My godparents are Polish, and I have fond memories of there always being a side-dish of fried pierogi (filled dumplings) at their house. Pierogi also lent me its name for a short time in college, when in a game of "if you were food, what food do the rest of us think you would be?" my seven roommates decided that I was pierogi. Their reasoning was, "At first when you see it, you're like, 'This looks a little weird. I'm not sure about this,' and then later you try it and say, 'No, this is good stuff. This is stuff I like." Sort of a dubious honor, but there you have it -- for about a year, I was "Yogi" for short.
When I moved to Chicago with my bro, we lived on Chicago Avenue in the Ukrainian Village. Being short on funds and time, I often crossed the street to the small Ukrainian grocery for my dinner. Pierogi were inexpensive, and warm and comforting in the winter. And did I mention easy to make? Now they sell them in just about any grocery store. We get ours at Jewel. They have blueberry, sauerkraut, potato and cheese, and beef. These in the pic are "sweet cheese," and we liked them a lot. One day I may make these from scratch... Nah. Who am I kidding? The ones you buy fresh in Chicago (or Wisconsin) are delicious, and great to have on hand for a quick dinner. Why mess with a great resource for a fast nosh?
I just sautee some onion in a couple tablespoons of oil, and then I add the pierogi. I put the lid on, because the ones we buy are frozen. After a couple minutes, I turn them to the other side when browned. When the flip side is done, I add a drained can of sweet (Bavarian) sauerkraut and warm it through. I just gotta have mine with both applesauce AND sour cream!
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