Pierogi = Christmas memories
Here in Central Illinois and in most rural areas of our country, most people would visualize an old country Christmas taking place on a snow-covered farm in a beautifully decorated old farmhouse. But for me, an old country Christmas has a very different meaning. In my predominately Polish-Catholic neighborhood on the east side of Detroit, the Christmas traditions celebrated were those that came from the “Old Country” — Poland. And Busia’s pierogi was the star of many a dinner celebration.
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve was the big event for just about all of us living in my neighborhood. As kids we could hardly wait for the day to arrive — mostly because of the hours of fun we would have with our family. Gifts seemed secondary.
My grandparents’ 1920s bungalow, just like many others on my block, would be filled to the rafters with their very large family, amazing food, Polish polkas and Christmas music played on the piano by my Aunt Janine. Along with the music (and spirits) came singing, dancing, and lots and lots of laughter. The party continued for hours and yet we still managed to wander into our neighborhood church for midnight mass, along with many of our neighbors, to celebrate the true meaning of the day.
Tradition…Tradition
Preparations for the late-evening dinner took days — Kowalski fresh and smoked kielbasa (I preferred the smoked) with sauerkraut, Honey-Baked ham (with its humble beginnings in Detroit), sauteed mushrooms with onion, pickled herring (an acquired taste that I never have acquired), homemade apple pie (Busia made THE best) and, of course, the family’s Christmas Eve favorite — Pierogi.
My grandmother (Busia as she was fondly called by her 12 grandchildren and all the neighborhood kids as well), would begin the Christmas Eve pierogi-making marathon in the very early hours of the morning, making the dough, rolling out the dough and then filling the dough with the most wonderful cheese/onion filling. They were then boiled, stored in a roaster until dinner, and then fried up in butter and served with a couple of dollops of sour cream on the side. Leftovers, if there were any, were then pan-fried the following morning as part of Christmas breakfast. This process took hours as she made well over 100 of them.
A Buried Treasure
I thought her recipe was lost forever when she moved from her home in Detroit, leaving her recipes behind. But lucky for me, I found this treasure of a book at a used book store a few years ago. It’s chockfull of beloved Polish recipes, one being identical to my grandmother’s pierogi recipe. Oh yeah it was my lucky day!
Bittersweet Memories
So many members of the family have passed on throughout the years, but I have done my best to keep these traditions alive with my own family. I have even included a “Polish-Style Christmas” complete with pierogi making with local school kids as part of my community outreach program.
These days I still use my grandmother’s recipe but changed the method of preparation to speed up the process. And since the farmer’s cheese that Busia used has become difficult to find, I usually mix up mashed potato/cheddar cheese filling . It’s my family’s favorite and the one most popular with Americans.
I also recall my Aunt Joan telling me about a dessert pierogi using a delicious prune filling that I have yet to try.
But my personal favorite? It’s a tossup–sauteed mushrooms OR sauerkraut!
I now use my food processor to quickly mix the dough and then use my pasta maker to roll it out to just the right thickness.
After rolling out the dough and adding a filling of choice, the pierogi are boiled in a large pot of boiling salted water. Just like you’d boil any pasta.
Out of the Water and into a Pan
After draining, the pierogi are pan fried in butter until just a little bit crispty and brown. They are ready to serve. They typically topped with a generous dollop of sour cream. Yum.
At school, the kids and I quite impressively can make pierogi from start to finish in 45 minutes. Ok, I will admit that 10 kids working in kitchen really speeds up the process. We all end up covered in flour but what a huge hit with the kids!
At home, it’s so much fun when my daughter, my sis, and my Polish cousins can spend an afternoon making more pierogi memories.
So, as I celebrate this Christmas Eve with my family and friends using all of my grandmother’s recipes (except for the pickled herring), it is with such wonderful yet bittersweet memories from my childhood. Merry Christmas to all of you. And to my sister, aunts, cousins, and dear friends from Detroit — Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!
Pierogi Busia Style
Ingredients
Pierogi Dough
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon butter
Potato Filling
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups hot mashed potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Sauerkraut Filling
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, drained and minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Busia's Farmer's Cheese Filling
- 1 pound farmer’s cheese consistency of a dry curd cottage cheese or ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
For the Dough
- In a mixing bowl with a dough hook, MIX all ingredients until the dough is pliable. You can mix the ingredients together with a spoon and then knead. Also, all ingredients can be combined into the bowl of a food processor and pulse processed until dough forms a ball. Try not to over-process. If the dough is too soft, add more flour; if too stiff, add water.
- Bring a large stock pot of salted water to a boil as you begin to fill the pierogi.
- CUT the dough in half and ROLL out to 1/16 of an inch thick. Dough may to have a bit of flour added to it as it is rolled as it is a sticky dough. CUT into circles about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
- PLACE a spoonful of filling on half the circle. PUT some water on the edge of the circle. FOLD it over and PINCH edges together.
- PUT the pierogi into boiling salted water. COOK for three to five minutes.
- REMOVE from the water with a slotted spoon and SERVE with melted butter. Or PAN FRY the cooked pierogi in butter until lightly browned.
Potato Filling
- For the mashed potato filling, MELT butter in a skillet over medium heat. STIR in the onion, and COOK until translucent, about five minutes. STIR into the mashed potatoes, and SEASON with salt and white pepper.
Sauerkraut Filling
- MELT the butter in a skillet over medium heat. STIR in the onion, and cook until translucent, about five minutes. ADD the drained sauerkraut and COOK for an additional five minutes. SEASON to taste with salt and pepper, then remove to a plate to cool.
Busia's Farmer's Cheese Filling
- SAUTE onion in butter. COMBINE Farmer’s cheese and egg. ADD sauteed onion . MIX to combine.
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