Pierogi

So, the gumbo's been simmering (and Rosie's been rooting in the trash) for a bit now. The house smell AMAZING. It must be showtime. Finished gumbo. "Don' dat be purty?" I pulled the chicken because I wanted to get rid of the slimey, nasty, flabby skin, and pull it off the bone. One of the major gripes I have with trying to eat gumbo at home is trying to wrest the meat of the chicken off of the bone, in a soupy, stewy dish. And that icky skin. So, eventually I got the lightbulb moment to pull the chicken, remove the skin, chunk it off the bone, and then return it to the pot. Et, voila ! The debris: The good stuff: The shredded chicken back in the pot. "Don' dat be purty?" Take some of the rice, and put it in a bowl: And top it with the gumbo: Scarf it up, just as fast as you possibly can. Verdict - HUGE SUCCESS ! A great gumbo. Absolutely stellar. Made me a very happy camper to taste it, very complex, the spice from the sausages was spot on, and although I put in a wee bit too much file powder, and it got a bit too thick, the taste was great. This is now the 5th or 6th recipe I've made from the Besh book, and all of them have turned out well. This gumbo will go into my regular rotation.

Before I start on the gumbo post, I have to say how much I respect and admire the people, culture and traditions of New Orleans and southern Louisiana. I fully realize how lucky I am to live in Southern California, it's a pretty darn special place, and I love it. But there are two other cities I've been to where I would live in an instant. Manhattan and New Orleans. Problem is....I can't afford Manhattan and I can't take the New Orleans weather. I *hate* when that happens ! But New Orleans, from the first moment I saw it, just spoke to me. I loved the vibe, I loved the food, I loved the people I met, I loved the architecture, I just was smitten. My deep respect and affection for New Orleans actually was the reason that I wanted to do this blog *this* week, since I knew it would include Mardi Gras, and for the title of the blog. Let those good times roll, babe, wherever you are. In both Manhattan and NOLA, one of the things I fell for hardest was the food culture. God knows, you can find anything you want to taste in Manhattan. And in New Orleans, man, it's just history on a plate. So, even though I'm a Polish/Norwegian Midwestern girl raised in SoCal, it is with all deep homage and respect that I show you how I made Chicken and Sausage Gumbo to celebrate Mardi Gras. As I said in another post, I was really interested to try John Besh's technique and his recipe, so this was the perfect opportunity. The beginning was standard enough. You gots to have your Trinity: That's onion, celery and green bell pepper. The onion isn't chopped yet, because Besh doesn't cook his trinity the way other recipes I've seen do. So, here's the green portion of the trinity joined by a sad, winter Roma tomato and some minced garlic: Hey, nice lady....we heard veggies being chopped. You got any to spare? Yeah, probably.... Apparently dogs like the trinity (sans onion) too. Then you take your chicky-bird, and sprinkle it with lovely Cajun spices, and slice up the smoked sausage: The spice blend is a recipe from the Besh book. I made it a while back when I made his grillades recipe. It keeps well in the cupboard. I only used (again, since I'm *trying* to limit the actual amount of end product I produce) one breast, one thigh and one drumstick from that huge package of chicken I bought. The rest got packaged in meal-sized freezer bags and stuffed into the freezer. For the smoked sausage, I used smoked beef hot links. OK, off camera, the onion's been chopped, it must be time to make roux. So we must need oil (or fat) and flour: Besh says to use rendered chicken fat. Would've loved to, but don't have it. So, it was corn oil instead. Let the oil get REALLY hot in a heavy pan (how do I love thee, Le Cruset, let me count the ways, starting with the fact you give good roux). When it's almost smokin' sprinkle in the flour. It'll sizzle up and you should start whisking, like now. Whisk, whisk, whisk. Have some good New Orleans music on the CD player (yeah, Shelby, it was Harry), and keep whisking. They say, to get a good roux, you have to cook and whisk as long as it takes you to drink a Dixie Beer. Sadly I had no Dixie beer. But I did have Harry.... . You want to get it to what Besh describes as a "deep brown". Not yet, but darker than when we started: Keep on a 'whiskin'....and whisking.....and whisking..... Ahhhhhh, there we go: Smells like toasted flour, too. Important note....toasted, not burnt. I actually could've probably let this go a bit longer, but I'm chicken about burning it (don't ask me how I know...), so I stopped it now. Besides, it will continue to darken as you... Dump in the onions and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so: This is the major difference between Besh and Prudhomme. Prudhomme puts all the trinity in at the same time to stop the darkening of the roux. Then, he has you add hot stock in ladle-fulls to make the base. Besh has you just put in the onions, which he then continues to cook and caramelize in the hot roux for quite a long period of time. He says in the book that he feels this gives the gumbo a deeper flavor. Then put in your chicken, and let it brown, turning as need be, in the roux/onion goodness. "Don' dat be purty?" Add the sausage, then the celery, green pepper, garlic and tomatoes. Stir that around for a bit, then toss in the bay leaf and some fresh thyme sprigs: The thyme didn't make the class photo, guess it ran out of 'thyme', or couldn't keep track of 'thyme' or....never mind. I know, keep my day job ! Pour on some chicken stock/broth, and bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. "Don' dat be purty?" After a good, long simmer, chop up your andouille and add it to the pot along with some okra. Besh wanted fresh, not an option here right now, so frozen'll have to do: Season it up with some of this stuff: And you'll need to keep skimming the grease off the top: Evidence of a baaaaaaad Rosie dog: That's the wrapper from the andouille when dumb Mommydog left the trash unattended for a moment ! Up next: The final steps and the verdict.

