Gold Medal Meals: Pierogi

When I was in college, my Broadcast News teacher was David Hazinski. At the end of the school year, he would host a party at his house, complete with authentic Polish sausage and pierogi made by nuns at a convent in Pittsburgh. So imagine his dismay when one year he found out the nuns had retired from the pierogi making business, and he had to find them somewhere else.

For those who don't know, pierogi are basically Polish dumplings, which can be filled with all sorts of things, from the traditional potato to meat to fruit and other desserts.

Well, I have a little idea now what those nuns went through to make their culinary art, and I will admit, this recipe does not really fit into my goal of easy-to-make dishes. It was definitely labor intensive, but good things are worth the effort, right? I did a simple online search, and when I saw one that mentioned Pittsburgh, I had to go with that in honor of Hazinski and the nuns.

Now my pierogi were surely not as good as the ones the nuns made, but they were pretty good. And they marked another country off the list in my Olympic tour of dinners.

Ingredients
2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
Butter and onions for cooking


Filling:
5 large potatoes cut into pieces
1 onion
8 oz shredded cheese
2 tbsp butter

Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, beat the egg. Add beaten egg, sour cream and butter to flour mixture. Mix until a good dough forms, but don't overdo it. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 20-30 minutes.

Boil cut up potatoes in a large pot until fork tender. While the potatoes are cooking, chop onions finely and saute in butter. When potatoes are done, drain and mash. Mix in cooked onions and cheese. Let mixture cool. I also added some salt, pepper, parsley and garlic powder just for a little extra flavor. You can tweak however you want.

On a flour-dusted surface, roll out dough until about 1/8" thick. Using a cookie cutter or a drinking glass cut out circles depending on how big you want. Make about one-inch balls of filling and wrap inside a circle of dough. If the edges don't seal, moisten with a little water. A good seal is very important, or else you'll wind up with empty pierogi.

This picture is of a double batch, which is about 30-35 pierogi. I made them last night so they'd be ready to go for dinner tonight. I made about half of them and plan to freeze the rest for another day. If I were to make them again in the future, I would put them in single layers separated by wax paper, as they tend to stick together and then tear a little as you pull them apart.

When it's time to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, place the pierogi in the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. They'll float to the top. Let them dry and cool.

In a large pan, saute half a chopped onion in some butter. Working in batches, cook in the butter and onions until brown and a little crispy.

Apparently the traditional accompaniment is sour cream, which is a good combo. They may not look like much, but these little fried carb balls are quite filling.

I served mine up with some sauteed carrots for a little color.

Again, these may not meet with Hazinski's approval, and they're certainly nothing like the nuns made, but it was definitely a fun experience. I would like to experiment more with different flavors in the future, especially the dessert versions. It's also given me confidence to try my hand at ravioli, as I've long wanted to do. Smacznego! That's Polish for bon appetit!

Gold Medal Meals: German Pork Roast

We got back on the podium tonight, if you will. After taking an American fast food break from our run of Gold Medal Meals, our culinary tour moved back to Europe. Germany specifically.

The way I arrived at this dish is interesting, in that I actually had to figure out a meal that would give me the leftovers I need for another dish later this week. I don't want to give it away, but the main ingredient I need is roasted pork. So I figured the Germans would be a good choice to do up a pork roast. Indeed, I found several recipes for Schweinebraten, and picked a simple one. As always, I made some slight adjustments for my needs and based on my stock of ingredients. Also, I'm including the ingredients and directions I followed, but below that I've included some notes I think would make this even better.

Ingredients 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
4 garlic cloves, minced 
1 teaspoon lemon juice 
1 teaspoon mustard (I substituted deli for stone-ground)
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, thyme and rosemary, crushed 
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
2-4 lbs pork roast (the original recipe calls for boneless whole loin roast, but for economy's sake, I went with a loin rib end roast)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges (I suggest
3 medium onions, cut into wedges 
1 medium yellow tomato, cut into wedges

Directions
Mix olive oil, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and spices in a bowl. Rub mixture all over the roast. Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. Add potatoes, onions and tomatoes. Cook for 40-70 minutes or until pork reaches 160 and potatoes are cooked through. Let meat rest 10 minutes before slicing

  

Now, I'd never cooked this before, and the pork turned out tender and juicy, but I thought it could have used a little more flavor. Using the stone-ground mustard that the original recipe called for probably would have helped. I also would have liked a little more color, and would probably use a regular red tomato if I ever make it again and/or some carrots. That being said, we thought the roasted yellow tomato was delicious! I might also toss the potatoes in a little oil and maybe a little seasoning, such as seasoned salt or onion soup mix just to add a little flavor.

Regardless, like I said, the roast was very nice. A little apple sauce definitely made a nice accompaniment, and helped our two-year-old enjoy it a little more.

