| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| melody |
Posted - Sep 24 2010 : 6:57:20 PM
After pitting 2-lbs of Plums, quartering and coring 6-lbs of Wolf River Apples I ended up canning
Nine 1/2-pint jars of, my take on, Powidla Sliwkowe or Polish Plum Butter with Wolf River Apples!
The color is a gorgeous rich plummy color with just a hint of dark speckled plum peel in a golden apple butter. Yikes! I think I outdid myself today.
The jars have just been given their "hot water bath" and are currently "clicking" and cooling in the kitchen. What a rewarding sound!
Oh----and the taste is pure "T" bliss-
Now what can I "can" tomorrow?
Melody
Farmgirl #525
www.lemonverbenasoap.etys.com
www.bythebayhandcraftedsoap.blogspot.com |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| melody |
Posted - Oct 19 2010 : 08:02:58 AM
Thank you Mary...your a sweetheart!
Melody
Farmgirl #525 |
| sherrye |
Posted - Oct 19 2010 : 08:02:32 AM
yipee thanks so much. i dont have that cookbook anymore. forgot about it. will need to get another one. i love these. happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
|
| MaryLD |
Posted - Oct 19 2010 : 06:26:08 AM
Here is my peirogi recipe!
The dough comes from the Joy of Cooking, the newer one- but you can wing it once you get the idea. I have never followed an exact recipe for the fillings, but I looked at some, and that helped me find the right proportions of things vs winging it, when trying to explain to Y'all.
Strong Pasta Dough from Joy of Cooking
Make a well in:
3 1/2 cups stone ground organic unbleached all -purpose flour
add to the well
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cool water
1 tsp salt ( optional)
1 tsp butter ( optional)
Use a fork to beat the eggs/ water lightly with the four, until they are thickened.
Use the fingertips of one hand to incorporate the flour into the eggs, and continue into a smooth, not too stiff dough. Add water if/ as needed.
Knead dough until satiny and elastic, about 10 minutes. Divide dough into four pieces for easier handling, then cover loosly with plastic or an inverted bowl. If you have time, let the dough rest for 30 minutes before rolling.
Depending on how you work in the kitchen, you may want to prep or even cook your fillings before you start the dough. There is about enough time to make the fillings while the dough rests. There are a ton of recipes/ fillings out there, but I always used potato cheese and sauerkraut onion. IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE FILLINGS NOT BE TOO MOIST!!! Otherwise, the peirogi will fall apart more easily while boiling.
Potato Cheese filling
Boil 5-6 medium potatoes in the smallest reasonable amount of salted water- like maybe 2/3 covered with the water. I do not peel them- but it's up to you. I try to use a mealy potato like Russet or Irish Cobbler, but you could use a waxy one and see how it goes. Cook the potatoes until they are JUST done, then drain quickly. Add some butter a tablespoon or two at a time, mixing and adding farmer's cheese/ cream cheese/ yogurt cheese/ kefir cheese/ quark, or whatever sort of fresh cheese you have. If I don't have my own cheese, I'll buy 8 oz of organic cream cheese, or, if they have it, organic farmer's cheese or Neufchatel. I would say it may or may not take the whole thing, but it should take at least half. Keep tasting and salting to see how you like it. You can add pepper. You want to make a flavorful, thick, not quite dry filling that will hold up in cooking. Do not let it get too thin!
The other filling I make is Sauerkraut/ Onion. I make it in a cast iron skillet. I melt 3-4 Tb butter, and brown at least half an onion in it. The onion needs to be chopped small enough to hold in the dough circles easily, but big enough to remain flavorful. Not minced, not finely chopped, but diced small. When the onions are brown, then add 2-3 cups or more of sauerkraut with juice- the kind with just cabbage and salt, whatever you have. Simmer until the the sauerkraut brine has evaporated, and the filling is moist enough to hold, and dry enough to keep from falling apart. It should not taste too dry. Check flavor and add butter, salt, and/ or pepper until you like the flavor.
Now it's time to roll out the dough. Flour your surface, and pick up, knead, turn, and rotate the dough as needed to get it about 1/16 inch thick, or possibly thinner if that is your preference. Find a glass that you can use to cut out the circles- different people make different sizes. I'm NOT one to make tiny little pierogi!
Fill each one by putting filling on half the circle, and folding the other half over it . Seal by pressing firmly with your fingers, or by crimping with a fork. Use a few drops of water to help seal, if desired. You will find out pretty quickly, how much filling is enough and how much is too much! It is really best to chill them for a while in the fridge, covered, to set the seals. You can even freeze them to accomplish that.
Boil them in salted water that has come to a full boil. The boil will die down, then come back. The pierogi will rise to the surface when done. Sometime, I let them boil another minute or less at that point- you'll see how it goes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain gently. I don't boil all of them at once- maybe 1/4 to 1/2 at a time.
What you do next is up to you. They can go from draining , to a heated platter in the oven , and then be served with melted butter and fresh breadcrumbs/ cracker crumbs. My late husband's family did it that way. I ALWAYS brown onions ( sliced then halved or quartered, so they hold flavor) in plenty of butter, salt and pepper. Then I brown the pierogi in with the onions. There is a certain flavor I'm looking for- I adjust until I have the right amounts of butter, salt and pepper. It's not for the faint of heart, lol!