So, to the rice. I've made this recipe a bazillion times. It's from the Prudhomme book, and it just works. It's a bit odd for a rice recipe (although as I've come to find out, maybe not so much), in that it bakes rather than cooks stove top. But it always turns out, and it's a good deal when you need to free up a stove-top burner. Get your oven up to 350°. Melt some butter. Since we'll be making the rice in a loaf pan, I usually just toss butter into the pan and throw it into the oven while it's preheating. Why dirty another pan to melt the damn butter? Here's a mini-version of the trinity (onion/celery/green bell pepper), finely minced and tossed into the sizzling butter: Oh, and remember, that loaf pan is hot. Don't ask me how I know... Add some cayenne, white & black pepper, salt and garlic powder to the veg. I forgot to take a picture of that, but hey, it didn't look like much different anyway. On top of the veg & seasonings, put in some rice. Then add some stock/broth, cover WELL with foil (remember, the loaf pan is still hot....) and put it back in the oven for 70 minutes. No shots of all that, I just jelled, but hey, it's cooking rice, how tough can it be? (Actually pretty damn tough, I have a bear of a time cooking rice on the stove top, but that's another day/issue/topic.) And here it is, done: Verdict - Perfect as always. I may have used a skosh too much white or black pepper, but once the gumbo was over it, all was fine. Next up......Dat Gumbo, chere !

OK, so to the food today. We'll take it dish by dish. There were two major successes and a huge fail.... What worked? What didn't....? (dramatic music insert....) Stay tuned for Pierogi's Mardi Gras dinner ! Here are some of the players in the meal: The veggies: Some of the supporting characters (a couple were late for the class photo): AAAAAAAAAND our stars, the proteins ! Let's deal with the marinated green beans first. So, you take white wine vinegar, preferably from your spiffy, re-purposed fish bottle... and mix it with olive oil, chopped jalapeno (unlike the tragic specimen from Saturday, this one was HOT), sliced garlic, mustard seeds, whole peppercorns, some brine from a jar of green olives, a bit of crab boil and some water in a saucepan. Bring that to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile (back at the ranch), slice your red bell into strips, and put it, and your beans, in a heat-resistant bowl. Side note: the recipe said a yellow *and* a red bell...um, not at the prices I saw at the market last week. I got the yellow & green beans, and a red bell, and figured it was close enough. "Don' 'dat be purty" as Justin Wilson used to say. Raise your hand if you remember Justin Wilson. I LOVED his show ! When the pickle mixture has simmered for 15 minutes, pour the hot marinade over the beans and bells, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it cool, then pour the mix into a freezer zip bag, and stuff in the fridge (y'all SAW my fridge, you KNOW I literally mean stuff) for a few hours. The final dish: Pretty isn't it? Especially in my spiffy cobalt glass bowl. From Goodwill. $0.95 each. Got all 4 that they had. Wish the beans had been as nice as those bowls. Verdict - MAJOR fail. You know, one of these millenia, I am really, truly going to learn to *trust my damn cooking instincts* ! I read this recipe and I thought "that marinade sounds GOOOOOOOOD. But ya know, it's odd the beans aren't cooked. Are they really NOT cooked?" Now, I very frequently develop ADD when I'm reading recipes. The mantra in the Little Kitchen is "read the recipe Roberta !". So I did. I read it again, and again. And then once more. Nope. Beans aren't cooked. Hmmmmm. But I figure, hey, *someone's* tested this recipe, it's in a published cook book, it's gotta work, right? Nope. The beans were, well, raw. Now, full disclosure, the recipe *does* say use a shallow bowl. Mine was, obviously, not a shallow bowl. Maybe, MAYBE, that made a difference. Somehow, I'm thinkin' not. I actually went BACK to the recipe when I was cleaning up the kitchen to check that I hadn't missed the crucial "blanch/cook/steam the green beans" step. Nope. No such step. The peppers were good. I may try it again with actually cooked green beans (wow, what a concept). But certainly not as written. The whole freezer-zippy lok bag will be moldering in a landfill somewhere in Southern California very, very soon.

