Potato Cheddar Pierogi

November 3, 2013 - Elspeth 4 Comments

Pierogi are Polish dumplings which consist of a filling (usually potato, but there are many varieties) wrapped in dough, that is then boiled and pan fried. They are insanely good. Even though you can make these with anything from sauerkraut to blueberries and cream cheese, I decided on the traditional route of a potato and cheddar filling topped with a creamy whole-grain mustard sauce. Major noms.

This is definitely a weekend project that takes about 2.5 hours, but the raw dumplings are very easy to freeze and use later. If you’re a fan, I definitely recommend calling in the troops, putting them to work on making a double batch, and freezing some for a later date that you can throw on the table in a few minutes. I would recommend using one of these, since they are a major time saver and a total god send when it comes to making your life easier.

Potato Cheddar Pierogi

Adapted slightly from All Recipes

Makes about 54

Dough
4.5 c flour
2 t salt
2 cups sour cream
2 T butter, melted
2 T vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
Filling
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 t salt, to taste
Sauce
2 shallots, diced fine
2 T oil
1 c white wine
1 c heavy cream
3-4 T whole grain mustart
S & P to taste

Place the potatoes in a large pot with just enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain, mash, and mix with the cheese and salt. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, make the dough. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Separately, whisk together the sour cream, melted butter, oil, eggs, and egg yolk. Add to the flour and stir to combine, then cover with a dish towel for 15-20 minutes.

Place a large pot of water (does not need to be filled to the top, just halfway) over medium heat while you make the dumplings.

When the dough is ready, remove half from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Roll to 1/8″ thick and cut 4-5″ circles with a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. Place the dough rounds on the dumpling press (or just use your hands if you don’t have one), place a rounded teaspoon-sized dollop of filling in the center, moisten the edges of the dough with water, and press shut. If you don’t have a press, use a fork to seal them tightly. Lay the dumplings in a single layer (not touching) on a baking sheet covered with a dish cloth. I would highly recommend setting up an assembly line for this process, or else it will take you much, much longer.

When the dumplings are ready, make the sauce. Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the oil and, when hot, toss in the shallots. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft and starting to brown. Add the wine, reduce for a few minutes until you only have a few tablespoons of liquid left, then reduce the heat and slowly whisk in the cream. Remove from heat, whisk in the mustard and salt, taste for adjustments, and set aside.

Now, make sure the pot of water is boiling and preheat your oven to warm. Place a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat with 1-2 T of oil. Working in batches (my skillet could hold about nine pierogi at a time), place the pierogi in the boiling water. When they rise to the top (3-4 minutes), remove with a slotted spoon, shake off the extra moisture, and add to the hot skillet. This part gets a little messy with the oil, so be careful! I had about 5 or 6 batches and the pan got overheated a few times, so I reduced it with wine, cleaned it a bit with a paper towel, and proceeded. The show must go on! When the pierogi are brown on both sides (they will release from the bottom of the pan fairly easily when they are brown enough, so try not to force them or they will rip open), place on an oven-safe plate and put in the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest. This process took me about 30 minutes to get through all of them– when I added the boiled ones to the skillet, I put more in the pot of water. This helped speed things along and get them into my belly faster.

When they are all golden brown and delicious, serve warm with lots of sauce. Nomnomnomnomnomnom

Apple Dapple Cake

October 29, 2013October 29, 2013 - Elspeth 2 Comments

Five years ago I spent 3 months on a farm in Tuscany. It was about as magical as it sounds, times 78 billion trillion million. We drank wine from the farm’s vineyards, ate toasted bread with olive oil straight out of the presses, herded pigs (I did less of that and more of the eating), partied with visitors to the B&B, and generally enjoyed all that Italy has to offer. I wrote down a thousand recipes from the cooks, sort-of perfected the art of the pizza dough toss, and crafted so many delicious pillows of gnocchi goodness that I think I passed out directly into the bowl of potato dough. But the one recipe I come back to most?

Apple Dapple Cake.

Is it Italian? Nope. Is it maybe Italian-American? Not even a little. Is there perhaps a Tuscan twist to it? Please stop, it’s pure-blooded American.

The owners of the farm made this throughout the autumn months and graciously shared it with the ~~9 interns~~ me. It’s nothing fancy, but it makes my heart sing with joy and gluttony. Apples, cinnamon, and a brown sugar glaze that will make you dissolve into a puddle of love. It requires no adornment but a humble fork and — perhaps– a sink to catch the stray crumbs as they come flying out off the plate as you snarf yourself into an apple dapple haze.

The only tweak I made was to the glaze, which would curdle if the fat content from the milk wasn’t just right. Subbed in some cream and kablooie– super fab.

Apple Dapple Cake

origin unknown

3 eggs
2 c sugar
1 1/3 c vegetable oil
1 t vanilla extract
3 c flour
1 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
3 c peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples
Glaze
6 T butter
1/2 c brown sugar
2 T heavy cream
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 and generously grease a bundt pan. In standing mixer beat the eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla, then, with mixer running on medium low, slowly stream in the oil. This should take about 1-2 minutes. Definitely don’t dump the oil in all at once, or else it won’t emulsify properly. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold in the chopped apples. Pour the batter into the bundt pan, making sure to even it out with a spatula. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a knife comes out with no wet streaks. Place on a cooling rack while you make the glaze.

For the glaze: In a small saucepan combine the butter and brown sugar. Heat on medium low until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Add the cream, salt, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes. Poke holes in the cake (while it’s still in the pan) with a chop stick or knife and pour the glaze over the top evenly. Let the cake cool for about 20-30 minutes, invert onto a plate, and serve warm. Then, put your socks back on, because they will have inevitably been blown off by tasty deliciousness.

Squash Fritters

October 21, 2013 - Elspeth Leave a comment

These were seriously one of the best things I’ve ever had. Something about the lemon-sage-squash combo blew my mind a little bit and I am really excited for breakfast to come back around so I can have more. Knowing leftovers are sitting in my fridge is driving me a little bit crazy….just….waiting to be eaten….NOMNOMNOM…..

My neighbor has this wonderfully generous habit of giving me excess from her CSA veggie box, so when some squash appeared in my hands from her I couldn’t resist the call of the frying pan. A lot of recipes I came across in my fritter research called for a bunch of eggs and flour, which seems like it would just mask the glory of the squash. No thank you, internet.

I would only maybe add a friend egg on top, but that’s only for frisky moments with adventure-seekers.

Go forth and conquer, foodies.

Squash Fritters

makes 8 fritters

2 small or medium spaghetti or butternut squash (about 2 c cooked, in the end), seeds reserved
1/2 c bread crumbs
3/4 c shredded Gruyere cheese
1 heaping T chopped fresh sage
1 t salt
1 egg
1/2 c vegetable oil
Sauce
2 T finely chopped chives
1/2 c greek yogurt
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of one lemon
1/2 t salt

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and bake cut-side down at 350 for 30-35 min, or until tender. Remove the squashy flesh from the skin and mash in a bowl. Toast the reserved seeds in the 350 oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until slightly brown and crunchy. Set aside. Add the bread crumbs, cheese, sage, salt, and egg to the squash and stir until combined. Divide the mixture into 1/4 c patties. Heat the oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat and cook the fritters until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 min per side.

For the sauce, mix all ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Top the fritters with a dollop of the yogurt sauce, sprinkle with the toasted squash seeds, and serve immediately.