Perogie, Pierogi, Pyroghi

 As I've mentioned before, my family didn't go too much on the adventurous side of cooking when I was a young girl.  In fact, I don't think my parents want to change that too much, even today.  (Can't blame them - there are some good roasts and steaks from our beef farm, that I cannot cook due to the fact that I'm not living anywhere near the farm anymore, and even half decent roasts and steaks are oh-so-expensive compared to various combination of veggies, pasta, and cheese.)

Therefore, I started to explore the world outside of my regular family feast, into foods like: cheese.  Really, really good cheese.  I can't say that I'm an expert of any sort at the moment, but the world is opening up.  My favorite at the moment is a nice simple goat cheese.  (I've seen that some have started calling it a chevre - perhaps it's always been that way - which makes me think about a documentary about the Normands, and why we don't call our beef "cow" when it's on our plate)

Pesto has probably become important to me only because my dear husband got a lot of basil for me at the beginning of spring.  I was having a conversation with friends, saying that I only really wanted a good potato masher, and a basil plant.  He came back with a potato masher, and basil seeds.  Many, many basil seeds.  Does someone want a basil plant?

Pesto is a great recipe to play around with.  I've seen people chastised if they've used lemon juice in their recipe, but I'm rather addicted to lemon, so I'm a staunch supporter.  I don't use pine nuts, as they don't fit in the budget, but I do use walnuts.  Along with plenty of garlic.  One can never have enough garlic.  (Unless they have a partner that doesn't quite enjoy it.  Okay, brush teeth after eating, just to have the best of both worlds)

You could also buy the pesto, but I recommend playing with the recipe a bit.  To give you a head start, I'll give you one that I have at the top of my head:

Pesto Recipe


1 handful of basil leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsps olive oil
pepper, to taste
1/2 lemon - juiced


In a mortar and pestle, bruise the basil leaves well.  You can also send these through the food processor.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the pepper and lemon.  Add the pepper and lemon slowly, as you taste the pesto.  Add more lemon and pepper to your desired taste.



These flavours - pesto and goat cheese - culminated into one perogie.  If you like these flavours too, let me say one word:  Yum.



The goat cheese is pretty strong and tangy, and the pesto gives it a nice boost.

I've fried these up afterwards, with the intention of making them crispy.  Therefore, I used the Cottage Cheese dough, and it worked quite well.


Goat Cheese and Pesto Perogie


(Makes 20 - 30 mini perogies)


3/4 cup goat cheese
1/3 cup pesto
1/3 cup bacon fat
10 - 15 cherry tomatoes


After rolling out the dough, use a smaller cup to cut out the shapes.  (I used a small Korean tea cup)  Spread the pesto out on the dough, then add the goat cheese.  After a half hour, the cheese will feel like play dough, making it easier to work with.

Place in boiling water.  Put bacon fat in frying pan, and turn to medium heat.  Boil until the little guys rise to the top (it really won't take long).  Place in pan with bacon fat, and fry until lightly browned.  Move the perogies around every 15-30 seconds, so they don't stick to the pan.

Serve with halved cherry tomatoes, in order to compliment the goat cheese.


Husband's thoughts:  A delightful Pesto bomb.  He couldn't really taste the bacon fat, but the dude also smokes.  Noticed the crispiness, and appreciated it.

Nancy, perogie-lover-extraordinaire:  "Fabulous" (Or another positive adjective that starts with "f")  I think I might make these for her if she finds a reason to be upset with me....

Note:  These guys really are a big taste in a small bite, so don't plan to serve too many.  People like them, but they probably won't eat more than four mini-perogies each.

I. Love. Sugar.

Yes, I am trying to cut down.  I think I'm getting results from this fact.  I'm less sleepy, I have more energy throughout the day, and I feel more up-beat.

Still - I can't cut myself off completely.  That's where dessert perogies come in.  More precisely, the Pumpkin Créme Bruleé Perogie.  Truly, this is the stuff dreams are made of.

I bring this idea up in the middle of my work day in the office.  They sounded enthusiastic, but I think they might be getting annoyed with the ideas of food in the middle of the morning or afternoon when the penchant for snacks is well under way.  Bad Marianne!

I would stop, but my mind does not.  And as my sometimes not-so-lucky boss knows, at times I can't seem to stop spewing whatever enters my mind.  (I promise I'm working on it, though!)

After trying to hold it in, and then letting it come to a boil several time in my head before verbally erupting, I've decided that a nice rainy day like the one we're having is the perfect day to put it into motion.




