My dad's family is Ukrainian (his grandparents came over in the early 1900's). One Ukrainian (Byzantine Catholic) tradition that we try to keep when eating with my grandmother is to avoid meat on Christmas Eve. So for this Christmas Eve we are going to have homemade pirogi (I use this name for them because more people seem to be familiar with it, but I believe that is the Polish term. My great aunt has fits every time I say pirogi. It should be pedaheh.) and hopefully a Salmon Wrapped in Pastry dish that my dad used to make. (But he can't really help us with it any more. So it might all depend on whether we can find his old recipe.)
Though my great granny (the one off the boat) used to make pedaheh for us, my grandmother (the next generation down) never made it. And my mom is (mostly) Irish, so she sure couldn't teach me. Therefore, though I'm using someone else's recipe (I can't even remember whose at this point.) the whole procedure that I go through is pretty much my own. I'm sure it's pretty similar to what other pedaheh makers go through. But then again, what do I know? I've never made pedaheh before with anyone else that knew what they were doing.
So without further ado - Pirogi making by Meg and company, recipe included.
The recipe has been lost in the transition as Picasa doesn't have the means of posting a lot of text along with each separate photo. But you can still get the main idea here. I'll try to add ingredients at some point.
Reminds me of ... Hermione!
ReplyDelete;)
Aloha mai Nai`a!
So did you buy the DVD on Tuesday?
ReplyDeleteI did.
I also wonder if we'll ever get any more of Shepherd Book's back-story.
My money is on either a retired Member of the Parliament, or an ex-Operative.
Thing is, he said just before he died that Mal should believe whatever River said....
Aloha mai Nai`a!
Hehe - yup; I'm planning to bake gingerbread men this weekend. I've been mind prepping for a week :)
ReplyDeleteDammit, why'd you have to make me cry...
ReplyDelete(flips three switches in tribute)
It's probably more that the starch that was released from the potato in to the water will gelatinize in the dough, making it softer and trapping some water in a protein matrix to make it moist.
ReplyDeleteMeg calling it a craft project rather than cooking has me thinking about doing the same with the lads. We're having pot roast tomorrow and leftovers on Xmas, but I might make pierogis for tonite. They're sounding very good right now...
ReplyDeleteAnd, I can always say to the boys, "Wait, do you hear that? I think...yeah, it's your Legos calling!" if they start getting annoying. But, what do I tell the cat? :)
Have you tried using small dishers (like a #20) to fill the pierogi?
ReplyDeleteHow big is the pierogi maker? It looks huge in the last picture, but if you're only putting 1tbsp of filling it, then it can't be all that big...
ReplyDeleteLooks a lot like our own Empanada! Please check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empanada
ReplyDeleteOr like a Dingle pie (named for Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland). Although those are baked like empanadas rather than boiled.
ReplyDeleteCool, 80's day at the Dunn house!
ReplyDelete:-)
I did not know this.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up my parents always made mashed potatoes with the skins on, so I don't mind them. My wife on the other hand grew up with skin-less mashed potatoes so she does mind them.
I probably should break down and buy one of those things, so many people swear by them.
ReplyDeleteWell I guess this answers whether I can leave out the dreaded onions...bleech. Maybe just for spite I'll go ahead and make this without them....Born in East LA wasn't all that bad (Cheech w/o Chong).
ReplyDeleteWhat an intersting story to pass down to your own children. Great picture, thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteUmmm, did you tell us how to make the dough? Maybe it's the next step...
ReplyDeleteSo is the filling solely mashed potatoes?
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on what's meant by "nutrition". The skins carry the minerals and vitamins, but the protein is in the potato starch which is all in the whites. If you're vitamin deficient then the skins more nutritious, but if you're low on protein then the whites (coupled with a complimentary protein like casein in milk) are more nutritious.
ReplyDelete[/Darryl-Mode]
:)
And onions! Lawdy, don't forget the onions! How many times does she have to mention the importance of the onions?
