Daring Cooks August Challenge

I recently became a member of the Daring Kitchen, and August was my first month to participate. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and definitely broadened my cooking horizons!

The August 2010 Daring Cooks Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n' Bites and Anula of Anula's Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale. The rules stated that both the dough and filling must be made from scratch, and could be either sweet or savory.

Even though it was my first time participating, I decided to accept all levels of this challenge and get started with a bang! To do so I came up with recipes for both sweet and savory pierogi, both with local fillings. For even more variation, I fried the savory pierogi after boiling, but served the sweet ones immediately after boiling.

I got the recipe for my dough from AllRecipes, since I had no idea where to even begin with that. I used the same dough for both savory and sweet pierogi.

Since I grew up in the woods with a father who loves to hunt, my first thought for a savory filling was venison. Not only is it tasty, it's all-natural, sustainable, as free-range as it gets, hormone/antibiotic/etc-free, and much more humane than farm-raised beef. However, you can't buy it in the store, so you have to go out and hunt some down yourself (literally), or be on meat-sharing terms with a hunter. I integrated my venison meat with a traditional Polish potato filling to create my own version. Here's my recipe.

Venison and Potato Pierogi

1 batch pierogi dough
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups cold mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 slices bacon
1 clove garlic
2/3 cup venison
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
sour cream for serving

  Directions:
Fry the bacon in a pan with the garlic and onion, drain, then put all in food processor and chop for a few seconds, until you get a "bacon-bits"-like texture.
Chop the venison into small pieces, brown in a pan (don't over-cook or it will be tough), then chop in food processor until it somewhat resembles pulled pork.
Stir bacon, venison, and all other ingredients into the mashed potatoes.
Roll out dough, cut out circles, place spoonful of potato filling in the center of each circle, fold over and seal edges with a little water. Press edges with a fork.
Place a few pierogi at a time in boiling water and remove when they float to the top.  Allow to dry on a plate for 30 seconds - 1 minute, then transfer to a pan with hot oil. Fry until browned on both sides, then serve immediately with sour cream.

These were really yummy and so satisfying! We ate them as a late afternoon snack/light dinner, and 3-4 pierogi each was enough to fill everyone up! Of course there was leftovers, but they didn't last long.

For my dessert pierogi, I also chose a local filling. My area is a big pecan producer, and the trees are everywhere. They also seemed like a suitable filling for a sweet dumpling filling. Here's the recipe I came up with for them.

Pecan and Ricotta Pierogi

1 batch pierogi dough
8 oz. chopped pecans
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated tonka bean

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup fat-free half and half
dash cinnamon

 Directions:
Mix pecans, ricotta, cinnamon, and tonka bean in a bowl and allow to sit for a while to meld flavors. To make the brown sugar syrup, heat the sugar, half and half, and cinnamon in a pot, stirring frequently, until all sugar is melted and you achieve a syrupy consistency.  Then fill and fold your pierogi as before, boil, and serve immediately, drizzled with brown sugar syrup!

I got the tonka beans through my first foodies' exchange with Gaia from Italy. They add amazing flavor to a variety of dishes, and I've had so much fun experimenting with them.

I hope you enjoy these pierogi as much as I did. The dough was a good bit of work, but I hear they freeze well. I didn't make enough to try freezing any, but I did eat some leftover the next day, and they were really just as good. It was a great first Daring Cooks' challenge!