First, I try the frozen custard.  I must say that I don't have an ice cream maker.  They aren't that expensive anymore, but I've made a promise to be nice to my budget over the next few years at least while the hubby's in school.  Food is wonderful, but so is electricity.  As well as the ability to one day own a place of your own.


However, sadly, this idea did not work. The custard did not have enough time to jump from "frozen" to "complete finished" while the perogie was boiling in the water.  Also, while I love my mother's dough, the brulee melted off a little too quickly.

Therefore, it was time for another try.  This time, still on a cold, wet, rainy day, I wanted to use pumpkin.  Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away!  (And the pumpkins were dirt cheap)

So, I found a really great recipe for pumpkin creme brulees.  I've revised it a bit, and halved it (As one really doesn't need that much, unless you have many guests).  So as not to infringe even a little on copyright (As well as someone's hard work), here's the link: ehow - How to Make Pumpkin Creme Brulee

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

1 1/2 cup heavy cream (35%)
1 cup boiled and mashed pumpkin
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract


Heat the cream to a gentle boil with the pumpkin and vanilla, then reduce temperature.  In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.  Slowly add the cream and pumpkin, 1/4 cup at a time, to the egg mixture.  One does not want the eggs to cook. 


From here, you can put the mixture into ramekins, then place the ramekins in a casserole dish with water.  The level should reach at least half way up the ramekin.  Bake at 325 for approximately 40 minutes, or until the mixture do longer moves when shaken lightly with tongs.  Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, then add sugar and brulee with kitchen torch.


But that's not where we're going with this....

We want to make a Perogie.  Hence, the title of this blog....


I've opted to make these mini perogies, as it seems to be a mini perogie kind of weekend.  I've used a smaller cup (the Korean tea cup I have) to cut out the round shapes. 

Now, the part where we get the liquid custard into a dough.  Well, freezing these guys didn't work.  In a traditional creme brulee, one would stick them in the oven.  But I don't want them to cook all the way, and I want a little less hassle.  I know that my grandmother would not approve (She never used the microwave - no matter how many her children bought for her), but I like technology today. 


So, I've put the custard in the same small cup I've used to cut out the dough.  I've microwaved it, one at a time, for 30 seconds each.  There was a little liquid in the end, but that's a good thing.


After putting the microwaved mixture in the dough and boiling it as usual, put them in a dry place, and ensure they are not touching one another.  Drain any water that may gather on the plate.  Turn the perogie to let both sides hit the air as much as possible.  


Once it has cooled, sprinkle with a good helping of sugar, and brulee with kitchen torch. Do not brulee the other side of the perogie immediately, as the plate will be hot, and the sugar will soon melt.

Finally, you will be done.  Eat!  (Unless you've been taste testing along the way.)  Enjoy and be happy!


Husband's thoughts:  Crispy.  Illegally good.  He sticks by that. 

My thoughts:  I've had an insane amount of sugar in preparing this.  I think I'm going to crash now....

I like to think that every person who has their special recipe for perogie dough thinks it's the best.  I like to think that my dough, bequeathed to me by my mother, is the softest, most pillowy dough you'll ever taste.

That may still be true.  But alas, this is not what all people want in a dough.  Some appreciate a wonderful crispiness to their perogies.  I have found that usually crispy perogies mean a tough, overly chewy dough - less than delightful.

However, I got a recipe from S, who got it from a friend when said friend had people over for a perogie party of their own.  (Perogie bring people together!)  I have to say, this recipe solved that entire problem of "crisp on the outside, chewy as gum on the inside".  This stuff is juuuuuust right.

It was pretty easy to work with.  Rolling it out took a bit more muscle, but the dough stayed together quite well.  It was slightly more time consuming to close them, but not by that much.  To be completely honest, I don't think these perogies will break apart as my dough will, which gives it another advantage.  It was actually a pleasure working with this dough.

(That said, I'll still use my first dough, but not when I want a crispy finish.)

So without further ado, here's the recipe with original instructions:

The Cottage Cheese Perogie Dough

A short time ago, someone in my office noticed that the office butter had been left on top of the toaster oven, causing it to melt all over the place.  (The culprit has yet to be apprehended, I believe).  After a quick accusatory glance my way - no, I did not do it, as I used the microwave that day - we got into a discussion of the age of that butter.  As in, How long has the butter been sitting out?  I guessed about two weeks, and S confirmed that was probably true.  DP stared incredulously - "Butter doesn't have to be refrigerated."  (Okay, I'm paraphrasing, but the point was that it could stay out for a few days at a time without going bad.)

After looking at the package (which recommends refrigeration), and the Internet (Wikipedia can't even be trusted for keeping you food safely stored, in my opinion), DP pointed out that Blue Cheese has bacteria, as do all cheeses.