Of course, these are then served with sour cream or the equivilant.
You can make up fillings with beef, pork, chicken, cabbage, mushrooms, cheeses, and fruits etc. You can put an apricot half, a whole cherry, etc, in the pierogi instead, for a dessert filling. Prunes and plums are traditional. You can use prune butter, which is really thick. Be sure your fruit is really well drained.
Those are all the guidelines I've used. Most people figure out their own favorite way. Keep in mind, these recipes are meant for varieties of wheat, potoatoes, etc, that come from Eastern Europe. Be mindful of how humid/ how dry your ingredients are- it varies through the year. Be careful not to blast your pierogi in the boiling water in such a way that they fall apart right away!
The only time I ever had a total peirogi failure was when I tried to use Alex's family's dough recipe. My technique is pretty forgiving- I was 22 yrs old and winging it when I made the first batch without any recipes! I gave y'all a lot of pointers for " perfection" but they do not have to be perfect.
The first time I made these, I was pregnant. I had never been shown how to make them- my mom did not do it- I ate them as a guest with my friends growing up. I used ww pastry flour, homegrown potatoes, and homemade goat cheese from our goat yogurt. They came out GREAT! I was craving parsley and dill, so I added that before serving. I did not use any recipe at all, though, like I said, I later often switched to using the Strong Pasta Dough as I was sometimes too busy to be intuitive in the kitchen. See what works for you.
Mary LD
Haflingers- You can't have just one!
( I'm just one short of a drill team!) |
| MaryLD |
Posted - Oct 01 2010 : 06:09:13 AM
Sorry I missed your post, Melanie!!
I will for sure post the recipe when I have a bit more free time to type. I have too many chores today, and a hair appt , to top it all off!
Do you have the newer Joy of Cooking, from maybe 2001 0r 2002 + -? I use the " strong pasta dough" recipe from that cookbook, to make the dough. When I was younger, I would just wing it on the dough, but life gets busy, and sometimes I just have to follow the recipe . The important thing is for the filling to be just moist enough- too moist, and the pierogi will fall apart when boiled. It have never had a problem where it actually came out too dry.
I grew up on the potato/ farmer's cheese pierogi, so I tend to make those. I've never done meat or fruit fillings. My late husband loved the sauerkraut and browned onion filling, and I fell in love with those, too! I boil then, drain, then brown with onions in enough butter, salt, and pepper to make them perfect. I go light on sour cream due to my allergies- the whole basic pierogi recipe has the milk/ egg ingredients I must avoid. But life is short- so- I have to live it if full form , including pierogi!
I'll post the recipe when I can.
Mary LD
Haflingers- You can't have just one!
( I'm just one short of a drill team!) |
| melody |
Posted - Sep 28 2010 : 8:07:07 PM
Oh. I am so glad Suzie! Your friend is going to love the way the plum butter turns out!
Mary-----------I would love to have you post your pierogi recipe my DH and I ADORE them! Which do you prefer meat filled or potato? Do you garnish with a little sour cream?
Melody |
| cheneygal |
Posted - Sep 28 2010 : 7:14:07 PM
Melody, what perfect timing, I had a friend that was given a box full of plums today and she's racking her brain trying to figure out what to do with them, sent her your recipe.....hope that was o.k. and I know she'll be thrilled!!!
live, laugh, love |
| MaryLD |
Posted - Sep 28 2010 : 6:59:33 PM
I'll need to rustle up some plums and apples before too long!
I'm Polish, but grew up far away from family. I have to say, I do make a pretty mean pierogi!
Enjoy the yumminess! I've got pears in the crock pot , with pear butter on the horizon!
M LD
Haflingers- You can't have just one!
( I'm just one short of a drill team!) |
| melody |
Posted - Sep 25 2010 : 07:23:00 AM
My great-grandmother on my fathers side was a wonderful Polish lady.
I scoured the internet and then ended up just winging it. The neat thing about this recipe is that you don't strain the fruit pulp-which contains all those wonderful bits of plum peel! And the fact that I just coarsely chopped the plums (minus the pit) and the Wolf River apples put them in a big crock pot on low added some cranberry juice and let it slowly cook for about 6 hours made it so easy and I didn't have to stand over the stove, I could get other stuff done!
I had some this morning on whole wheat toast-it was not runny like some apple butters are, but had a thick fruit spread consistency-because it cooked nice and slow--The color of this butter is outrageous!
Pretty nice results considering this is only my second attempt at fruit butter! I am thinking this would be a great little Christmas basket with some of my freshly baked English Scones----
Melody |
| MaryLD |
Posted - Sep 25 2010 : 05:08:07 AM
I am jealous, jealous, jealous!!!
Are you Polish? Where did you get the recipe?
Mary LD
Wish I had some plums and apples at the ready!
Haflingers- You can't have just one!
( I'm just one short of a drill team!) |
| Annika |
Posted - Sep 24 2010 : 7:00:29 PM
Oh! it sounds just yummy. Pear butter is nice too!
I'm going to go to the farmers market and get some and try my hand at canning =)
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
|
|
|
