However, I wanted to do a little something and thought we could spoil ourselves once the kids were asleep tonight (and I'm back with the dogs) with a delicious dinner of steak and shrimps (those would be for me).
I didn't want to have rice with it and I didn't want to have mashed potatoes or baked potatoes either.
Salad is out of the question as my husband has a digestive condition (Crohn's) and for the life of me - I had a hankering for some perogies today!
In Canada (where I'm from) - I used to buy them every couple of months frozen and they would be a nice late night snack during movie night or a different side dish with a meal.
Obviously not the healthiest option of course...I even remember Boston Pizza having a perogy pizza and I was in love!
I can't get frozen ones here - as far as I know - so obviously the next step is to make my own.
I started with a Google search and found this recipe.
Stupid me - I for some reason thought that "20 servings" meant portions for 20 people. It was a long night last night with the kids and my husband constantly waking me up with his snores or shaking from running in his sleep or something...
Anyways, I downsized that recipe above for "2 servings" and got such odd numbers and the dough didn't work out - so I dumped in more flour and it magically turned into a proper dough! :)
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| For some reason I can't rotate this photo - but you get the idea. Top: First attempt aka "I have no idea what I'm doing". Bottom: Several attempts later...aka "Holy crap it looks like a perogy!" Words of wisdom: I didn't roll the circles out very thinly in fear of them bursting while cooking. I did flatten them a bit more and stretched them a little with my hands. I used about a heaping tea spoon for filling and sealed them with water and once they were all done - used a fork dipped in flour to press down the edges. |
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| There were actually 36 of these puppies ready! I couldn't freeze them as it was suggested (to prevent bursting during boiling) - so I did the next best thing. I layered them in a bowl with a light dusting of flour and parchment paper/baking paper then covered with a towel and tossed them onto my frosty balcony for a few hours until we were ready to eat. |
I have to say I was annoyed (but perhaps it's obvious) that the recipe just says to boil them in lightly salted water and once they float to the top, remove with a slotted spoon.
I'm annoyed because what the recipe doesn't say - and I'm going to share with you - is that you should put a bit of oil in the boiling water to prevent those perogies from sticking to the bottom - and they're going to anyway. It's possible that the salting of the water will prevent sticking - I just went with oil to be safe.
I couldn't figure out why some weren't floating and it turns out they were sticking anyway! Luckily I got it in the nick of time and they floated and nothing burst in the pot!
And there should so be a "step 5" - heat a pan with a generous dab of butter and fry them suckers on both sides until golden and crisp.
Again - probably obvious because of the photo posted on the top of their site, but they certainly didn't look just boiled and removed with a slotted spoon to me. ;)
For the filling I just boiled and mashed a few small potatoes added spices and shredded cheese.
Nothing fancy for the first time - but definitely will go add bacon next time!
Here was the final result:
Perogies, surf and turf with fried onions and mushrooms and a side of caramelized carrots (boiled until tender, cooked in browned butter and a couple spoons of brown sugar).
We had a feast at home and watched Scandal while the kids slept and the dogs stared at us - waiting and drooling. Yes, I'm a sucker and gave them some fat from the steak.
D.
