Dinner Diary Day 2: Pierogies
We had an afternoon dentist appt, so I chose a convenience meal last night. It also worked as an end-of-grocery-cycle meal, since it involved mostly packaged foods. My general approach to dinners is to serve those recipes most loaded with fresh produce first, and end with those involving mainly cans and packages. Hence the chili two nights ago and the pierogies last night. We’ll be having smoothies for breakfast tomorrow, to give you a sense of where we are with fresh fruit.
My husband comes from Polish stock, which apparently gives him the God-given right to consume pierogies as often as possible. He likes them sauteed with kielbasa and onions in heaping amounts of oil. In my hands, the pierogi preparation dials down the oil and includes pickled beets, a trick I got from my Uncle Fred in upstate New York.
My son won’t eat pierogies, which works out just fine, because one box of Mrs. T’s plus sausage feeds three, not four. Since his aversion to dinner actually works in my favor in this case, I make him boxed mac ‘n’ cheese on pierogi night rather than serving him Cheerios.
Pierogies, in my humble, non-Polish opinion, are pretty bland. Even Mrs. T’s, the best-tasting grocery brand, need a little jazzing up. We do this in the form of sauces. Behold the variety of sauces we use for pierogies: A-1 Steak Sauce, barbeque sauce, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, and sour cream/Greek yogurt.
My daughter actually mixes them all together (including a little pickled beet liquid!) and claims it’s perfection. I have not summoned the courage to try it. Dad uses the steak sauce and sour cream, and I stick to Dijon mustard.
I have never tried pierogies a different way, because everyone loves this way too much. Also, I haven’t encountered other preparations that look good. The box sometimes pictures them prepared Asian-style with sesame seeds, or done with marinara like ravioli. Both of these ideas sound dreadful to me. Yes, pierogies are related to ravioli, but they exist in their own universe. They are so not Italian. I would love to hear how you prepare them.
Here is our version of pierogies, a great convenience meal.
Pierogi Night
Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3 (add mac ‘n’ cheese for reluctant eaters to serve 4)
¼ cup canola oil
1 box Mrs. T’s Pierogies (we prefer Classic Onion)
2 Tofurky kielbasa sausages, cut in ½-inch rounds or to your taste
1 red or yellow onion, sliced in ¼-inch half-moons
1 jar of pickled beets (we prefer Aunt Nellie’s)
Sauces: A-1 Steak Sauce, barbecue sauce (we prefer Sweet Baby Ray’s), Dijon and yellow mustard, sour cream
Heat the oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring with a spatula occasionally, until the onion begins to get translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the kielbasa and pierogies and sauté until the kielbasa is browned and the pierogies are light golden brown and heated all the way through, about 15 minutes. Watch your heat—you don’t want the contents of the pan to brown or burn before the pierogies have cooked through. Serve the pierogi mixture with beets and sauces. Roll yourself away from the table when full.
Notes:
- Kielbasa is the most authentic-tasting kind of sausage with this meal, but don’t worry about subbing other kinds. We’ve used Italian sausage, apple-maple sausage, breakfast links—they all do the job.
- We love picked beets, but any pickled veggie tastes good with pierogies, even pickles themselves! Last night I didn’t have pickled beets or pickles, so I did a quick pickle of some carrots, and they worked well. I sliced two large carrots into thin rounds and put them in a glass Tupperware dish. Then I put 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar in a small saucepan with ½ Tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and brought to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Once dissolved, I poured the liquid onto the carrots, secured the lid, and shook to distribute. I let it sit in the fridge for an hour, but they would taste even better if left overnight.