ReplyDelete:p
I was afraid you'd say that....cursed onions, you're the bane of my existence...heh-heh.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I actually think tey both still look pretty great even with the big 80s hair!
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty girl! I wish I could get my kids to work help in the kitchen!
ReplyDelete[/Darryl-Mode]
ReplyDeletelol! is that Possible?!!
Reminds me of ... Hermione!
that's exactly what i told her. :-)
So did you buy the DVD on Tuesday?
no. i think i'd rather get firefly first. though i liked the movie, i think i liked the show even better.
(flips three switches in tribute)
:-)
Have you tried using small dishers (like a #20) to fill the pierogi?
you know, D. sometimes i think i'm totally understanding you, then you pull something like this. what the heck is a #20?
How big is the pierogi maker? It looks huge in the last picture, but if you're only putting 1tbsp of filling it, then it can't be all that big...
the pirogi maker in the picture just before this (where you went on about numbered dishers) is the same form that i'm holding up in this pic.
but if you were to look at the form you'd say, "oh, that'll hold 1/4 cup of innards no problem. then you stick that much in and way over half will come oozing back out at you. it's like one of those psychology tests that they do on kids (pouring water from a short wide cup into a tall skinny cup. the kids will always say the tall one holds more even when the psychologist shows the kid that they both hold the same amount of water) for adults.
the advantage of Not using a form is that you can always tug and pull at the dough until it surrounds the insides properly.
So is the filling solely mashed potatoes?
yup. for the potato pirogi, that is.
Looks a lot like our own Empanada!
i have a theory that every culture on earth has some sort of wonton/ravioli/empanada/pirogi/dumpling thingy.
* - * - *
so, what do you think? does quoting a bunch of people without naming who said what bug you?
i like being able to respond to a bunch of replies all in one. i'm finally getting used to the new format. i just wish this box included a spell checker!
It bugs me, but only because I'm a complete dumbass when it comes to remembering what comments I've made in threads.
ReplyDeleteat first i thought i'd only be quoting a couple of people, but as i kept on adding more quotes i started to think, "hmmm, i really should have added attributions (is that a word?) to these things.
ReplyDeleteyou know, D. sometimes i think i'm totally understanding you, then you pull something like this. what the heck is a #20?
ReplyDeleteWhen the day comes that you understand everything I say, be afraid. Nay, be very afraid. :)
Dishers are what most people would call ice cream scoops. The size indicates the number of scoopfuls it would take to make a quart. So, a #20 disher is 1/20 of a quart. I have a #20 and a #12 that I use for making cookies, for scooping out shortening for fried chicken, and for whenever I need to get a volume of a (semi)solid while cooking.
It doesn't bug me, but it does make me laugh a little to realize I knew who had posted each one of those bits. Though that Darryl guy seems to be pretty smart... :D
ReplyDeletewell, i don't measure things at a 1/20th of a quart, so i don't have an image of that in my head. but if you make cookies that size, then i suspect the scooper is too small for the medium and small pirogi makers. in fact, when i make cookies, i'd say they're the equivalent of 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons of dough. and that much would definitely squish it's way out of a pirog.
ReplyDeleteHere is a photo of my #20 and #12 dishers on either side of a 1tbsp scoop for reference. The #12 makes a slightly bigger cookie, while the #20 makes small (about Chips Ahoy sized) cookies. The #12 is about the size of what you're describing for a cookie. The #20 is slightly under a tablespoon in size.
ReplyDeleteShoot, y'know what? I made a mistake. Those aren't a #20 and a #12, they're a #20 (the larger) and a #60, and the #60 is two teaspoons exactly. I thought something was wrong when I described it as being 1/20 of a quart but then called it less than a tablespoon in volume...
ReplyDeleteOMG!!! i think i'm going to have to bronze this thread now. ;-)
ReplyDeletecool pics!!!! looks like yall had some fun that day!!!!
