I hope you are all using this day off to do useful things like watch Lost on Netflix, lie around, and drink tea. Oh, and cram your face full of left over homemade perogies and cabbage rolls!
This year, instead of making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, we went for something a bit different and a bit more Ukrainian. My grandfather on my mom's side was Ukrainian and while we don't partake in a whole lot of Ukrainian culture, we do like to eat perogies and cabbage rolls. I'm pretty sure these are the two most delicious foods in the world.
I encourage everyone to make their own perogies. I know it is easy to just go to the grocery store and buy a bag of 99 cent no name perogies, but, guys, don't. Seriously. I'm not going to lie, these take for-freaking-ever to make. They do. But they are SO DELICIOUS. And really easy! It's a bit intimidating at first, but to help to get over that, I am going to help!
Alright. So, first things first, peel every potato in the world. Lots of potatoes. About 2 pounds of white potatoes. You are also going to want to chop a lot of onions. Like, 6. Maybe more. Boil said potatoes, and fry said onions in butter.
Boil the potatoes until they are really soft.
Once the onions are all fried, put them in a bowl and set aside.
Next, make the filling! Mash the potatoes, and add the oldest, sharpest cheddar cheese you can find. We use this stuff:
We used 1 of these containers, so about 250 g. This stuff is a bit on the pricey side, but I think it is totally worth it. Shredded cheese works as well. You'll also want to add some butter. However much you want.
Once you have mashed all of that delicious stuff together, set the filling aside to cool.
Next is the dough!
Here is what you'll need:
4.5 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive)
1 tsp salt
Whisk the water, oil, and eggs together in a big bowl. Add the first 3.5 cups of flour, and mix until combined. Add the last cup of flour, and knead it into the dough. You might have to knead it for a while until all of the flour combines. Put a bit of oil and your dough into the bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rest for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, go watch some tv, do some shots, or cuddle with a cute puppy like this one!!
I know, we can't all have dogs as cute as this one. Happily, I do!! That's Daisy. She lives with my parents and is the cutest.
Anyway, once you manage to tear yourself away from the dog cuddles, roll out your dough! Sprinkle a bunch of flour on your kitchen counter and roll away! Roll until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick.
That yellow cup there is for cutting out the circles. Once you have rolled out your dough, cut away! You will have to do a lot of rolling. This dough is infuriatingly elastic-y. Once you cut out the circles, you'll have to stretch 'em out in order to fill them.
And now, the fun part! Put about a teaspoon (or a bit more depending on the size of your circles) in the middle of the circle, fold the dough in half and pinch the sides together to make a semi-circle! Well, you guys know what a perogie looks like. If you are having trouble making the sides of the dough stick together, use a pastry brush to put a small amount of egg wash (1 egg whisked together with a splash of water) around the circumference of the dough.
Aren't they pretty? Lay out your finished products on a clean tea towel until you've used up all your filling. This recipe should make about 4 dozen perogies.
Next, boil those suckers! Boil them for about 10 minutes. Once you have done this, you can eat them, or you can freeze them. If you are freezing, place them on a baking sheet and freeze them individually so they don't stick together in the freezer. Once they're frozen, you can put them into a container.
We opted to eat them right away. Obviously. As we boiled them, we put them into a casserole dish in the oven, and put the onion butter mixture in between layers so they wouldn't stick together.
Holy crap. That looks delicious. Now you can eat them! They are super delicious just like this, or you can fry them and make them even healthier than they already are!
I highly recommend setting your table in a Ukrainian manner:
Enjoy!!!
By the way, I have switched from Lost to Baby Mama, and this movie blows.
That made me really hungry! Good thing I have a bazillion left over perogies in the fridge!!
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