LOL... Nooooo. No beets (didn't make borscht, unless there was a parallel me), and while my hands aren't *that* attractive any longer, gotta chalk that one up to a) bad lighting and b) bad color correction in the editing. I knew some of those photos had a bit of a, shall we say......*fuuhhnkayy* color, so I decided to use Microsoft Office Picture Manager's "autocorrect" function. BAAAAAAAAAAD decision. And I didn't realize it until I went back to look at it, and of course, it was way too late to undo. As I said, my story and I'm stickin' to it, I was stupid-tired last night after 3 big project days, and the old gray matter just ain't what it used to be. I promise I'm not Lobster Girl ! Or Barney's evil twin

That was the real moment when I knew I had them nailed....when my Mom told me the dough was as good as *her* mother's. When Mom had made them, she made them thicker. I don't like them doughy. That's why I don't really care for the commercial ones, 'though they'll do in a pinch (an utterly desperate pinch). Some of mine yesterday looke a bit, ermmmm, *rustic*, to say the least. As I was *trying* to say in one of my semi-incoherant posts about them, I was having a problem with that first rolling pin I was using. I honestly believe, now that I think about it, that it was due to that dip in my butcher block I was telling Heidih about. I could get the edges really thin, but the middle was still way too thick, and to compensate, I was overworking it all. When I switched to the French pin, with the taper and the thicker center, it went much better. It is an art..... Yep, again, good ones are sublime. Usually on Wiglia, I serve them with fish. Then for Christmas Day, with whatever the main is. As a kid, I can remember sneaking into the fridge and pulling out a cold one and munching it down when Mom wasn't watching. I made wontons for the first time last month for Chinese New Year (may as well co-opt everyone's holidays, all the more to celebrate!), and as I was reading the recipe, I thought, "well, heck, this is like sealing pierogies. I know how to do THAT !"

Hunky Dave, Hunky Bill, Hunky Steve, Hunky Fred, Hunky George........ If it ain't a pierogi maker, I'll take one !!!! In *any* size !!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Peter. Writing in cookbooks is OK by me. I also usually make notes about if the recipe worked, what I'd change, etc., etc., etc. Mostly, though, it's the scale-down quantities. Unless they're really obvious (like cutting 2 cups of stock in half....even *my* math-challenged brain can handle that !) Using a pierogi folder/form/maker is for wimps. Us *REAL* Polaks do it by hand ! And we're damn proud of it..... Actually my able-bodied assistant photog yesterday said "didn't you used to use one of those fold over things to seal them?" I resisted the urge to throw the big pot of boiling water at her, mostly because she was holding my camera.

