There's no question we love Pierogis in Chicago. With such a strong Polish culture in our city, we've all likely tasted the traditional dumpling which can be made with either sweet or savory fillings. But have you ever made Pierogi at home?
Casey Barber wants you to try. The food writer is bringing her love of the little dumpling to The Chopping Block in a hands-on cooking class on Sunday, September 13 at 10am at our Lincoln Square location. She'll instruct students on how to make the perfect dough out of flour, dairy and butter and put new flavor twists on it.
Barber's new cookbook "Pierogi Love: New Takes on an Old-World Comfort Food" contains 60 different recipes, evenly split between sweet and savory. While potato with cheese and sauerkraut may be traditional fillings, Barber's creations offer a modern take such as:
Barbequed Pulled Pork Pierogi
Photo Courtesy Casey Barber
Crab Cake Pierogis with Goat Cheese Remoulade
Photo Courtesy Casey Barber
Elvis (Peanut Butter, Banana and Bacon) Pierogis
Photo Courtesy Casey Barber
Nutella Pierogies with Bananas Foster Sauce
Barber will instruct students in our class how to make Brussels Sprout and Bacon Pierogi with Whole Wheat Dough and Apple Pie-Rogies with Oat Dough. Her book featuring the other recipes will be available to students the day of the class at a 10% discount.
I spoke with Barber from her home in New Jersey prior to her trip to Chicago about how she came up with the idea for this cookbook. She shares her best pierogi successes and some failed experiments. Read about our conversation at the Foodseum's blog The Red Fork.