Lunch-time Delight: Pierogies

Scouring the internet for the perfect pierogi recipe sure isn't easy. After a while on the web I decided upon this recipe from about.com. I thought to myself, "I haven't really been steered wrong with any of the recipes from this site... so I'll give it a go." The pierogies didn't turn out completely aweful, in fact they were really tastey. The problem was that the dough was a bit too... how shall I put it, DOUGHY. Okay, you may be saying to yourself "That's what dough should taste like, right?" Well, I guess so... but I was really yearning to sink my teeth into some pierogies that had a dough that more resembled a pasta. Kind of like an oversized, overstuffed ravioli *drool*.

Making pierogies wasn't a first for me. I had done it in Home Ec. class on a number of occassions (after taking the course for 5 years in a row, I guess they end up repeating the recipes :P). Usually I make the dumplings by hand, but this time I was prepared. I had purchased a dumpling press from the dollar store, and I must say it did the trick. All the pierogies turned out perfect and it saved me a lot of time.

The doughy pierogi skins

The cheesy, potato-ey filling

A plate-full of pierogies ready to be boiled and fried :)

My sister even tried her hand at shaping some pierogies, after a couple of faulty starts her pierogies looked almost as good as mine :P After cooking all the dumplings, both Janessa and Jacqueline were ready to chow-down. Jacqueline likes hers with bacon bits, Janessa prefers hers with sour cream, and I simply could not eat a pierogi without sour cream, bacon bits and fried onions... Yum!

Note: Incidentally, before my search for the perfect pierogi recipe, I had never known that there were so many spelling variations for this potato filled dumpling. Maybe I'll try this recipe next time... it looks like a winner.