Again, this was a set-up meal for something later this week. The only hint I'll give is that it won't be European like tomorrow's meal will be.

Gold Medal Meals: Teriyaki Bowls

Last week I mentioned to my wife that for dinner Friday night, in honor of the Olympics, we should have something British. Unfortunately, I didn't find a recipe in time that I liked, so we wound up having Chicken Tacos. That led to another idea, though. I decided for the duration of the Olympics, we would have a dish inspired by a different country each night. Check off Mexico.

Of course, there is no shortage of international cuisine to choose from, but the theme of this blog is to focus on stuff that's not crazy hard to make. So for night No. 2, I thought long and hard. Finally I decided on something Japanese: Teriyaki Bowls. This is something I fell in love with when I lived in California near a restaurant called Yoshinoya. Basically, it was a bowl of steamed rice with Teriyaki chicken (or beef) and steamed veggies. When I moved to Gainesville, FL, there was a place called Maui Teriyaki that served something similar. All in all, it's a tasty dish that's pretty healthy.

Ingredients
2 cups rice (Whatever kind you like. I used brown rice to make it a little healthier)
1 bottle Teriyaki sauce (I used low sodium)
2 chicken breasts sliced into thin strips
1 bag frozen cauliflower, carrot, broccoli mix (the store here calls it California mix)
1/2 an onion sliced thin
1/2 a head of cabbage sliced thin

Directions
-Cook rice according to its directions.
-In a medium saucepan, bring one cup of water to a boil. Add the frozen veggies. Return to boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid.
-In a large saucepan, heat the Teriyaki sauce and onions over medium-high heat. When it starts to boil add the chicken. Put the California mix veggies on top of the chicken and the sliced cabbage on top of the veggies. Pour some of the hot water from the veggies over the cabbage. Cover with a lid.
-When the sauce starts to boil, reduce heat to medium, and let cook for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and all the veggies, especially the cabbage, are tender.
-Put rice in a bowl and top with cabbage, veggies and chicken. Add more sauce if desired. (I remember extra sauce being one of the best parts at Maui Teriyaki)

That's it. Like I said. It's pretty simply, and really yummy. I like to add some hot Chinese mustard to mine.

So two nights down, and a couple more weeks to go. It looks like a sudden strong thunderstorm kept my wife from getting to the grocery store, so we'll honor Team USA with some authentic American southern BBQ (take out).

Southern Classic: Shrimp & Grits

With the Mrs. home on maternity leave/summer break (she is a teacher), I've been spoiled a bit by coming home to a lot of dinners on the table. That means I haven't had a chance to do a lot of cooking myself, but today, I was back it.

If you've ever spent time in the South, you may have tried to the classic dish Shrimp & Grits. It is an incredibly delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed at any meal. We make it for Sunday dinners from time to time, but I guess traditionally it's a breakfast/brunch dish. Believe me, though, it's good  any time.

I found the basis for this recipe doing a search for "easy shrimp and grits" and finding a recipe on
"Southern Living" magazine's website from a restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC. I've adapted it just a little, by using a Vidalia (read: sweet) onion instead of green onions, as I normally have one on hand and like to think it adds a little more traditional southern flavor to the dish. I also use olive oil (again, I have it and like it), and use whatever shredded cheese that moves me for the cheese grits (tonight I used some Cheddar Jack and an Italian blend.

Now before we get down to the recipe, a very important piece of advice. You need to make this dish like you're on a TV cooking show. In other words, have everything measured out and ready to go. This is not a hard recipe, but it all happens quickly, and it's two dishes in one that must be cooked at the same time. I'll try to give you the timing as we go.

Ingredients
2-4 bacon slices
1 pound peeled, cleaned medium shrimp
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil (or just keep all the bacon drippings)
1/2 cup chopped Vidalia (sweet) onion
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Hot sauce to taste

Cheese Grits
14 oz chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cook grits
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup sharp Cheddar and 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan)
Hot sauce to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper


Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet.

When the bacon is almost done, in a medium saucepan, combine 14 oz chicken broth, skim milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in grits. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Back in the skillet, sauté mushrooms in hot drippings with oil for 5 minutes or until tender. Add onions, and sauté 2 minutes.

As veggies cook, sprinkle some salt and pepper on the shrimp and dredge in flour. Add shrimp and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly browned. Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.

Back to the grits: Stir in cheese, white pepper and hot sauce.

Spoon shrimp mixture over hot Cheese Grits; sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

It may not look like the prettiest dish in this photo, but it's delicious! My wife says it's as good as any version she's had in a restaurant. I served it with warm French bread. Also, as different people have different tastes, I like to add more hot sauce to my personal plate, but you do need a little while cooking for the flavor.

If you're making this for breakfast or brunch, serve it along with scrambled eggs and biscuits. Leftovers also go nicely with some eggs for breakfast. Enjoy!