Two kinds of onions and NOT a family recipe! The onion marmalade was included in a Christmas goody box sent from Massachusetts made by Eileen. Linda was on fruitcake production. That ones a recipe held close. See the loaf wrapped in a rum soaked cloth. Homemade gifts are the best.
I had to write to ask the best way to use the onion marmalade as it was new to me. When my sister read the proposed list, she suggested The chips and dip option. I had a vat of sour cream on hand, can always count on Steve to provide the chips and couldn’t have been easier! Or tastier!
Method? Stir in. Eat. If you have leftover, it’s even better the next day.
No questions necessary to inquire how to savor the fruitcake. Thank you friends.
Come January we’ll be longing for these tomatoes. The taste of summer.
My friend R stopped by the other evening and shared these fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes. Just picked!
Olive oil, chunky chopped onions and a couple of garlic cloves. Threw in the remaining cherry tomatoes (we’d been popping them in our mouths, unadorned)
Butter is key! (With a bit of olive oil so it doesn’t burn)
Basic potato and cheddar Pierogies. When I first moved to Pittsburgh the idea of mashed potatoes in dough turned me. Ha! Now it satisfies every carb craving that manifests itself in February.
A bit too much sunlight on the eggs but they were a reddish color.
My sister made these beautiful colored eggs. She peeled the paper skins off a mesh bag of yellow onions, down to the onion part. Boiled the eggs and skins together slowly for a long time. The eggshells became a rich reddish color. After the dinner on Monday we played the egg game, trying to crack the other person’s egg with yours. Fredi suggested using the smaller tip like a torpedo. His coaching worked for me and my egg was the winner, although the other guests might have felt it fixed, with the hostess’s sister winning! You win if your egg remains uncracked at the end of the game. Mary said it had Armenian and Greek roots (the egg game.) A competitive group!
You know these are Mrs. T's from the Giant Eagle freeze case, so now a reason to buy more, shoot and re-post!
Dough filled pockets-
not limited to a single culture.
Let’s count the ways-
ravioli, empanada,
spanikopita in phyllo,
pelmeni, samosa, burekas,
and a pasty. Does strudel count?
I’m sure
you can think of more.
Meatless Fridays in Pittsburgh. It’s Lent. Last week in the Post-Gazette there was a list of fish fries all over the city and outskirts but let’s talk Pierogies. You drive by churches with signs out front (pierógi, pyrogy or perogi) or you can buy them at Pierogies Plus or at the Polish Deli in the Strip. When I first moved here I had never eaten one. I watched Marianne’s mother, Olga make them from scratch. The boys loved eating them. And in time I started eating them, too. Then I wanted to try to make them. Marianne told me how to get the right potatoes and a certain cheese. I made them once for a Polish Christmas party at someone’s home. Last fall I saw Arleen make them at Christmas, by hand, parboil them and freeze them for the holiday.(see below) The whole concept of noodle/pasta dough filled with potatoes did not appeal to me but I was uninitiated. They can be filled with sauerkraut and other fillings but potato and cheese are the most popular. I am not sure how many I could eat in a sitting but the butter and onions really satisfy that urge for hearty meals with fat. One time I shipped a couple of dozen to Florida when the family lived there. Something my mother never cooked when I was growing up. At the baseball games they have Pierogi Races. No kidding. See below.
Arleen Makes Pierogies for Christmas
Pierogies Race at PNC Park during the baseball game. (Well, during a break!)
