Baba-less Perogies

When I lived in Calgary an enterprising young woman would hand deliver homemade perogies to my door. I would order several dozen at a time. Some with Cheddar cheese, some with cottage cheese and some with mushrooms. There is sometimes a discussion on whether perogies are Ukranian, Polish, Russian.??? The answer is that they are all of the above. They are vareneki, piroshki, pierogi, pyrizkhy...little dumplings filled commonly with potato and other fillings.

Not coming from a European background myself I don't have a little Polish Babka or Ukranian Baba to pass her recipe down to me through the generations. No perogy making sessions with my grandmother, mother and the children. I learned to make yorkshire pudding, trifle and fritters at my mothers ankles. I have had to gleam my recipes from magazines and cookbooks for perogies and cabbage rolls. Every once in a while when I have a free afternoon as I did on Sunday I will venture into the realm of perogy making.

I have always wanted to have a perogy making party so that the task would be quicker. The more hands, the faster it goes. You can purchase perogies at the local Ukranian church, but who can wait till they have an event!!! I had to have some now!! Comfort food is calling me. When living in Alberta I always remember that Wayne Gretzky's favourite food, at least at the time when he was an Edmonton Oiler, was perogies!!! Me and the "Great One", how about that!!!

When boiling the potatoes I had read that some cooks put an onion in with the potatoes. This infuses the potato with onion flavour. I do add this step, but I also add sauteed onions to my filling as well. The end result slathered in sour cream and sprinkled with bacon and fried onions is certainly worth the effort.

I am not doing very well on the health conscious recipes this week am I? I am very comforted though!

**Plump Perogies**

Dough 1

4-1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup water, warmed

3/4 cup milk, warmed

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon salt
Butter to taste

Combine water, milk, butter and egg yolks, beating well. Stir in flour and salt. Knead dough on floured surface about 2 minutes, until smooth and soft. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rest at least 20 minutes.

Dough 2

5 cups flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/1-2 cups warm water

In bowl, combine flour with salt. Beat together egg, water and oil; stir into flour mixture to make soft but not sticky dough that hold together in ball. If necessary, add 1 T water at a time, being careful not to make dough too sticky.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; knead about 10 times or just until smooth. Halve dough; cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Working with one portion of dough at a time and keeping remaining dough covered, roll out on lightly floured surface to about 1/16th-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut dough into rounds.

Place 1 teaspoon filling on each round. Lightly moisten edge of one half of the dough with water; pinch edges together to seal and crimp attractively. Place on cloth; cover with damp cloth to prevent drying out. Repeat with remaining portion of dough.

Fillings

1 onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup butter

3 cups potatoes, mashed (add 1/2 an onion to the boiling water)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese or 1 cup cottage cheese or 1 cup sauteed sauerkraut

salt and pepper to taste

To serve: In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook perogies, in batches, for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until they float to the top, stirring gently to prevent perogies from sticking together or to the bottom of pot. With slotted spoon, remove to colander to drain.

In large heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat, cook onion for about 5 minutes or until golden. Add perogies and toss to coat and warm through. Serve with sour cream and topped with bacon pieces.

NOTE: You can cover the perogies with a damp towel and refrigerate them for up to 8 hours before cooking. Freeze uncooked perogies with the potato filling on baking sheets, then pack them in freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month. Do not thaw them before cooking.

Makes 4 dozen depending

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