Post by Smoke on Mar 21, 2009 5:03:26 GMT -6
So what sort of family traditions do you have?
I come from a Polish background on my Fathers side. Pierogies are part of that. My Mom will tell stories about my Grandmother making them. They had a big kitchen and table in the middle and all the woman would get together to make these little potato pockets. Celery, onion and bacon would be fried up and added to a heaping pot of mashed potato's. Dough would be rolled out by hand and the "special" cutting glass would be brought out to cut each circle. They would be filled, boiled and then put into a roasting pan with butter to keep warm. Later all the men and kids would gather round the table and litterally gorge themselves...rumor has it that I have (had) an Uncle that could down about 50 of them...I didn't know My Uncle Ralph in his younger days but somehow I'm sure he could.
In my immediate family we would have perogies twice a year, Christmas and also on my birthday..I know I was spoiled rotten. My Mom would make them in the same fashion as my Grandmother did, she also had a "special" glass. and rolled them by hand...Was tough getting the pot filled because my Brother and I would be there waiting for the first ones to be ready. As I got older we came across a wonderful gadget...A Pasta machine! This was the hand crank type that you would put the dough through and it comes out in sheets...really sped up the whole process.
Again as I got older My boyfriend also comes from a polish background and those wonderfull filled pockets were part of his tradition as well but a bit different than mine. The basics were the same, they also had the woman together rolling and cutting..the "specils glass". (even on Ken's MOms original recipe card it has a description of which glass to use.) But they filled them different,,,they use a sweet cheese filling. Pot cheese, (similar to cottage cheese) cinnamon and sugar. They are still boiled but then they are fried in butter and get a golden crust to them. ( we would fry them as well but usually as a leftover or for breakfast the next day) Another difference is that they would have them at Easter for breakfast...feeding as many as 32 hungry people.
Some things have changed over the years, It was still quite a production line, dough goes through the pasta machine, sheets are cut out..not with the special glass but with a fancy steel cutter I had specially made for the job. One year we made over 400 perogies..cheese & potato.
Today...My family doesn't make them anymore...My Niece and Nephew should learn how but at the moment they don't. My mom isn't able to do it anymore. Ken's family doesn't have the big easter breakfast of years ago with 30+ people but we still make some pierogies, His mom and Dad are still able to do a few. So today I am off to help keep at least a little of the tradition alive we are doing probably 2 batches of potato...my version eliminated the celery and onion and added in cheese. In a week or 2 we will do their version og the Pot cheese ones.
I wish I had my grandmothers "spesial glass".
I come from a Polish background on my Fathers side. Pierogies are part of that. My Mom will tell stories about my Grandmother making them. They had a big kitchen and table in the middle and all the woman would get together to make these little potato pockets. Celery, onion and bacon would be fried up and added to a heaping pot of mashed potato's. Dough would be rolled out by hand and the "special" cutting glass would be brought out to cut each circle. They would be filled, boiled and then put into a roasting pan with butter to keep warm. Later all the men and kids would gather round the table and litterally gorge themselves...rumor has it that I have (had) an Uncle that could down about 50 of them...I didn't know My Uncle Ralph in his younger days but somehow I'm sure he could.
In my immediate family we would have perogies twice a year, Christmas and also on my birthday..I know I was spoiled rotten. My Mom would make them in the same fashion as my Grandmother did, she also had a "special" glass. and rolled them by hand...Was tough getting the pot filled because my Brother and I would be there waiting for the first ones to be ready. As I got older we came across a wonderful gadget...A Pasta machine! This was the hand crank type that you would put the dough through and it comes out in sheets...really sped up the whole process.
Again as I got older My boyfriend also comes from a polish background and those wonderfull filled pockets were part of his tradition as well but a bit different than mine. The basics were the same, they also had the woman together rolling and cutting..the "specils glass". (even on Ken's MOms original recipe card it has a description of which glass to use.) But they filled them different,,,they use a sweet cheese filling. Pot cheese, (similar to cottage cheese) cinnamon and sugar. They are still boiled but then they are fried in butter and get a golden crust to them. ( we would fry them as well but usually as a leftover or for breakfast the next day) Another difference is that they would have them at Easter for breakfast...feeding as many as 32 hungry people.
Some things have changed over the years, It was still quite a production line, dough goes through the pasta machine, sheets are cut out..not with the special glass but with a fancy steel cutter I had specially made for the job. One year we made over 400 perogies..cheese & potato.
Today...My family doesn't make them anymore...My Niece and Nephew should learn how but at the moment they don't. My mom isn't able to do it anymore. Ken's family doesn't have the big easter breakfast of years ago with 30+ people but we still make some pierogies, His mom and Dad are still able to do a few. So today I am off to help keep at least a little of the tradition alive we are doing probably 2 batches of potato...my version eliminated the celery and onion and added in cheese. In a week or 2 we will do their version og the Pot cheese ones.
I wish I had my grandmothers "spesial glass".