ReplyDeleteOn the Dutch Antilles, they have two equivalents: empana and pastechi. The difference being in the flour. They're both baked or fried, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's my Christmas present to you. :)
ReplyDeleteOn Good Eats, Alton Brown did an episode on raviolis. He pulled down a map and pointed out how each country has developed something in that form at some point. Even the Romans had their own version, though it was mostly the flour portion. They were about 6" to 8" per side but still had a very minimal amount of filling. But, they were fried in olive oil. Mmmmmm....
ReplyDelete*licks lips*
ReplyDeleteNow that can't be bad....
Oh yeah. One of these days I'm going to get around to doing that particular stuffed pastry recipe. I need a decent meat filling, though, like meatloaf leftovers. Something slightly dry...
ReplyDeleteIn my familiy, we tend to vary on a filling of ground beef with sauteed onions and raisins. The raisins soak up some of the juice, which makes the filling less moist to handle. But the moisture is still there, locked in the raisins.
ReplyDeleteraisins also add a little punch of sweetness. :-) i dump them in my spaghetti sauce sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThat's sounds good too. Christene gets all weird, though, when I include raisins in recipes...
ReplyDeleteWhy? Doesn't she like them or does she think they don't "belong" in salty foods?
ReplyDeleteShe just doesn't like them. Yesterday I made oatmeal cookies to fill her black bear cookie jar I gave her (which has a note promising to keep it full of whatever she wanted) and put cranberries in them. When I mentioned that, she again said how she's glad they weren't raisins.
ReplyDeleteEven when I put them into salty or savory dishes (like a recipe for saffron rice that I'll post sometime soon) she isn't too fond of them. And in those cases they're an integral part of the flavor.
I think she's just a freak. She did marry me willingly, after all, so she can't be all that sane... :)
Hey - you keep her cookie jar filled. Of course she married you willingly.
ReplyDeleteYou like pierogis too? That's rad.
ReplyDeleteeeew. gross.
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much the flavor of raisins, it's the texture. Same with tomatoes. They feel weird.
How about sun-dried tomatoes? They have a different texture from whole tomatoes. Do you like 'maters on sangwitches? :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a bad hair day!! Very funny. You should frame this one or make a big poster out of it!!
ReplyDeleteyou know how sometimes parents pay to put a little ad with a picture in the back of the high school yearbooks.... this picture might work well, eh?
ReplyDeletenope. I hardly ever eat sandwitches, and when I do it's usually lettuce inbetween bread. (creative, I know)
ReplyDeleteYou don't eat lunch meats or anything like that? Do you have a fixed list of things you'll eat, or are there just certain items you don't like at all? Caleb has a fixed list of things he's willing to eat while Ben has a few things that he just won't eat but all else is fair game at least once.
ReplyDeleteI used to be picky, but have gotten to a different place where I always want to do something new or different...
i'm not a sandwich person either. there's a cafe in SF that makes GREAT yam sandwiches as well as really incredibly yummy tofu sandwiches and pretty decent asparagus sandwiches. but when i've tried to duplicate what they've done, it never quite reaches my elevated expectations.
ReplyDeleteI don't like raisins, but I love tomatoes. And grapes... And especially grape tomatoes. But there's just something fundamentally wrong with raisins. Maybe it's the way they remind me of earthworms.
ReplyDeleteI don't really like lunch meats all that much. Plus I'm *usually* vegetarian, but occasionally I'll end up eating meat at a fourth of July barbeque or something.
ReplyDeleteI have foods tht I will never, ever get near. Tomatoes, raisins, mustard, pickled eggs... but I am willing to try most other things. Try them, not like them...
I think I'm actually rather open to new foods, a week ago at a Christmas party I tried this green spaghetti stuff. It was actually quite good, but I still don't think I want to know what it was. That sort of ruins it sometimes.
