Busy Nights Real Food
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
  A holiday tradition, 3/4 pounds of butter and a little conspiracy (in elastic waistband pants)
Well, Funkbobito has been talking about his family's Christmas Eve tradition for the entire 5 years we have been together. He always talked about it with such lust in his eyes I knew if we were going to work out for the long haul, I better learn how to make this holiday treat. To be honest I had never once heard of pierogies. Had no idea what to expect and was a bit curious. All I knew was that they were a bit time consuming according to Funkbobito, his mom, and his grandma. Well, as you regular readers know, I am more of a quick cook, so time consuming is not usually something I am interested in. But in the vein of the "good wife (to be)" I dove in and learned how to make these little gems.
We started by making some very cheesy mashed potatoes. Count it, 1st stick of butter. You let those get totally cool and start making your dough. I learned some good kneading techniques from my future mother in law. Then you start rolling out your dough. I am a bit of a rolling pin amateur. I always have problems with the dough sticking to stuff, and it is rarely the same thickness all around. And it takes me for ever to actually get stuff rolled out. Anyways, we rolled out the dough, and cut it into squares. Enclose a little teaspoon of potatoes and pinch your seals. We made these the night before and froze them on cookie sheets so that Christmas Eve would be a breeze. Fast forward to Saturday. We diced up a large onion and melted 2 sticks (count 'em) of butter in a skillet. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and throw in your pierogies (careful not to stir too much). Then toss with your yummy melted butter. Not exactly the most low fat meal I have ever eaten, but it was really good.

And for the conspiracy, I will figure out how to lighten this meal if it kills me. And they will never know (insert evil laugh here). Not quite sure where to start, but I will work on it little by little. It really is a very yummy dinner. I could use a bit more seasoning added in, but I understand that this is their family recipe so I won't mess with that (at least not at first).


Well, to end the holiday food frenzy we went out to dinner one last time last night. McCormick and Schmicks is always tasty around here. We went all out, appetizers, entrees, and 2 desserts. My camera died, so you only get to see one thing, but it was the best. The Chocolate Bag. Its dark chocolate in the shape of, well, a bag. Its filled with white chocolate mousse and fresh berries. So divine so rich, so gonna be wearing elastic waist band pants today. Oh God, its happened, I'm my mother.

Well, my menu for the week has been shot all to hell, so we'll see what we can come up with. May have to peruse the sale circular today and see where the deals are.
 
Comments:
I highly recommend getting a pasta roller if you continue making pierogi. Let me tell you, it cuts the process way down.

And I have found that as long as I don't tell my hubby's parents that I've lightened their "traditional favorites" they never can tell. And they are sticklers for tradition.

For super flavor, brown your butter before tossing in the pierogi. You can also get away with less butter then too...
 
That chocolate bag looks scrumptious and huge. Like we say when we get together for Supper Club -- wear your big pants!
 
I suppose Mrs. T's in the freezer section of the grocery store would be sacrilege...?

You show them all, Punky, and make them...HEALTHY! Mwuahahaha!!!!

That choco bag looks great.
 
Good for you to make your own pierogi. We don't eat them often, maybe once a year, and we buy frozen. That dessert looks amazing. Chocolate mousse is my favorite.
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

Name:

Just a mom, sharing our life on this little blog.

LINKS
Epicurious / Food TV / Cooking Light / Lone Star Diva

BLOGS I LOVE
Adventures in Food and Wine / Amateur Gourmet / Culinary in the Desert / Farmgirl Fare / Food Blog Scool / I Like to Cook / Jeff's Stuff / Kayaksoup / Mona's Apple / Musings / Savory Notebook / Sweetnicks

ARCHIVES
July 2005 / August 2005 / September 2005 / October 2005 / November 2005 / December 2005 / January 2006 / February 2006 / May 2006 / December 2009 /


Powered by Blogger