As you know, Sarah G. and her Seahawks are going head to head this week with me, Sarah G. and the Steelers
in preparation
for the Super Bowl. Sarah Gilbert is a die-hard Seahawks fan, and has already started to show us the super foods
of Seattle with oysters. Pittsburgh is easy - with a fairly large population of Polish people, I'm doing
pierogis.
Pierogis are a typical, comforting, Polish food that are similar to Italians' ravioli and Asian dumplings. However, they're not just Polish - virtually every culture in central and eastern Europe have them, just spelled or pronounced slightly differently. The usual, primary ingredient for pierogi filling is potato. Mashed potatoes inside pasta? Dr. Atkins obviously wasn't Polish.
Pierogi dough is a basic pasta dough, though many recipes include sour cream or cream cheese to make it richer. They are shaped most commonly in crescents, but sometimes as squares. The filling is not only, nor always, potato. Pierogis can be filled with onions, cheese, meats, sauerkraut, and mushrooms. If you fill them with hard boiled eggs, I guess you have a breakfast pierogi!
My first Super Bowl foray into the world of pierogis this week starts with Mrs. T's potato and cheese pierogis.
Mrs. T's pierogis come in a variety of flavors, and as proudly proclaimed on the
box, are all low in fat. I dropped them into boiling water for about five minutes until the floated to the top. The box
also suggests sauteing, baking, grilling (I have no idea how grilling would work for these things), and best of all,
deep-frying. If you deep fry, they certainly won't be lowfat anymore.
I ate them plain just to see how they tasted, because oftentimes, tossing with butter and adding sauce can make me love anything.
The pierogis tasted alright, though I felt a little cheated by the rather skimpy filling. It was certainly cheesy, but not enough. If you don't have the time to make them yourself, these will probably work out fine. I even found a "recipe" on the Food Network that includes Mrs. T's frozen pierogis as an ingredient. And if Sara Moulton goes a little semi-homemade, I guess it's okay!
Next pierogis up: from a Polish restaurant and homemade.
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