SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GOODIES...

My "online friend", Sandi, has a wonderful Christmas dinner tradition - phrohy or as I know them "perogies". She was kind enought to share her family recipe with me & allow me to print it here for you to see &, hopefully, try for your family.

Pyrohy are the Ukrainian equivalent of Italian ravioli, also known as varenyky in the eastern parts of Ukraine and pierogi in Poland.

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Corps d'elite -
Sandi's Perogies/Pyrohy...

"Perogies are made by first making a dough which you roll out and cut into circles. The filling I make the most is potatoes, velveeta cheese, fried onions just until they are soft, salt and pepper. You stuff each circle with the filling, pinch the edges and boil them. We eat ours with sour cream and fried onions. You can freeze them as I do on a cookie sheet, then bag them. Whenever you feel like having some you just take them out of the bag and fry them in a bit of butter - oooh yummy. I also make a meat perogy which is a Lithuanian dish, which my dad taught my mother how to make. This time the filling is hamburger meat, rice and fried onions with a bit of oregano, salt and pepper. You stuff each circle the same as above, pinch the sides and boil. These are to die for."
"Some people use cheddar cheese, but I find it too bitey so I use Velveeta. Others use potato and cottage cheese and those are good too, but of course, one always has a favorite and ours is the Velveeta ones. Then there are some who use sauerkraut and rice - now I like those, but my family does not so I don't make them just for just me......"

Sandi's Dough Recipe...

1 1/2 cup water
3 tbsp. cooking oil
1 egg
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Combine water, cooking oil, and egg, blend well. Then add flour, and salt. Knead dough, adding the last cup of flour until smooth and soft. Put in a lightly-oil bowl, and cover. Let dough rest for about 20 minutes.

Roll out on a floured board, thinner than for pie crust, and cut out with a round cookie cutter, or I use the top of a glass that is about 2 - 2 1/2" across.

Put approximately a tbsp. of the filling on it. Fold over forming a half circle and pinch the edges together with the fingers to seal in the filling. Place each one on a clean tea towel while making them.

Drop into a pot of boiling water. Do not cook too many at a time. Stir with the back of a wooden spoon so as not to break them, yet to keep them from sticking to the bottom. Keep stirring lightly until they start to boil.

When they are cooked, they will float to the top, about 10 minutes.

Remove them with a perforated spoon to a colander and drain thoroughly.

Place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with melted butter, toss very gently to coat the pyrohy evenly with butter to prevent them from sticking together.

I usually put a lid on and kind of gently flip them in the bowl to make sure they all get the butter. Serve with sour cream or fried chopped onions sauteed in butter until golden.

SANDI IS MY EBAY GROUP FRIEND. HER TRADE NAME IS "roses*and*whimsey". See her offerings @ RASPBERRY ROSE SELLERS CLUB site. http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=rrsc

THANK YOU SANDI!!