I think the only foods I'm absolutely not willing to try to eat are (1) things that can visibly move by themselves, such as still-living creatures and (2) anything that seems toxic or unclean (venomous spiders, various creepy-crawly insects, some fungi and molds, mucus, bodily fluids, etc). It isn't all that difficult to convince me to try anything else. Once. I've had raisins once, and I've had mustard once. (OK, more than once; I generally won't eat either, but certain circumstances make it expedient to put up with them occasionally.) Actually, I might even be convinced to try squirming "Fear Factor foods"... once... for like $50M. It just isn't worth it for a mere $50K though.
ReplyDeleteJust for fun, Americans are weird in that we apparently subconsciously feel better when there's death in our food. We like our food sanitized, disinfected, refrigerated, and packaged in pouches that apparently remind us of body bags. In another culture, a head on a fish might indicate freshness, and living mold in a cheese might indicate quality, but such signs of life just make us lose our appetite.
That's all I ever ask of the boys as well, and always point out Green Eggs and Ham as a working example.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm actually rather open to new foods, a week ago at a Christmas party I tried this green spaghetti stuff. It was actually quite good, but I still don't think I want to know what it was. That sort of ruins it sometimes.
I think that's just spinach or another green vegetable in with the linguini. Or was it something on the pasta? For me, pasta is near perfect when it has bacon, onions, mushrooms and fresh parmesan cheese on it... :)
At my old middle school, they actually served green eggs and ham on Dr Seuss' birthday every year. It looked awful.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but I'll bet it was cool. I'd love to get eggs and ham to come out that way. Christene bought some ham for the boys (they will eat ham by itself or in sangwitches) yesterday and I'd love to do that for breakfast... :)
ReplyDelete???
ReplyDeleteRaisins = earthworms? I'm gonna google me some earthworms right away...
*comes back from Google*
I don't get it. Earth, ok; worms: eh?
Maybe Betty used to cut up earthworms into bitesized pieces when she was younger? :)
ReplyDeleteI was toying with the idea that maybe those of us who don't like raisins might've been exposed to the same picture from a children's book when we were too young to remember. For some reason, when I was trying to figure out why I don't like raisins, that's the association that came up. It's really weird because I almost never have such clear, color pictures in my head, but when I was thinking of warm raisins in raisin bread, I started seeing a drawn picture, like from a child's story book, of a little fluffy yellow baby chick with its eyes closed, a big smile on its wide-open beak, and the end of a plump, juicy, fat earthworm dangling out, the worm's diameter seemingly too big to fit into the chick's beak, and its texture looking pretty much exactly the way a raisin looks when it's in freshly-baked raisin bread. I'm sure the reptile-chasing, "Code"-making Persuaders would have a field day with that association. I somehow doubt that they could figure out how to market raisins to me though.
ReplyDeleteThat Rapaille might take you up on that challenge.
ReplyDeleteIn Dutch, Rapaille means bad folk, or outlaws.
I rest my case...
Mmmmmmmm, cinnamon raisin bread. I think you've just inspired me to make a loaf today so we can toast it tomorrow morning with coffee for breakfast... :)
ReplyDeleteI've added 5 more pics to complete the pirogi story.
ReplyDeleteFarmer's cheese is pot cheese, isn't it? If so, you should be able to make it pretty easily. You just need to curdle some whole milk using an acid, like lemon juice. It's the same as paneer cheese, which I make for indian dishes.
ReplyDeleteJust scald some milk with a pinch of salt (I usually make about 4 cups). When it's just coming to a boil, remove the milk from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of lemon juice. The milk will start to quickly coagulate. Give it about 5 or 10 minutes to finish. Then filter it through a cheese cloth. You can keep the whey or toss it: it has protein in it so you can use it in other recipes. But, the cheese is straight up farmer's cheese and ready to go. :)
The other night Christene caught something on Food TV, I think Rachel Ray's new show. Anyway, she was at a restaurant where they made some eclectic dishes (don't they all now?), and one of them was a gnocchi stuffed with ricotta and jalapenas. This got me to thinking about stuffing a pierogi (which is just a big gnocchi) with the same...
