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 Apple Ginger Pierogi 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. My go-to solution for dessert is always apples and ginger.
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped apple
1/2 cup minced ginger
1 Tbsp plain or vanilla yogurt
2 tsps cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
Mix together filling ingredients and chill completely before use.
 Apple ginger pierogi with fruit dip Sift together seasonings and 2 cups of flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add a little water at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough and let it rest 20 minutes.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or as thin as you can go) cut with a 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (tablespoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, in a single layer in the pan. Return to the boil and reduce heat to medium. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes), until they’ve started to puff out.
Toast in a toaster oven at 375F for 10 minutes or until puffy and light brown.
Shown here served with a fruit dip (2 parts yogurt, 2 parts cream cheese, 1 part confectioner’s sugar.
Just. Wow. Yum. Apples and ginger always win for me.
 Cardamom chicken pierogi 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. This recipe is inspired by Elise’s Cardamom Honey Chicken
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp sherry
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
Mix together filling ingredients and chill completely before use.
 Cardamom chicken pierogi Sift together seasonings and 2 cups of flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add a little water at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough and let it rest 20 minutes.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or as thin as you can go) cut with a 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (tablespoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, in a single layer in the pan. Return to the boil and reduce heat to medium. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes), until they’ve started to puff out.
Toast in a toaster oven at 375F for 10 minutes or until puffy and light brown.
I’m not sure if it was the honey or the sherry or, really, I have no idea… but the dough was very chewy after it was cooked. I’m glad I enhanced the flavor of the chicken with flavored dough; a very worthwhile experiment.
I couldn’t come up with a sauce to serve with these (for dipping or on top). Sour cream didn’t at all taste right.
 Spaniko-pierogi 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. Potatoes are local to me (my state ranks “first in per-acre yield of potatoes, far above other potato-producing states and countries, and 57 percent more potatoes per acre” than Idaho), but I thought I’d go with spinach (which my region has 2000-3000 acres dedicated to seed growth alone).
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
1 bunch of spinach, cleaned, rinsed, separated and drained
1/2 c feta cheese
1/2 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until golden brown
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
Chop spinach leaves into “salad size” pieces. Place in a large, microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. The spinach should wilt to about 1/4 of the original size. You may want to drain in a colander. Let cool 3-5 minutes. Scoop your wilted spinach up in one clump if you can and cut it into bite sized squares. Transfer to a towel (or a pair of paper towels), and attempt to squeeze the remaining water out or let it drain in the towel for 5-10 minutes.
 Spaniko-pierogi in the toaster oven Mix together with remaining filling ingredients and chill completely before use.
Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little water at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough and let it rest 20 minutes.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or as thin as you can go) cut with a 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (tablespoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, in a single layer in the pan. Return to the boil and reduce heat to medium. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more (usually about 5 minutes), until they’ve started to puff out.
Toast in a toaster oven at 375F for 10 minutes or until puffy and light brown.
I find phyllo dough to be expensive if purchased and a real pain to make from scratch. This works for me, and it’s awesome.
There’s a difference in using fresh spinach versus frozen spinach, and that difference is mostly moisture and texture. If you’re not sure how to clean fresh spinach, check out this vegancoach tutorial.
 2-inch "Baked Potato" Pierogi 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.
Makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings
Traditional Polish recipe, this is Anula’s family recipe
Dough Ingredients
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup lukewarm water
Filling Ingredients
3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too)
1 cup cottage cheese, drained I went with cheddar, and I omitted the Tbsp of melted butter
1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear I went all the way to gold and sweet, with 1/2 tsp of garlic, too
3 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy
1 egg yolk (from medium egg) Bah! I put the whole egg in!
1 tablespoon butter, melted omitted
1/4 teaspoon salt I put 1/2 tsp.
pinch of pepper to taste 1/4 tsp it is.
1/4 tsp of ground rosemary
 2-inch "Sweet Potato Pie" Pierogi 1. Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it‟s best to use one‟s hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.
2. Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You‟re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.
3. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) 4-inch round or glass. Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.
5. Serve immediately preferably with crème fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.
6. Fry in a pan with melted butter until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes… OR toast in a toaster oven 10 minutes or until puffy… OR bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until puffy.
I freeze mine on a cookie sheet before boiling them, and I just increase the cook time by 2 minutes if it’s frozen when I first put it in – no problem. I was really favoring the boiled-then-pan-fried method, until I thought I’d test out the toaster oven; boiling then tossing in the toaster oven makes a nice puffy, soft, slightly chewy pierogi and has less oil than the pan-fried. Every cook method I’ve tried has been incredibly tasty, so long as I boiled them first, before doing something else, and they taste fine just boiled, too.
I found that I liked the 4-inch circular cutter over the 2-inch cutter. The difference is a tablespoon of filling in a 4-inch or a teaspoon of filling in the smaller one. If you’re looking for bite-size, go with the 2-inch cutter; we prefer to make them finger-food rather than bite-size, and the 4-inch works for me. Cooking time is only increased by a minute or two, depending on how big the boiling pot is and how many pierogi are in the pot!
Other filling ideas:
meat and cabbage … soybeans … sauerkraut, mushrooms and carrots …
sweet potatoes and marshmallows … fruit …
 Beef with Curried Tomato Almond Sauce The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a savory recipe. The original recipe given called for chicken, I used beef, and I substituted heavy cream in place of milk.
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
24 ounces beef, cubed or diced
Salt to taste
Spice Blend:
1.5 tablespoons (20 ml) garam masala seasoning
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) black pepper
Sauce:
4 tablespoons (60 ml) butter
1 large onion, cut in half pole to pole
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce/425 g) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup (80 ml) almond butter
1/2 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
½ to ¾ cup (120 to 180 ml) chicken broth or water, more as needed
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
 Almond Cream Directions:
Mix together almond butter and heavy cream in a food processor or blender (or whisk until smooth). Set aside.