Hi Burnin' It!!! And a big WELCOME to eGullet ! That is *soooo* cool. I literally thought I was the only person in the world that still had that book. I remember reading it when I was a kid, and even then, thinking it was so wonderful how it told the stories about the culture and the traditions. My Mom was first generation. And, of course in those days, the immigrants assimlated immediately, so she never really explored HER parents culinary experience. By the time I was old enough to care, both my Polish grandparents were gone. Its a huge void I feel. This book, and some old newsletters my Mom used to get, were my door into the Polish world. Mom got that for a wedding present in about 1953. It's literally held together with packing tape at this point. We used to make the chrusciki recipe from it all the time for Christmas when I was a kid. I still get the urge to make them occasionally, but I don't want to fool with the whole deep frying thing. The pierogi dough, and the cheese and mushroom/'kraut stuffings are straight from that little gem. Just don't ever ask me about the time I tried to make paczki from it.....

Ohhhhhhhh, his BBQ shrimp is THE BEST. Takes me right back to New Orleans. THAT was another epiphany dish for me, the first time I ate NO barbeque shrimp. No grill required, thenkyewvermush. Just lots of butter.....(notice a trend here?) It would be a toss up for me between Prudhomme's "Louisiana Kitchen" and the book I'm cooking from tomorrow (well, and Mom's Fanny Farmer and the Polish book) as to which I'd rescue in a fire/flood/earthquake (pick your Southern California disaster). Prudhomme is certainly very close to first place in my cookbook list. It is simply a classic, especially in the context of the cuisine. Again, like "Cooking Up a Storm", it gives you a really nice insight into the culture and foodways as well.

Before I split for my errands around noon-ish, I made a different iteration of of the starch/hummus/olive/tabbuleh theme of the week. I took a slice of my beautiful bread, and toasted it. I smeared on the hummus and the olive paste, then topped it with the tabbuleh. It was REALLY good, and that will be lunch tomorrow as well: As you probably figured out, we're cooking New Orleans food today to celebrate Mardi Gras. The sources are: From "Cooking Up a Storm" I got: From the John Besh book I got: And from the Paul Prudhomme book I got: Edit to correct premature postage....oops, it's PREVIEW you want Roberta, NOT POST... As I was saying before I interrupted myself, I usually make my gumbos from the Prudhomme book. As you can probably see, it's well used and loved. Lots of grease drips on the pages. Or I use Alton Brown's from the Food Network site. His roux technique actually works pretty well, although it is unorthodox. Prudhomme's gumbos are so tasty, but his roux is scary. He cooks it over jet-engine high heat the whole time, and it can go from good to burnt in a nanosecond. Brown's roux gets cooked in the oven (in the OVEN for Heaven's sake), with no stirring, but it does yield a pretty tasty result. I usually play with his seasonings though. I've had the Besh book for about a year, and I've made a few other recipes from it, and have been pleased. His seasonings are very different from Prudhomme's, as are some of the techniques, but I can't say I like either one better than the other. They're both outstanding, very different, but really good, flavorful food. I've made Prudhomme's red beans and rice, his jambalayas, his gumbos (most of them), his sauce piquants and etouffees, and his grillades, all a million times. Until I got the Besh book, he was my go-to for all those dishes. I've only made Besh's red beans and rice, grillades and I think maybe a jambalaya. And then only once each. As I said, they were very different from Prudhomme's but very very good. So, when I was deciding what to do for this blog, I knew I had to make a gumbo for Mardi Gras. And I thought I'd try Besh's. Of course, there are as many gumbo recipes as there are gumbo cooks, but this one certainly *smells* good ! My widdle (NOT) tummy is rumbling pretty bad....His roux technique seems to be a happy medium between the "blast it at inferno level" of Prudhomme and the "totally hands off" version by Brown. One of the problems I consistently have (and actually one of the reasons I hadn't tried this gumbo recipe before) is that I am only cooking for one (ok, one and a couple of vultures, but you know what I mean). This recipe makes *ahem* 10-12 SERVINGS . I could feed my entire BLOCK with that, and I really don't like most of my neighbors ! Not enough to feed them gumbo ! Needless to say, I've become pretty adept at adjusting recipes. I actually have a calculator a friend gave me as a present that allows you to punch in the number of servings the recipe is written for, then the number of servings you *actually* want. Then, you go ingredient by ingredient (and it can calculate cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, fluid ounces, solid ounces, etc.) and hit the "convert recipe" key. It is a godsend ! Especially because, well, I was a liberal arts major. Math was never really a good thing in my life.... Anyway, even with that, most times I can do the math in what's left of my brain. Sometimes though, I gotta use a cheat sheet (wish I'd had those in algebra...) I know writing in cookbooks is anathema to some people, but, like the greasy roux drips in my copy of Prudhomme, I think it's an indication that you actually COOKED from the book, and it didn't just sit in a designer kitchen looking nice. Alright, my gumbo, rice and pickled green beans are calling. I'm gonna finish this Sazerac, and enjoy my Mardi Gras dinner. I'll be back after clean-up to show all y'all the process and the finished products. (note to self...."preview" first, then "post")

