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

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.

Chilaquiles

October 20, 2013 - Elspeth 4 Comments

The first time I had chilaquiles there were eggs, beans, a random sauce thrown in, and some chips. I thought, “Ok. Love me some chips. Not too shabby.” Then, I was taught a few things:

1. Nope. That ain’t right.

2. Really, really not how it’s done.

3. …You’re fired…

So after not passing Go, not collecting $200, and going straight to jail for that monstrosity, I was shown by some dear friends how it’s actually done. It was bliss. The real hero of this dish is the sauce, which is made with a myriad of peppers, onions, and lots of patience. At first I questioned the home-frying of the tortilla chips (because yea, I can be lazy sometimes. I’m American.) but that was a huge mistake– home fry. Do it. Do it now.

Chilaquiles needs no eggs, no beans, no elaborate fan fare. It stands on it’s own and the following is the only recipe you’ll ever need. Thank you, Tyna and Lowell, for showing me the WAY.

The following will feed about 5-6 people and takes about 2 hours to prepare.

Chilaquiles

from Tyna O., a champion of the home-fried tortilla chip, and Lowell, a lover of all good foods

18-24 tortillas, cut into sixths
3/4 c olive oil
3/4 c vegetable or canola oil
2 lb tomatillos, boiled for about 5 min or until tender and drained, with liquid reserved (you will need about 1 qt cooked, so you may want to prepare more to be on the safe side)
2 large onions, diced fine
7 dried California chilis
2 dried ancho, pasilla, negro chilis
1 chili japones or chili de arbol
1 dried New Mexico chili
1 chipotle chili
(NOTE: you can make your own combination of dried chilis. The beauty is that it’s probably going to be great whatever you pick, but if you have favorites go crazy.)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 – 1 ½ lb Monterey jack cheese, grated
salt to taste

Heat the oils over medium heat until hot (test with a single chip— when bubbly, it’s ready to go). Working in small batches (don’t overcrowd the chips), fry the chips until golden brown on each side. Some may be crispier, some may be chewier– this all adds to the beauty of the finale. Meanwhile, saute the diced onions until soft and brown. It is recommended to do this in two pans, because quite a bit gets added to the pan over the course of the recipe). Remove ALL seeds from ALL peppers by halving them with a knife and scrapping them out with your fingers or a knife. Place peppers, garlic, cumin, and tomatillos in a blender and puree until smooth. Add to pan with sauteed onions (divide between the two pans) and cook for 1o minutes, simmering.

After ten minutes, add a generous handful of chips to each pan and cover with sauce. Let them soften a bit and cook in the sauce before adding another handful. This process can take 20-30 minutes, so be patient. You may not be able to fit all of the chips in when things are said and done– that’s ok. Eat them on their own! Once you have a pan full of sauce and chips, sprinkle with cheese and let cook until melted (About 5 minutes). Remove from heat and serve.

NOM!