ReplyDeletewell, if you look it up online that's pretty much what they say, but that's not what my gran used to mean by it. it wasn't soft and white so much as harder than a meunster, slightly yellowish, and pocked with teeny tiny holes.
ReplyDeleteok, so i just did a bit more googling and came up with this:
"Hard Farmers Cheese. I have used various cheese fillings over the years but the one my menfolk like the best is made with the real, hard farmer's cheese. Some places do not carry it but if you have a Polish Deli in your vicinity, you should be able to get it there. You could even get your Polish dried mushrooms there as well. The cheese is hard so you have to break it up and crumble it in your bowl."
Cool; I didn't know that. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, is it fermented or just dried and cured?
ReplyDeletehome sweet home :-)
ReplyDeletei assume it's just dried and cured.
ReplyDeletewhat is fermented cheese like? what's a fermented cheese that i'd know?
Anything that's veined (Roquefort, bleu) or which innoculated with bacteria in order to form the finished product (aged cheddars, parmesan, romano, etc.).
ReplyDeletewell, i don't know how to tell if bacteria is added or not.
ReplyDeletehere's a page on "baltic style" farmers cheese:
Andrulis Farmers Cheese (Michigan)
I dunno, but from what I found by looking for Ukrainian farmer cheese on google, it's supposed to be a loose, soft cheese and not a hard cheese. This would make sense since "farmer cheese" is always a quick, simple soft curd and not an aged or fermented cheese. Are you sure what you're referring to is called "farmer cheese"?
ReplyDeletethat's what it is always called in the ukrainian/polish stores that i've been to, and it's always a hard cheese.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, interesting. I did see a few places where they mention a hard or dry farmer cheese. I'm guessing it's not fermented but is just the curds harded with probably salt or something else to dehydrate it.
ReplyDeleteKeeping the "potato" water would be no good for me I steam all my spuds. They get too mushy if I boil them. I have always believed that it was only starch left in the water anyway. Before you mentioned mashed spud. I mash mine by hand using a spud masher and ad a dollop of marg(or butter if you like) some salt and pepper and enough milk or cream to make it fluffy. I finish by fluffing with a fork. I have never ever mashed spuds that still have their skin on, I would be thrown out the door if I did rofl
ReplyDeleteI was trying to rack my brains as to what the dish was called that is like what you were making. It is gnocchi lol...never made it or eaten it but have seen it being made on some telly programs.
ReplyDeletei've never had gnocchi that had something inside of it. i've had gnocchi were stuff was added to the dough (potato gnocchi, spinach gnocchi) but it wasn't a filling.
ReplyDeletei'm not a big gnocchi fan myself. i like my pasta thin.
I didn't realize there was so much nutrition in a potato.
ReplyDeleteShe's grating the cheese too - not just trying to take huge bites out of it.(which is what my kids would be doing!).
ReplyDeleteI used to have one of them, I cant remember where I got if from. I used it once when I was making pasties, I thought they might be easier than what I usually do. They were totally useless rofl not big enough LOL I threw it out.
ReplyDeleteBut they seem to do the job for you, which is great, but I think I will stick with using my bread and butter plates as a template :-)
Hi Meg! excuse me wrighting you - you don't know me, but I became last time your invitation for multiply-idiots and tooke a look on yor site, and thoght, that I could help you to make the pierogi(PL)-pirogi/pyrohy(UA) a little faster? My family come from Buczacz/Ternopil and we make pierogi so: we cook peeled potatos and stamp or better mix them with a fresh, hard cottage chease (chease should be a little sour-you can by it probably in every ukrainian or polish shop in USA?), and some pepper and salt.Than with a glasbottom we cut out discs from the rolled dought and with a spoon pack the potatos with chease in the middle of these circles, and than - with the fingers! - we stick the bottoms together (NOT TOO MUCH MEAL!) Excuse me for my english - I'm never learnd this language. Ale ya shtshe mohu hovoryty ukrainsky - ce buloby mozhe prostiyshe?