Dinner's perking along on the stove, and in the oven, so it's cocktail hour. Rather than expose myself to the horror that is a Hurricane, I chose another Mardi Gras-appropriate adult beverage. Made with these ingredients, two of which are the absolute essence of my beloved NOLA: Along with a bit of sugar and water, and maybe a strip of lemon twisted over, but not dropped, you have a *real* N'Awlins cocktail. Ladies and Gentlemen...... The Sazerac: A bad picture of a true thing of beauty. Back in a bit, gotta go stir the pot (literally !)

Yes. He certainly is. Most certainly. Not if it was the last drop of alcohol on Earth. (insert green pukie face here). The only time I've ever tried one, it *was* at Pat O'Brien's in the Quarter and I had a very bad experience with it (had nothing to do with the fact that Pat O'Brien's was our last stop of a long, very wet evening). But I still wanted the glass. So I ordered one, and took one sip and realized that if I even smelled the cursed thing again, many people sitting around me were going to be very sorry they were that close. But I didn't know what to do with that hideous drink, because I really did want the glass. My equally inebriated companion kept, very "slurrily", suggesting to "tossh it in da fountain...". After a bit of deliberation, I decided that "tosshin' it in da fountain" was a far better alternative than me "tossshin'" my cookies.

I'll probably get my eGullet membership card revoked for admitting it, but....I usually have a package of Mrs. T's in my freezer. Sometimes, you just gotta have a pierogi or two, in July or September, and well, *I'm* certainly not going to be making them then ! Promise you won't tell anyone my dirty little secret? I can honestly say, that even with copious amounts of browned butter, browned onions and sour cream, they only ever become...tolerable.

Laissez les bon temps rouler, chere ! Happy Mardi Gras. I feel *much* rejuvinated after a good long sleep, and no huge project this morning. I have a couple of errands to run, but here's a clue about what we'll be doing this afternoon: And where we're going: Back in a bit.

Isn't that a cool bowl? I have a set of about 7 or 8 graduated sizes, ranging from about a cup and a half to probably a quart. They were my grandmother's. I love that chalky, cobalt blue color. Well, it's not huge in terms of the number of farm stalls. Nothing like that lovely market in Torrance I used to go to when I worked in that 'hood. But the prices look comparable to the other FMs I've been to in Long Beach, and I think the smaller size keeps down the crowds a bit. And there's a good variety of the farm vendors, Asian greens, chiles, citrus, and the usual. It'll be interesting to see if it grows once we get into spring and summer crops.

