Polish Pierogi & Sausage

Oh how I wish I could give you the recipe of how to make these!  But I have yet to perfect them.  You see, this is one of those simple but magical foods you have to have the touch to make properly.  Otherwise they taste like paste or rocks...  Real pierogies or pyrohy - or as I have heard it pronounced with a roll of the tongue "ped-o-he" - yes, its one of those things I try not to say in public like Worcestershire...

Anywhoooo, my in-laws (bless them) make a run a couple of times a year to their "old neighborhood" in the area where they grew up and raised the older half of their kids and visit a top-secret place to get "real" Polish sausages and these wonderful, glorious little patties of potato and flour heaven.  And they bring packages for all their kids' families - this year they brought twice as much - two giant sausages (like the 2 foot long kind) and two packages of pyrohy for us.  Which did not mean it lasted any longer in my house.  Even the kids learn early what's the good stuff in this family.  I did manage to hide one sausage in the freezer.

But I've had a lot of people ask about the best way to cook pierogies when you are lucky enough to find a place that sells the real ones - not those Mrs. T's imposters.  Sorry but those are nowhere close...  So here's how my mother-in-law showed me...

First, stick your frozen pyrohy in a pot of boiling water - the whole lump of it.  It will sink to the bottom.  Leave it alone.  If you try to break it apart, you will tear the delicate dough and the potato will leak out and you will have lumps of dough and potato water.  Stir around the outside so they don't stick to the bottom, but be patient and wait until they start to break apart on their own.  The cooked ones will start to float to the top.  Wait until they are all floating and then scoop them out into a colander or dish to drain.

While the pierogies are boiling, dice a large onion.  Take a generous lump of butter and melt it in a large saute pan or skillet.  Add your onions, add a little salt and pepper and saute until golden but not browned.  You just want them a little soft - not caramelized.  Remove all the onions and most of the butter to a small bowl and set aside.  

Add a little more butter to your pan (hey this is Polish not diet food here people).  Add your drained pierogies to the pan with the butter and saute about 2 minutes per side or until you get a little bit of golden crispy spots.  Serve top with butter/onions mix and a generous dollop of sour cream.  Those little onions make the dish perfection - they'll be little exploding bits of flavor and a little crunch around the pyrohy.

As for the sausage, bring water to a boil, plop it in whole and let it boil about 20 minutes while you cook your pierogies.  It should be ready just about the same time as your pierogies are done.  Let it rest a couple of minutes on the cutting board and then slice into 1-2 inch chunks on an angle.  That's good stuff, folks!