pierogi

There's really no definition for it/them, whether you're talking about just one or many.

Pie.ro.gi - noun \pi-'ro-ge\
plural    pie.ro.gi


They are, simply, half-moon-shaped dough filled with some kind of savory filling (like cheese, potatoes, or sauerkraut), boiled and then pan-fried in butter. They are the ultimate comfort food. After all, what could be more comforting than anything pan-fried in butter?

In case you were wondering: Yes, that is an entire stick of butter.

Grandma Betty, my stepmom's mother, first made them for me. They have always been my favorite of her dishes, even back when I would put ketchup on them (an almost-unpardonable sin, forgivable only because of my childish naivete). When she came to see our baby for the first time, she brought two 1-gallon bags of frozen pierogi with her, and on Sunday we cooked them.

First, we diced an onion and melted a stick of butter in the pan.

Then, we sauteed the onions in the butter and put the frozen pierogi in the boiling water until they float.

Once they float, boil for a minute or two then carefully transfer them to the butter and onions to fry up.

Once they get a little cooked, take 'em out...

...and serve with pepper and sour cream (no ketchup!).

You can add even more butter if you want...just check out the half-used stick on the counter in the background.

They were buttery, cheesy, potato-y, savory...delicious. The best baby gift we could have gotten. 

Comfort food for a growing family, born out of a family's rich ethnic-cooking heritage.

Grandma Betty's family immigrated from what is now the Czech Republic when she was a young child, and brought with them a culinary history, including pierogis. Sadly, we American's don't have this kind of heritage. Our food culture is a bastardized mongrel cuisine. (Not that it's always bad...it does provide some great combinations, though, like the Caribbean-Mexican fusion restaurant, Chicora Alley.) But we don't have any culinary tradition upon which to draw, unless you count fried-anything in the South. 

Maybe that's why Suzy and I enjoy ethnic foods so much. Thai. German. Mexican. French. We love it all. The only food we don't like as much is American. Call me un-patriotic, but most of the time I would rather have curry, rouladen, enchiladas, or duck confit than a hamburger...even with freedom fries.