Pierogie Making

OK here we go! I know I have a lot to catch you up on. Let's start with our pre Christmas tradition of pierogie making! My Mom and sisters and I get together a few days before Christmas Eve to make our favorite Polish dish. Store bought frozen ones WILL NOT do! Oh no! We go all out. This is a big deal. We need to set aside an entire day because for as many as we make we need a good 4-5 hours.

Here we all are ready to get started. Stefanie, Mindy, Me, Mom, Meredith. Go Team Pierogie Makers!!!

We start by peeling potatoes to make the cheesy mashed potato filling. We also fry up a batch of sauerkraut (true Polocks need the sauerkraut ones). Mindy is the official dough maker lately... how many batches of dough did you need to make this year, Mindy? A dollop of filling gets placed on the dough, the dough gets folded over and pinched together. Then they are boiled & fried and ready to be served up with sour cream. Mmmmm... mmm... mmm good!

It is always good to have several little fingers on hand for pierogie pinching. Elliot, Kyle, Luke, and Mimi!

Julianna and Britney

Sarah enjoying the finished product!

What a great day! It is loud and hot (because of all the boiling and frying) and crazy trying to get this all done with a dozen kids dancing around us but we LOVE it. I also love that the past several years we have done this at my house. Being the oldest child I love being able to hold this tradition here in my home. As we were starting out my Mom says, "Can you believe that your Grandmothers did this all by themselves? At least we have each other!" My response was, "I just can't believe that they mashed the potatoes by hand at least we have a Kitchen Aid!" I'm not sure but I think she rolled her eyes at me.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you that this is what we eat for dinner on Christmas Eve when we celebrate the holiday with my side of the family!