My response - of course it does.  But it has happy, tasty (ish, sometimes) bacteria.  Good cheeses only have certain bacteria exposure, and when others are thrown into the mix, it makes it more "milk gone bad" than "wine companion".

Then DP suggested it as a perogie filling.  He may not have meant it to be a dare, but alas - I took it!  (And there wasn't much else to do last Sunday afternoon)

I've only tried it once, in my pre-goat cheese stage of life.  As life is meant to be full of, well, living - I'm willing to try again.  Now that I have, I can understand why people would gain that acquired taste for it.  I, however, have a few too many country smells in my repertoire, and it reminds me of one of the less satisfying.  I could go into what it is, but I've decided that it would be better to politely shake my head and say "no, thanks."  I don't want to ruin your appetite on a food blog.

(The same thing happens with lamb.  It reminds me of something unsavoury.  That is, except the first and only time I had a roasted lamb, made by my best friend's mother, when I went camping with them.  Wow.  Unbelievably succulent, Mrs. L!)

Anyway, I still decided to go ahead, as I planned on trying, at the very least.  In addition, there's always the chance that a good companion will change the game.  I've searched out the web for great foods to eat with blue cheese, and came up with this idea.  So, without any more delay, I give you the recipe (which is very simple):

100 grams blue cheese (I went with Cambozola cheese, which is a mild blue cheese)
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1 nectarine
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup water


After rolling out the dough, fill with chopped walnuts and slices or crumbles of the cheese.  As a sweet accompaniment, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a frying pan, then add slices of the nectarine.  Do not brown the nectarine, but let it soften, then remove.  Boil the perogies, letting them pop up to the top, then place in the frying pan with the remainder of the juices.  Add more water, if needed.  Fry lightly, keeping sure that the perogies do not stick to the pan.
Remove, and eat with the nectarines.



The Hubby's thoughts:  Liked them a lot, despite the blue cheese.  (Even though he spent a good amount of his life in France, he didn't quite get into blue cheese.)  He remembers looking forward to the next one each time.

Since we needed to get blue cheese lovers into the picture, I brought them to the office, for more taste testing.  The results:
Um, Um.  Oh yeah.  Oh yes.  (Not paraphrasing.)  After a couple of minutes, someone suggested that they should perhaps turn off the lights.

This made for a pretty good afternoon.

Once upon a time, I lived out west.  Like many people, I didn't think that much about people not living out west.  Not that I didn't like to, but it just didn't come into my mind.  Then, I left the province I grew up in for adventure.  The place: Korea.  I learned much while I was out there, and I was inspired to adventure more.  So I moved to the Quebec side of Ottawa, called Gatineau.  The food was great.  Namely, the poutine was spectacular.

However, is the love for perogies ever really replaced?  I have to admit, when I saw an article in the Globe and Mail,  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/my-national-dish-the-mighty-pierogi/article1618895/, I was absolutely resolute in the idea that perogies were the best - the absolute best.  However, on further inspection, and remembering how much I love that beautiful chewy cheese, I can't deny that poutine is truly great.

That's when I got the idea for bringing the two together.  Also, the idea that there are many more ideas where that came from.  As I like attention, and my bosses (oh, those poor bosses!) don't really like my constant chatter in the office, a blog was necessary.  The birth of this blog!!

So I set out: delicious curd cheese and some simple salt and pepper mashed potatoes, drowned in poutine sauce. (But not gravy - gravy is made with the fat after a roast is cooked.  Poutine is made of broth.)

The recipe: (Filling)

1 package of curds - bought that day, if possible
2 cups potatoes, peeled, diced, boiled
3 tbsps butter
1 tsp salt (or to taste - but the cheese is already salty, so not too much)
1 tsp pepper

Mash the potatoes up with butter.  Add the salt and pepper, making sure that you taste test along the way.  Once again, it should not be too salty, because it will be twice as salty in the end. 
Fill the perogie up half with cheese curds, and half with the potatoe filling. 

Seal it up - then boil, and fry lightly in butter.

Poutine sauce (from - what do you know - Emeril Lagrasse)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups beef stock
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

 In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine the butter and flour. Stir until incorporated. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes for a dark roux. Stir in the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes.

 See here for Emeril's complete poutine recipe:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/poutine-fries-and-gravy-recipe/index.html

If you freeze these guys, make sure that you fry them, as the cheese does not heat up as quickly as the potatoes do.

The Reviews:  Extremely filling. (I didn't get more quotes for this one, as they came at work when I was preoccupied with.... work)  Generally, good stuff.