In this blog I try to be honest and tell you the whole story, but I haven't said too much about my profligate past. I have done a few things in my youth for which I am not proud. I learned alot of life lessons which like algebra, have never been all that useful in my adulthood, other than I'd never do that again.
Once upon a time, thirty-five years ago or so, I was newly single and struggling to support myself with two jobs, one of which was as a cocktail waitress at a sleazy honky tonk nightclub and the other was waitressing in a Polish restaurant. I'd be hard pressed to say which one was more detrimental to my virtue, but, it was the 70's and virtue was not in vogue, and besides I was making up for lost time. At least at the honky tonk I could understand when a customer wanted more than was on the menu.
At the Polish restaurant I served lots of foreign gentlemen and managed to communicate with just a few phrases, meaningful looks and gestures that I learned from the cook. This often resulted in mistaken impressions on the part of the homesick men, and larger tips. Take a few seconds and imagine what transpired.
OK. Enough of that.
I also learned about great Polish food. PIEROGIS!
Suddenly Sunday I had the urge to make some. I used this recipe, and filled them with some leftover mashed potatoes, or some cooked ground pork (ground myself to prevent ickiness) or a mix of both.
The thing about Pierogis is that they are a stickum to your ribs type of dish and one needs to be cognizant of that fact going in. And they should be light and delicate. Mine are more of the lumberjack variety. Big muthas.
After a careful boiling, they are 'sauteed' in butter (you wimp!) or if you walk on the wild side as I have done...bacon drippings.
Then served with sour cream and applesauce. No one is going to feel lonely and empty after a meal like that.
Wow, does that sound decadent and good! Great weekend for snuggling inside with comfort food!
ReplyDeleteYou did those up right, girl! Thirty odd years ago I learned how to make pierogi from my husband's grandmother. Some people just boil them and others will just fry them in butter or drippings but she always told me that if you wanted that dough tender and lightly CRISPY, you should do both and they would be DEE-LISH-US! (That's the way she said it.)
ReplyDeleteWhen will you be making these again???? I feel a road trip coming on!
OMG! Melody, that's so funny about those two jobs, at once! I think we all have jobs that aren't going anywhere near the resume. I love pierogis. My family buys them every year for the Ukrainian Christmas Eve, but I make them myself, in fact I made a batch just a few days ago. Yuu know what they say, can't eat only one. They look delish!
ReplyDeleteThe salivary glands are working over time.
ReplyDeleteYUM! This makes me nostalgic for my Polish grandmother's kitchen table! I love how Polish cooking makes no apologies for fat content!
ReplyDeleteHere, where I live in Western Canada, there is a perogy section in the freezer section like you would have for pizza and french fries elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI have my Ukranian friend's mother's perogy dough recipe. What I do know is you make a huge batch because they are a lot of work. My favourites are cheddar cheese and potato. Here they do bacon, onion and sour cream with the perogies. I like the thought of using the applesauce - I must try that (it would go well with the pork in yours).
The mennonite here just boil their cottage cheese perogies and often have fruit ones as well (which are quite tasty. They are served with a cream gravy and farmer sausage.
oooh, now I'm starting to crave perogies......
Hahahah...I was right there with ya sista!! Hahahah... Newly divorced in the 70's (except I was a bartender..) Ah hell. I'll read about ther perogies later..I'm going to take a few minutes to "savor" the other memories!!
ReplyDeleteCarol - who needed a laugh and this delicious tease this morning. ;-)
My Oma taught me but she wasn't as funny as you are. Hers had very thinly sliced cabbage & onions,mashed potatoes and bacon inside. Come to think of it, everything my grandmother made had bacon in it. "Everything is better with bacon"-that's a quote. She kept a jar of bacon fat in the fridge for frying every darn thing on earth. That's why I dropped 55 lbs. when I left home.
ReplyDeleteMy adventures at the same age would have curled her hair...sometimes I wonder how We survived. I chalk it up to God often protecting fools and children.
OMG!! These look delicious! I haven't had pierogis since we lived in Cleveland. Any suggestions on where I could find some good ones in Chicago? Not sure I'm up for making them from scratch...at least not this week.
ReplyDelete:-)
Thanks so much for sharing...I think! ;-) Your profligate past sounds interesting....and the pierogies, yum!
ReplyDeleteYour "profligate" ways-- I think I like you even more! A little giggle, a little wiggle makes the world go 'round!
ReplyDeleteBeing just "a little" older than you, I have my own profligate ways - including bartending. But a wonderful old friend brought me a bag of homemade pierogies a couple of months ago. She found the ultimate pierogie maker from Canada and I ordered one. You gotta have this! It makes 18 at one time!http://www.kitchenniche.ca/perogie-maker-p-671.html
ReplyDeleteHungry Howie's pierogie maker, if the url doesn't go through.
Jenny Williams
I learnt from my ex-boyfriend (again with the ancient memories) to boil them, then fry them in butter with bread crumbs in the butter. My children love them that way and it's an easy dish for my dh to cook!
ReplyDeletecheers, Denise
I love this post, both the 2 jobs and your cooking skills. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteI'd did the same thing newly divorced and working two jobs but what really caught my eye was the perogi's, try them with mushrooms in the hamburger. YUM haven't had any in a few years. My mom still makes them and dh and I make them from time to time.
ReplyDeleteWe could swap waitress stories, ppl are really crazy!! I've never had perogi's but they sound yummy
ReplyDelete