Annual Pierogi Cookoff

Each New Year's Eve my family gets together and makes home made pierogis! I always look forward to this family tradition. This year, since we were leaving on the 31st to fly back to Colorado, we got together to make them on Friday the 29th. My aunt, uncle and cousin came over to help make a few hundred delicious pierogis made with potatoe and cheese, sauerkraut, and sauerkraut and potatoe fillings! Let me tell you, after eating home made pierogis, the store bought ones are never the same. At first I made the dough and then Robin came to the rescue. This was Robin's first year making the dough and my mom and aunt who have been doing this for years said that his last batch of dough was the best that they have ever had! While Robin made the dough, my mom, aunt and I filled them, David had the arduous job of boiling them and frying them to perfection! We made a great team!































Origins

Pierogi are of virtually untraceable Central or Eastern European origin; claims have been staked by the Poles,Romanians, Russians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Slovaks and Rusyns. Similarity to dumplings found in the Far East such as Chinese potstickers fuels speculation, well-founded or not, that the Mongols and Tatars brought the recipe to the West.

Ingredients
Pierogi are semi-circular dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage, onion, meat, or any combination thereof, or with a fruit filling.