ReplyDeleteHa! Arkadiusz, that's the best English I've ever seen from someone who hasn't learned the language. ;-)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I don't speak Ukrainian. It was my father's grandparents that came over. So I only know a few important words like pynchky and kapusta. :-)
Я изучила Русский язык на университете Мичигана, но я забывала все.
The way you describe making pedeheh is how I used to do them on my own. But with the kids, I find the plastic forms are helpful. Otherwise all of the filling comes out when they've only used their fingers to pinch the pedeheh closed.
that i somewhat near where one set of my grand parents came from -- Drogobych.
ReplyDeletemy parents have been to ukraine to see all these places but i have yet to go. i need to brush up on my russian first, i think. (of course, i'd rather learn ukrainian, i think. but i know that many people don't speak it any more which i think is very sad.)
Пироги( pirogi) выглядят очень аппетитно и, наверное ,очень вкусные!!!
ReplyDeleteДа! Они очень вкусные!!!
ReplyDeleteМой ховеркрафт полн eels.
ReplyDeletewhat in the world?!! do you even HAVE a hovercraft?
ReplyDeleteWould I lie to you?
ReplyDeletehmmm, about hovercraft. yes, i think you might.
ReplyDeleteespecially when that hovercraft is complete with eels.
this looks very much like what we make in our country
ReplyDeletewhat country are you from and what are the dumplings called where you are from?
ReplyDeletehumm.. isso parece estar bom! rs
ReplyDeletein our country here in the philippines that's called EMPANADA
ReplyDeletei like it.
ReplyDeleteNot too shabby
ReplyDeletehey
ReplyDeletemeg how are you
Hi Meg...it is similar with snack from Indonesia. We call it "pastel". The shape is exactly same with Pirog. someday I will post the recipe of pastel.
ReplyDeletevery beautiful the food
ReplyDeletetis no a big deal to make them. just tortellini will do. but if you do really want to get original receip still, let me know. you can try to say "pyrogy" that's better and in Galiziya we call them "varenyky". i use Y instead of I cause in this case I will be spoken rather as in "did" or "still". well newer mind... thats great you try to keep this
ReplyDeleteI am 62, i never new why my family called them pedaheh when everyone else called them pirogi, my grand dad always ate them with sour cream (homemade by the way) after they were boiled, i have two sons ages 22 and 27, i am happiest when i am making pedaheh with them.
ReplyDeletepeace
gary
how do you make sour cream? do you use raw milk? i bet it tastes even better than the store bought stuff. yum!
ReplyDeletethis is the first christmas eve in a very long time that we didn't have pedeheh. i didn't even think about it till last night. whew! it's been a busy month. maybe next year i'll get a chance to make some again.
Might not be too different from how you make yogurt. I've been waiting for Alton Brown to have an episode on making sour cream and cottage cheese forever...
ReplyDeletelol! I came back to look up the ingredients for the dough and just read what I had written under the onion pic. Ooops! And I had almost made a batch without the requisite onions! *heads off to chop up some onion and start sauteing*)
ReplyDeleteok, thought about it some more. of COURSE you eat the pirogi with onions in the end. that's such a given that i don't even think about it. i wonder if that's what i meant before. (it was 4 years ago now! wow.)
ReplyDeletei did fry some up and throw them in with the potatoes, though. so we'll have some inside and some outside.
i'm enjoying being able to make pedeheh on the kitchen counter. i've made these in many different houses and i think i've always had to use the dining room table because the counter wasn't big enough. i feel so spoiled now! (and love it. :-) )
I know this is a little late, I was googling pyrohy(pedaheh) recipes because I can't find my grandma's, and I found your blog. But if you haven't found a way to make sure the pyrohy don't stick, all you do is dust either side with some flour, leave them on a cookie sheet and slid them into the freezer and freeze them individually. After they're frozen you slid them into a freezer bag and they won't stick together.
ReplyDeletethanks for the tip.
ReplyDeletewe have a side-by-side fridge right now, which won't fit cookie sheets. but i could probably rig something up with some toaster oven pans.