Alllllll rightie then. Dinner. A *much* lower octane affair than the last 2 days, I'd blown my allotment of mojo this morning making the pierogies. When life does, in fact, give you pierogies (or you bust your butt making them), you must have a Polish dinner to accompany them. So that would be this: And this: For extra flavor, let's chop an onion. Hey, it's actually a good one ! Chop some, and thickly slice some. The chopped pieces went into the pot of 'kraut: This was pretty mild 'kraut, so no rinsing needed for me. YMMV.... Take a pan and throw in some butter...what....more butter ! But of course, you saw the ingredients in the pierogies, you surely can't have thought this was going to be a healthy meal: When the butter gets nice and melty, throw in the sliced onions: I used a second pan, because somehow I didn't think that onion would really work with the ricotta/raisin/cinnamon/sugar ones...dunno, could be just me: Meanwhile, cut the kielbasa into chunks, and put it on a broiler pan. Normally I'd saute this as well, but, well, tonight all available burners were in use (yes, I lust after a 6-burner range, and I usually just cook only for me !!!): Put the pretty little pierogies (or as someone I once knew who just didn't quite get the concept of pierogies once called them, 'rogies....) into the pan with the melted butter (and optional onions): Let the 'rogies saute nice and gently in the butter goodness. You want to get them the beloved "golden brown and delicious". When the first side is nice and yummy, flip them over gently. Aren't those gorgeous ? Time for dinner: And well, just because it's not quite calorific enough, you want some condiments (says the Condiment Queen). For the sausage (ok, not so evil): And for the pierogies (there we go.....): A little dollop on top makes it even mo' bettah. You can also, instead of the browned onions, use some good, fresh, unseasoned bread crumbs. After you flip the 'rogies, sprinkle the crumbs over the top, and into the butter. Let the crumbs brown a bit too (and absorb the butter, what's wrong with that?), and then pour the butter/crumbs over the pierogies. Factoid du jour....buttered, sauteed breadcrumbs over food is called "a la Polonaise", "Polonaise" meaning, of course, Polish. Much more reasonable dishwasher load tonight, although it's still running a "heavy wash" cycle. Usually it's the light, single wash. And there may be been a bit of kielbasa shared with some, ummmm, friends...yeah, friends. With fur suits. Oh, and breakfast was a slice of King Cake, lunch was the same hummus/taboule/olive spread with pretzel rods....nuthin' earth shattering. I notice in reading back over stuff I've posted today that there are some dumb-@ss typos and grammatical I missed. Of course I found them way *after* the edit window had slammed shut. Sorry, and if I was unclear in something, let me know, and I'll try to straighten it out. I was (and am) just really stupid-tired, and the old brain wasn't firing on all neurons. So, I'll call it a "cut/print/wrap" for the day. Tomorrow morning will probably also be fairly low key, and I'll check back in around lunch time. Thanks for playing, all ya'll ! Edit to say - grammatical errors. That would be grammatical *errors*, not just grammatical. Clearly time for bed !

OK, before we get to dinner, I wanted to add a few random thoughts/comments to some of the previous topics that came into my so-called mind well after I'd hit post. Regarding the "Cooking Up a Storm" cookbook, those of you who want food porn shots in your cookbooks, or even just photos of the recipes are going to be sorely disappointed. There are very few photos of any kind in the book, and they it has are mostly "arty", soft-focus, half-tone graphics of various sites around NOLA. Doesn't matter a whit to me, but I know some people like to have the visuals, and I didn't want you to be disappointed. A couple of random pierogi fabrication tips: These do not freeze well. I've tried, and I've never come up with a satisfactory method. I think, again, because the dough is so much thinner than the commercial ones. I've frozen them before boiling, and after, and both times they decompose when you go to pan-brown them. They do keep in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, for several days though. For the sauerkraut stuffing, taste your 'kraut to see if its too sour for your palate. If it is, you can rinse it, and it will take some of the tartness and saltiness away. But be sure, regardless of whether you rinse or not, to squeeze it really dry before you use it, much like you'd squeeze thawed, frozen spinach. You need to keep the filling as dry as possible, lest you end up with the flour glue syndrome. Also, chop up the shreds of the 'kraut before you put it in the saute pan with the 'shrooms and onions. Those should also be minced quite small. The typical cheese filling is a dry cottage cheese or a farmer's cheese. Impossible to find in LaLaLand. So the ricotta is a good sub. Again, some ricottas are wetter than others, and you may need to let that drain as well. If you can find farmer's cheese, I'm sure they'd be even better. Finally, rehydrate your raisins in some hot tap water to cover for about 10 minutes, and then drain and mince them up as well. Better texture, and better distribution of raisin-y goodness.

Hey Nick, They turned out really well. I absolutely think they would work in a pasta machine, the dough is really just an egg pasta dough. I don't have one though (WHAT, a toy I don't have....outrageous). I don't really have the room to store one of the manual ones, but I really want to get one of the KA attachments. Soon, soon, soon. Maybe then *good* pierogies won't be a once-a-year treat.

