Super Bowl Snacks I (Pittsburgh Pierogies)

hIn case you hadn't heard, the Super Bowl is next weekend. (Wink, wink)  Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay.  Not sure who I'm rooting for, since I live in Northern California and none of my teams are represented. I think the Super Bowl has become a sort of Thanksgiving, in a way. Greasy, delicious appetizers take the place of the turkey and stuffing, wine becomes beer, and instead of gathering around the dining room table we gather around the TV (as I'm sure many men would prefer to do on Thanksgiving anyway, to watch the Cowboys and the Lions). I know that favorite Super Bowl fare includes nachos, wings, chips and guacamole, and pizza. Here is something new to add to that list: pierogies. Why? Because they are darn awesome, that's why.

Pierogies are a tradition in Pittsburgh.  According to About.com, they eat more than 11 times the amount of pierogies in Pittsburgh than anywhere else in the United States. I've never had a peirogi, much less made one. But I thought it a fitting snack for the Super Bowl, to honor the Steelers.

And boy am I glad I did. They are right up my alley; basically a hand-held pie! Dough and filling. How can you go wrong? The first thing I said to my husband after tasting it was "OMG, why have I never eaten one of these before??" I made the standard potato and cheese filling, but the best thing about these pierogies is you can fill them with anything. I can see ground beef and onion, stewed lamb, even sweet ones like chocolate chips or cinnamon and walnuts. The possibilities are endless!

I know it seems like there are a lot of steps. And there are. But it's worth it. I promise. And, you can freeze them to use later, like at a party. Here is a step-by-step guide:

After the dough has chilled, roll it out to 1/8" thick and cut out circles (I used a 2 1/2" cookie cutter).

Make your filling. Mine is potato, onion, and cheese.

Fill your circles and fold them over into a semicircle.

Pinch them closed with the tines of a fork.

Boil them, in batches, in a large pot of water. They float to the top when they are done, after about 3-5 minutes.

Drain them and let them dry. Traditionally, pierogies are then stir-fried with butter and garlic. Sounds awesome, but not something I want to do at a party. At parties, I like to, well, party. So I do everything ahead of time and the only "cooking" I do is in the oven. So, I decided to bake my pierogies to finish them.

Brush with melted butter and bake for about 10 minutes. Serve wtih sour cream.

Again. Oh. My. God. I've wasted 33 years of my life not eating these. I have a LOT to make up for.

Leftover Filling!

The filling recipe I used made way too much filling. (There was actually more leftover, but my husband kept coming over and grabbing another spoonful.) It makes a great mashed potato dinner. If you don't want leftover potato mixture, you can make two dough recipes and make the double the pierogies (which I wish I'd done!) or, follow my altered filling ingredient recipe to make less filling.

This is an awesome party recipe, for the Super Bowl or whenever. Make them ahead of time, then pop them in the oven and relax. Have a beer, eat a pierogi, watch the game. And then eat another pierogi. And another...

Go Steelers!

Pittsburgh Pierogies Printer-Friendly Recipe (the recipe is super long, so I thought it'd be easier not to put it here.)