March 20, 2011: Potato and Cheese Pierogi Recipe

I love pierogis. I guess it just makes sense since my family from my mother’s side was Polish – although Mom never made them. I discovered them in the frozen food aisle at the grocery store and once I’d tried them, I was hooked.

I always wanted to try making my own and finally braved it recently. I had leftover mashed potatoes, so that’s what made me take the plunge.

I found a recipe online at this page and because the heading said it had been handed down from generation to generation, I figured it was a good one to try. The instructions here are daunting and make it sound very difficult to make pierogis, but I thought it was actually pretty easy; probably depends on your cooking experience and level of expertise, I reckon.

As usual, I’ll give you the recipe as it was posted but give you my tips along the way.

Pierogi Dough
2½ - 3 cups flour
1 t, salt
1 egg
2 T. sour cream
About ½ cup lukewarm water

Mix all ingredients together, and knead just a bit. The dough should not be very smooth, and it should be quite sticky. Let stand covered with an inverted bowl for about half an hour before using. Take either all, or a portion of the dough, and roll it out until it is 1/16" thick. You will have to use plenty of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and rolling surface. You can also flip the dough several times as well. (Your work surface dictates how much you can roll out at one time.) The thickness is very important.

Tip: I found this recipe to be way too “wet”. I would add water about a tablespoon at a time or you will end up adding way more flour to make a workable dough. I figured the dough should resemble traditional pasta dough and this is, after all, a Polish pasta dish.

Filling
Mashed potatoes
Grated cheese

As I said, I used leftovers (if you have any leftover champ, that would work great) and sprinkled a bit of Parmesan on top. The filling was a bit dry, though (as were the potatoes – I’d used a new recipe I didn’t really care for and the leftovers weren’t good for anything) so I’ll probably opt for a different type of cheese next time, such as Havarti or fontina or even chevré.

Assembling the Pierogis

First, start a large pot of water boiling, add a couple tablespoons of salt. This is for cooking the pierogi.

Take your thinly rolled dough and cut out circles between 3 and 4" in diameter using any type of round device or container with a sharp rim. Add a dab of filling to each circle. A heaping teaspoon is plenty, but use your own judgment here. Now take your finger, dip it into warm water and coat the edge of half the pierogi circle with water. Make sure the half edge is completely wet. Then take the opposite dough edge and fold and stretch it over to the wet edge. Pick up the pierogi and with your fingers seal the edges tightly together. Make sure no filling has gotten on the sealing edge. If the pierogi looks too thin, dip the thin surface in flour before placing into the water.

Once a batch is finished place carefully in the boiling water. Total boiling time is 10-12 minutes. Turn or at least stir the pierogi after about 5 minutes. When finished, remove to a colander and rinse with cold water, then place on a cookie sheet to cool.

Cooking the Pierogis

I like pierogis best when they are fried with thinly sliced onions. Fry the onions first in butter or a combination of olive oil and butter, then add the peirogis to the hot pan. You only need to crisp up the outsides, as long as they’re not ice cold - fry a couple minutes per side until golden brown.

That’s it! Serve the pierogis hot as a side dish; they’re great with pork chops, sausages, meatloaf – just about any type of protein.

March 17, 2011: Irish Champ Recipe

Of course I wanted to honor St. Patrick on his day by sharing an Irish recipe with you. The problem is that my dear husband doesn’t really care for corned beef (besides which it would make enough to feed an army and we’d have leftovers for weeks) and he certainly doesn’t care for the lamb that is traditionally part of an Irish stew. So I figured that mashed potatoes with scallions was my safest bet!

The Irish call it champ, and according to many sources, this is the most widely eaten potato dish in all of Ireland.

The odd thing is that this recipe calls for the potatoes to be cooked without peeling them first, which is the way my mother taught me to cook potatoes for mashed, salad – anything. She wasn’t Irish; in fact her family was Polish. It wasn’t until my mother-in-law showed me how much easier it was to peel cold potatoes and cook them in smaller pieces that I adopted her method. What about you? Did you learn to cook potatoes with or without the skins on?

So… Happy St. Patty’s Day and enjoy this traditional dish!

Champ (Mashed Potatoes)

6 to 8 baking potatoes, unpeeled
3 to 4 scallions (green onions)
1 ½ cups milk
6 T. butter (or more, to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Scrub potatoes, place them in a pot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook until soft, about 25 minutes. Remove from the pan and peel when cool enough to handle.