Thanks Christine ! Short ribs are my absolute favorite cut of beef, followed closely by brisket. I love those long, slow braises. Unfortunately I don't get to do them but a few precious months out here. Something about 85° in April that just does't scream "hot, steamy food" ! That's actually a great suggestion, but there's a teeeeeeny, tiny little problem. Well actually, really not so little . This is a 1940's tract house, so the ceilings are low to begin with (8 feet). The kitchen's is even lower, because it's got a drop ceilling with translucent tiles to cover the 8-foot long fluorescent fixtures. And, I'm, ummmmmm, 6-foot 3. That good Polish peasant stock, I guess . I'd love to have a pot rack, too, so I didn't have to dig in the cupboard to get to the pot/pan I need (which, of course, is *always* on the bottom), but walking smack into a Le Cruset or a meat mallet really doesn't sound like my idea of a great time . I have enough troubles remembering to avoid the windchimes on the patio roof ! I seem to hit them at least once a week.

Oh they are. Heavy, gotta get you through those Eastern European winters, dontchaknow, but so soulful. It's real peasant food, nothin' subtle about it, but so satisfying. As I said, I knew I wasn't gunna be able to wiggle out of the project...

Pretty much the whole section, about 3 feet worth, between the stove and the sink is an oak butcher block. You can sort of see the joint between it and the counter top around the sink in the shot where I'm brushing the circles with water. The rest of the counter top, and the low part of the back splash is oak-colored and "grained" Formica. It's actually a pretty decent look and functioning counter set up. I also have a small marble slab that lives on top of the microwave for use when I'm making really rich doughs like brioche or butter cookies. This is the house I grew up in. I was an only child, and when my parents passed, I got the house. Since it was such a great neighborhood (still is), and since LB is so central to most of SoCal, I stayed. I was noticing the other day that there's a slight dip in the center of the butcher block from all the years of the Pierogi women chopping on it. I try to remember to use a cutting board now, both to keep the depression from getting worse, and it also raises the surface a bit, which is crucial to me.

Geee, thanks Shelby, you're a real pal ! My able-bodied assistant photog today got some as a reward for the help. She, too, volunteered to take *ALL* the potato ones. She was gently dissuaded as well... Have to give props for that to a close friend of mine who was over one day watching me make them for Wiglia dinner (Wiglia is Polish for Christmas Eve, it translates the "vigil" you keep for the birth of the Christ child. Although I'm not a practicing Catholic, out of respect for the culture, when I do a full blown Wiglia, I keep to all the traditions. Christmas Eve is traditionally a fast day for Polish Catholics. No food at all before sundown, and then no meat. So even though I make the potato/bacon and hamburger ones, I don't eat them until after Wiglia. She was coming for dinner that night, and as I was stacking them on the plate, I was tellling her, "ok, remember the top layer is hamburger, and the middle layer is veggie and bottom is potato". At that point, she suggested making the cuts ! I thought (and think) it was brilliant.

Donna, No interwebs for 10 days !!! Poor you !

In order to boil the beggers, ya gots to have a big ol' hangin' pot of boiling water (no.....really???). Like pasta, pierogies like a lot of room to swim around. They like salt water, too. In they go, but don't crowd them. The don't mingle well...they need their space, man: Give 'em a stir so they don't stick to the bottom, or to each other: Since we rolled them so thin, they'll float almost immediately. Let 'em bob around a bit, when the dough looks done, then use your Official Chinese Pierogi Drainer to scoop 'em out of the water: And drop 'em onto a cooling rack set over a sheet pan (or, if you like a slimey wet mess on your stove, you can skip the sheet pan... ) When they've cooled off enough to handle, put them on a plate. Don't stack them on top of each other, they will stick, even after being cooked. You can use wax paper between the layers, though, so you don't have to dirty every plate in the house to store them ! Keep on rolling, stuffing, sealing and boiling until you reach the last pierogi: And your insider trick 'o' the day: How do you tell which stuffing is in your identical looking pierogies? Easy Grasshopper: For one type of filling you leave the pierogies in a full half-moon shape (doesn't that sound like an oxymoron...a full half-moon...). For the second variety, take your trusty kitchen shears, and clip off one of the corners. For the third type, clip off both corners. Best done after boiling, they tend to lose the definition when cooked. And that's how you make pierogies. By Pierogi