The Ever Elusive Perogie/Pierogi/Pergohy/Piroghi?!?...

For as long as I can remember we have always had perogies at camp, homemade by a paternal aunt......I am not sure the first time I ever ate one of these pillowy potato filled sacks of goodness, but I can tell you this - I just love them!  And who wouldn't?  Potatoes + cheese + onions + pepper = good times!

After recently enjoying a fortnight in the woods of Northwestern Ontario I was lucky to come across an old Ukrainian woman's recipe for pergoies!  I vaguely remember attempting to make perogies from scratch as a child in a yellow kitchen.....however I am pretty sure it was a lumpy dough disaster and each and every single one opened up as they were boiled.....I remember that I used white potatoes (peeled) and some form of orange cheese - most likely a shredded brick of cheddar....but exact species I am not sure....

What I absolutely love love love about perogies is their simplicity.....robust earthen potatoes with a sharp aged cheddar packed inside a pillowy dough soft and supple topped with carmelized purple onions, freshly cracked black pepper, and a dollop of sour cream....this is my west coast spin on an old Ukrainian favorite!

Fun Fact: Pittsburg is rumored to eat something like 10 times the amount of perogies as any other city.

Bonus:  Perogies are easily frozen for a quick mid-week meal!



Dough:
4 cups flour
1 tub of Tillamook sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP sunflower oil

First blend together with a fork, then gradually begin kneading in the bowl with one hand (disposable rubber glove) while holding the bowl on an angle with the other hand.  As soon as the dough forms a ball cover with Saran wrap and let stand a few hours....I was lucky enough to have 15 loads of laundry to do so I was lucky to be spending the day at home!  For real - I love cleaning..,

Filling:
Red potatoes
Sharp cheddar cheese
butter
olive oil
seasoned salt
garlic powder
milk


Clean potatoes and boil until done.  Mash with all remaining ingredients except for cheese.  When potatoes are creamy and well blended stir in the cheese until it melts with a wooden spoon.  It is imperative that you use a wooden spoon on this part...

Place potatoes in a bowl in the refrigerator until thoroughly cooled.  I made the mistake of making WAY TOO MUCH filling....however I now have enough leftovers for two dinners.....hello week-day-meal-time-saver!


Roll out the dough on a floured surface, I used a water glass to cut out the circles and then rolled them out again.....really I needed to roll the dough out even thinner......I'll let you fiddle around with it.....I just think I need more practice....then place a cigar shaped piece of potato mixture in the middle - brush edges with just a tad of warmish water and then fold in half and seal.....you want to have circles with clean edges......boil in water until they float!  Serve with sautéed onions and freshly ground black pepper and sour cream.....bacon of course would pair well with this either on the inside or with the onions.....and if I could do it all over again I would add some fresh chives to the potatoes.....


~Enjoy

Earthen Orzo

First day back from my twelve day venture in the woods...

Some may say this was in the realm of a mystery box challenge as it literally was, open the fridge, and see what kind of a mess you can make out of all the ingredients!

Right away I was drawn to the contrasting colors of the fresh green beans and ripe roma tomatoes....I knew I needed a starch and since it had been some time since I have made an orzo dish I thought why not?  For some reason I was in an orzo slump, always sticking to the same, brown mushroom and broccoli - don't get me wrong that dish is equally delish!  But not quite the experiment I played around with yesterday...

Earthen Orzo Recipe
2 roma tomatoes
handful of fresh green beans
crumbled feta
cashews
orzo
olive oil
seasoned salt
garlic powder
red pepper flakes
freshly crushed black pepper
fresh basil*

This was a 2 frying pan kinda dish - it was all just throw it in and see what happens!  I was so pleased with the resultant warm earthy flavor profile that I decided to share it with the vastness of the inter-web...what is nice is that you can get both pans started simultaneously and knock this one out rather quickly: hello school night dinner.

Small pan:  heat olive oil and add diced tomatoes, cleaned and cut green beans, and spices - let simmer for a few minutes and then add in the crumbled feta and let them marry in a smooth cheesy harmony.

Large pan: heat up pan with dry orzo and spices - I was simply thinking that maybe I could infuse some sort of "toasted" flavor into the orzo (it may have done nothing, or it may have done something)....what I love about experimenting with techniques is that you (and I mean me) never know what it will contribute to the overall final flavor.  After a few minutes add in water.  I like to go with 1 part orzo to 2 parts water (this way as long as you use the same device to measure - you will get the proportions accurate!).  After about half of the water is gone I added in the cashews - how much is really up to you....to save on dishes I used 1 "part".  Cooking cashews was one thing I learned in Minnesota - it really develops the flavor and to me is one of the best substitutes for meat.  Alternatively, I believe that beef would have paired nicely with the beans and tomatoes......

