. Add the onion and cook until slightly soft. Add the beans, stir to coat with the bacon fat and saute until the beans are slightly soft and warmed through. Be careful not to overcook, if they start to turn "army green" they are close to being over done. Take out of the pan with a slotted spoon so you leave most of the fat in the pan (you can pour this into a container and put in the fridge for later use). Serve warm.
Green Beans for Everyone
2# fresh green beans - trimmed and cut to about 1" lenght (you can use frozen here if you are in a hurry)
8oz bacon - diced
1 medium onion - chopped
In a large skillet (I use my wok so there is enough room for everything) cook the bacon until it has given up most of it's fat and is starting to crisp up. Add the onion and cook until slightly soft. Add the beans, stir to coat with the bacon fat and saute until the beans are slightly soft and warmed through. Be careful not to overcook, if they start to turn "army green" they are close to being over done. Take out of the pan with a slotted spoon so you leave most of the fat in the pan (you can pour this into a container and put in the fridge for later use). Serve warm.
06 February 2010
Holidays Interruptus
I have neglected this blog for the last couple of months, largely because I didn't have any time! I have been cooking and of course eating and I might get a chance to go back and catch up on some of those, but probably not.
Tonight for dinner was one of my favorites though. It's so dead simple I'm not even going to really write out the recipe, and feel free to riff on it to your hearts desire. In a cast iron skillet (a regular baking dish will work if you don't have cast iron, but everyone should really have some and know how to keep it happy!) set out some pierogi (thawed if they were frozen) and bratwurst (also thawed if frozen). Brush a little bit of olive oil over the top of the pierogi so they brown up nicely. Add around a pound of sauerkraut and bake in the oven until the sausages are cooked through and the pierogi browned on top. I usually flip the sausage half way through(ish) so they also brown on both sides. Serve with a little bit of sour cream on the side and enjoy!
Tonight for dinner was one of my favorites though. It's so dead simple I'm not even going to really write out the recipe, and feel free to riff on it to your hearts desire. In a cast iron skillet (a regular baking dish will work if you don't have cast iron, but everyone should really have some and know how to keep it happy!) set out some pierogi (thawed if they were frozen) and bratwurst (also thawed if frozen). Brush a little bit of olive oil over the top of the pierogi so they brown up nicely. Add around a pound of sauerkraut and bake in the oven until the sausages are cooked through and the pierogi browned on top. I usually flip the sausage half way through(ish) so they also brown on both sides. Serve with a little bit of sour cream on the side and enjoy!
14 October 2009
02 October 2009
It's definatly Fall in Michigan
We have had our first frost and the weather has been chilly the last couple of days. I had to find my sweaters and I'm packing up the shorts and tank tops in recognition of the fact that it will not be warm enough to wear them again for a while. So in honor of that change I made some delicious soup :) Squash soup is one of those things that I never remember having until I was in high school, but hooboy is it one of my favorite things about seeing the winter squash showing up at the Farmer's Markets. This was kind of an experiment and to my great delight it turned out so delicious!!
You'll Need
8 cups stock (chicken or veggie work best)
2 medium butternut squash, seeded and peeled, in 1" chunks
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon harissa*
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon fresh sage
pinch of salt
sour cream to serve with
In a large (7 qt) slow cooker mix the squash, sweet potato, and onion. Add the harissa, sage, thyme, salt, and the stock. If the liquid is not enough to cover all of the squash, add water to top off. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Use a blender or food mill to puree the soup until smooth. Top with a dollop of sour cream to cut the heat slightly. Eat and enjoy!
*Harissa is a North African hot pepper condiment. I really like the one from Moulins De Majoub, but if you can't find one here's a simple one you can whip up for your fridge.
12 dried red chiles
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
Discard the stems and seeds from the chiles, then place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak 30 minutes until softened. In a heavy skillet heat the coriander and cumin seeds until they smell aromatic. Grind to a powder in a grinder. Drain the chiles and place in a blender with the garlic coriander mixture and salt. Blend together, trickling in the olive oil until the sauce has a mayonnaise-like consistency. To store, put in an airtight container and cover with olive oil and refrigerate.
You'll Need
8 cups stock (chicken or veggie work best)
2 medium butternut squash, seeded and peeled, in 1" chunks
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon harissa*
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon fresh sage
pinch of salt
sour cream to serve with
In a large (7 qt) slow cooker mix the squash, sweet potato, and onion. Add the harissa, sage, thyme, salt, and the stock. If the liquid is not enough to cover all of the squash, add water to top off. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Use a blender or food mill to puree the soup until smooth. Top with a dollop of sour cream to cut the heat slightly. Eat and enjoy!
*Harissa is a North African hot pepper condiment. I really like the one from Moulins De Majoub, but if you can't find one here's a simple one you can whip up for your fridge.
12 dried red chiles
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
Discard the stems and seeds from the chiles, then place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak 30 minutes until softened. In a heavy skillet heat the coriander and cumin seeds until they smell aromatic. Grind to a powder in a grinder. Drain the chiles and place in a blender with the garlic coriander mixture and salt. Blend together, trickling in the olive oil until the sauce has a mayonnaise-like consistency. To store, put in an airtight container and cover with olive oil and refrigerate.
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