Finely chop the green onions, using both the white and green parts. Add to the saucepan used for boiling the potatoes. Add the milk and slowly bring just to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and let the mixture stand until slightly cooled. Add the cooked potatoes and mash with a fork. Add the butter and beat with a mixer until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Before serving, garnish with a pat of butter in the center of the mound (in a serving bowl or on a dinner plate).

Serves 4 to 6.

March 13, 2011: Round Steak Recipe

If you’re looking for a really cheap, really easy meal to make for your family, this recipe for round steak fits the bill.

A friend of mine from Wisconsin used to request her mother make this dish every time she visited Phoenix during the winter months. I asked her to show me how to make it and it’s been a favorite of my husband’s ever since. It has to be served with homemade mashed potatoes so you can use the potato water to make the creamy gravy. In the picture below, I served the steak and potatoes with fresh green beans but the usual choice is corn.

Of course, this dish is also really fattening (isn’t all the good stuff?) in addition to being cheap and easy…. so it’s best reserved for every now and then. Here goes!

Round Steak with Pan Gravy

1 pound thinly sliced round steak
Salt and pepper to taste (or use garlic salt)
Flour
Vegetable or olive oil (the olive oil make it just a wee bit healthier)
Milk

Start preparing the meat about half an hour before you’re ready to cook dinner. Trim off all the fat and any gristly veins. Cut it into small pieces about three inches in diameter, if necessary. Place the steaks in between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound until very thin.

Lift off the top layer of plastic wrap and leave the steaks sitting on the bottom layer. Season each side of the steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle enough flour over the top of the steaks to thoroughly coat; turn them over and repeat. Let the steaks rest for at least 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cook your potatoes, reserving the cooking water.

Heat a large saucepan or electric skillet to medium high. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan plus about ¼ inch. Press the flour into each steak with the palm of your hand before adding to the hot skillet. Fry three or four at a time, being sure you don’t crowd them in the pan. Fry about 2 minutes on each side (when done they will have just a bit of red juices bubbling up through the flour coating), then transfer to a plate and keep warm in the oven. Continue until all the steaks have been quickly fried and are golden brown on the outside.

Turn the heat down to medium low. Pour off the oil in the skillet, all except 2 – 3 tablespoons. Take the flour that fell off the steaks when you were preparing them and add to the hot oil in the pan. You should have enough flour to make a thick paste with the oil; add more if necessary. Fry the flour in the oil for a couple minutes then slowly pour the reserved potato water into the pan, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil (this shouldn’t take long) and cook until thickened. Just before serving, thin the gravy with a bit of milk until it is of desired consistency.

Serve the steaks with mashed potatoes and pour the gravy over all.

February 6, 2011: Cauliflower Is In Season

When you’re a dyed-in-the-wool home cook like I am, you tend to prefer seasonal ingredients for the freshest dishes. And I guess Gordon Ramsay's influence is rubbing off on me. I simply adore Gordon and the way he revitalizes failing restaurants by creating a new menu filled with fresh ingredients and simple, nouveau cuisine. What I wouldn't give to meet the man in person! *sigh*

Anyway, February is one of those months when there’s not a lot of fresh produce in season. But one vegetable that you can find in abundance is cauliflower, as well as other cruciferous veggies such as brussels sprouts, and some harder-to-incorporate ones like leeks, chicory, and parsnips. I've got a personal thing against brussels sprouts but that's the topic of another post.

There are two ways that I cook cauliflower and my husband (somewhat of a veggie-phobe) will eat it. Enjoy these two recipes!

Roasted Cauliflower

Half head of cauliflower, broken up into medium-sized florets and large pieces of stem cut off
Half white onion, cut into quarters
1 small sweet potato or large carrot, cut into large dice
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. curry powder

Throw the cut-up veggies into a baking dish (an 8” x 8” metal pan works fine). Drizzle with olive oil – just enough to coat the veggies (about ¼ cup or so). Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste (start with a pinch if you’re not sure of the amount; you can always add more later but can’t take it back out) and the pepper and curry powder. Toss to coat.

Roast in a 425 degree oven about 30 minutes, stirring/flipping occasionally so the vegetables don’t burn.

Serves two.

Mashed Potatoes

Use your favorite recipe for mashed potatoes but substitute one-third to one-half of the potatoes with cauliflower (cut off woody stems and boil large chunks with the potatoes until tender). Prepare as usual.

I actually prefer mashed potatoes made with cauliflower because they’re creamier and lighter – plus they’re packed with more nutrients and less calories.

These two recipes should get you started. These are my family's favorites, but cauliflower is extremely versatile because the flavor isn't overpowering, so feel free to experiment and add them into your regular recipes for a healthy variation.