Just when you think it is almost done (little water remains) add in contents from the small pan and let the magic of heat take over....it should look something like this....

...a marriage of flavor.

Serve with freshly chopped basil!


~Enjoy.








*from the garden (just for looks initially - but then it was POW: flavor explosion in my mouth!)

Cowboy Pizza....aka "BBQ steak leftovers take 2"

This morning I was welcomed to another overcast somewhat perfect day to snuggle on the coach with too much coffee and a book....however having recently "gotten back into" cooking and baking and the whole nine yards I decided to make a pizza to start the day....well actually coffee was first (of course)....then got the husband out the door and then this little experiment began to take shape...

Cowboy Pizza 
= yeastless crust (leftover steak + onions + green peppers + brown mushrooms) (colby & monterey jack cheese) + (grated asiago)


Yeastless Pizza Crust:
3 cups flour
1.5 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1.33 cups hot water (2/3 + 1/2 of 2/3)
0.375 cups extra virgin olive oil ( 1/4 + 1/2 of 1/4)

Mix the dry ingredients together and then flatten out in bowl, add hot water and oil by drizzling around the entire surface of the dry mixture covering as much surface as possible.  Briefly incorporate the liquid into the dry mixture.  Put on disposable gloves and knead dough into the bowl, this works well by rotating the bowl with one hand and knead with the other....the dough will mix together well.  Do not sift the flour.

Let rest while you prepare the toppings.

This was just another way to use the leftover steak that was grilled this past weekend over the charcoal....so much flavor...

I took the steak and cut it up in small pieces and added to some leftover BBQ sauce that I made over the weekend when grilling shrimp (this is another story for another time....but I do have to tell you that the shrimp wontons were a hit!).....back to the pizza: I thinly sliced the yellow onions, brown mushrooms, and green peppers.  I already had these on hand as they were the cheapest at the grocery store, which tells me they are in season!  Frugalness prevails....and leaves you with the best tasting food.

 I of course did not have enough BBQ sauce so I had to make a little extra...NO PROBLEM!

It's simple: sweet baby rays + can o' tomato sauce + garlic powder + red pepper flakes + little water
I like to add this all to a small sauce pan and let the flavors develop and cook into one another!

As soon as everything was set I spread out the dough, it was still warm and so flexible....I have to admit that I was happy with the result....I also have to admit that homemade pizza dough is always a challenge, and for me, often times a crap shoot as I can do exactly (or what I believe to be exactly) the same thing and it turns out to be rough, non-elastically, tough dough.....if this ever happens, it's OK to through it out and start over!  Be not afraid to fail...

Crusty crust comes from adding corn meal to the pizza sheet before spreading out....one day I will be able to do this right and actually have a pizza stone....then I will be able to show you a thing or two.....


Cooked pizza @ 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, then turned down to 347 degrees and cooked another 17 minutes!

Looking forward to enjoying this little experiment for dinner tonight!

Take Care.

Curry Tofu

It's been way to long since I have done this and I am thinking that it is time to jump back into the blogging waters and just get it all out.


Last week I made this.....

The taste was sure a surprise, I had so much fun playing around with some new spices like white pepper and cumin seeds.....it's amazing how quickly sometimes we can get all caught up in the day-to-day and forget about partaking in the activities that we absolutely love, love, love.....for me one of the best places to be is in the kitchen, apron on and ready to cook, experiment, and most of all just have fun!  Is this my calling?

Curry Tofu Recipe:

extra firm tofu

coconut milk

red curry paste

sweet potato

purple onions

cauliflower

red pepper

extra virgin olive oil

ground white pepper

red pepper flakes

turmeric

cumin seeds

I started by taking the tofu and chopping it into cubes and then let it marinate in the red curry paste/coconut milk mixture for a few days, this really infused the favor into the tofu - I would do this again.  Then on the day of, I began by chopping the potatoes first and getting them going in a big pan with the olive oil and spices.  Then I added the onions, let them brown and then added the cauliflower and put the lid on so it would steam a bit. What I love about the turmeric is how it dyes the cauliflower to a bright yellow....it is like the sun on the horizon....then I added the red pepper and let it sweat a little.  Finally, I added in the tofu and sauce and let it come to a simmer....then the secret ingredient that I feel took the dish from good to great: imported Italian fontina cheese.  Nothing but deliciousness!  

Serving suggestion: over a bed of basmati rice.