Stir garam masala, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.
If desired, pound meat to ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness to promote even cooking. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the meat; sauté 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Cook the meat in 2 batches, adding more oil if needed for second batch. Set aside on clean plate and keep warm.
Melt the butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for several minutes to infuse the butter with onion flavor. Keep the heat low to avoid burning the butter; a little color is fine. Add the spice blend and garlic and cook for 1 minute or till fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the tomato sauce, stir well, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Whisk in almond cream until thoroughly combined with tomato sauce. Return to simmer. Add broth (or water) to sauce to reach desired consistency; return to simmer. Add more broth (or water) as needed to thin sauce as desired.
Transfer sliced meat to sauce. Simmer gently for a few minutes until meat is heated through.
Serve meat and sauce over rice. Garnish with chopped parsley and/or sliced almonds if desired.
As this is, I couldn’t possibly label it as Indian, but it definitely has an Indian flavor to it. So if you’re looking for something reminiscent of Indian food, and you’re not a fan of cumin or fenugreek, this is definitely a winner.
 Pecan Cream The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a savory recipe.
It looks like stroganoff with tofu, and it could be.
One 14 ounce package of tofu, cubed
1 recipe of pecan butter (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup heavy cream, or more for a thinner sauce
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp minced garlic, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
sage, thyme, or rosemary (optional)
Mix pecan butter and heavy cream in a food processor or blender (or whisk until smooth). Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Cook the onion 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, then lower the heat to medium-high until well browned (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for one more minute.
 Pecan Cream Tofu on noodles with mixed greens, cheese, and chopped pecans Add tofu and cook until most of the moisture is gone from the pan, and the tofu is brown on all sides (about 10 minutes). Add pecan cream and any herb seasonings, and bring just to a boil.
Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or noodles.
Try it with meat instead of tofu. Add mushrooms, if you like (I don’t like).
 Pecan Butter The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a savory recipe.
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans*, toasted
3/4 tsp salt, more as needed
1 – 2 tsps vegetable oil (optional)
Instructions for nut butter, by Margie and Natashya:
Pour nuts into bowl of food processor. Grind the nuts in the processor until they form a paste or butter. The nuts first turn into powdery or grainy bits, then start to clump and pull away from the side of the bowl, and finally form a paste or butter.
The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes (assuming a starting volume of 1 to 2 cups [240 to 480 ml] nuts).
You may add oil as desired during grinding to make the nut butter smoother and creamier or to facilitate grinding. Add oil in small increments, by the teaspoon for oily nuts like cashews or by the tablespoon for dryer/harder nuts like almonds. You may use the corresponding nut oil or a neutral vegetable oil like canola. The inclusion of salt in the nut butters is optional and to taste. If you make nut butters from salted nuts, peanuts or cashews for example, you will not need additional salt.
 Almond butter made with toasted almond slivers (no skins) It’s helpful to keep in mind that the yield of nut butter is about half the original volume of nuts. If you start with 1 cup nuts, you’ll get about ½ cup nut butter.
Roasting the nuts before making nut butters is optional according to your preference. To roast nuts in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/Gas Mark 4). Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until nuts are fragrant and a shade darker in color. Allow nuts to cool before grinding. Roasted nuts will make butter with darker color than raw nuts.
 Curried beef with vegetables on rice The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a savory recipe.
1 pound sliced beef
14 ounces (1 can) coconut milk
2/3 cup peanut butter or other nut butter*
1 carrot, sliced or julienned
1/2 bushel of fresh spinach, rinsed well
1/4 cup Thai red curry paste or more to taste
1/4 cup soy sauce (or 2 Tbsp fish sauce)
1/4 cup loose (not packed) brown sugar
1 Tbsp chopped onions (optional)
1 Tbsp vegetable or other oil
* To make your own nut butter, process in a food processor an amount of nuts equal to double what the recipe requires. In this case, I used 1.5 cups of salted, unshelled peanuts, and processed until a smooth paste formed. Some nut butter might require oil (to process and make smooth) and salt (to taste).
This is a stirring-constantly stir fry.
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Add onions (it should sizzle) and cook until clear or golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Add sliced beef and cook until brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes. Add curry paste and mix well until all pieces of meat are coated.
Add carrots, coconut milk (remember to shake it before opening it!), and peanut butter. Stir well. Add soy sauce and brown sugar, mix well, and cook until it just starts to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking until the carrots are tender or desired doneness, 5-10 minutes. If you like your carrots firm, skip the reduction.
Add spinach and stir well until the spinach wilts and is completely covered in sauce.
Serves 4-6.
This is a little more sauce than there is food to coat, so if you have more vegetables, you should probably add them.
The flavor of your red curry paste will vary, so use caution if you don’t like a lot of heat. I never put seafood anything in my curry paste, and I always use the full amount of peppers, because you never know if you’ll get “lame duck” peppers instead of the good hot kind you really want.
The June 2010 Daring Cook’s Challenge was hosted by Evelyne, of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie, of The Chocolate Bunny, and they chose delicious pâté with freshly baked bread.
I served my vegetable pâtés as individual pâté instead of a layered block. I’ve included the red pepper recipe I skipped, as well as my version of the other two layers.
 White Bean Layer Yields one 25 by 12,5 cm (10 by 5 inch) terrine or loaf pan
Line your pan with plastic wrap, overlapping sides.
White Bean Layer
16 ounces cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained thoroughly
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2 garlic cloves, pressed
salt and pepper to taste
Boil beans in large saucepan for 30-60 minutes, until soft. Drain thoroughly. Mash beans in large bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and garlic and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread bean mixture evenly on bottom of prepared pan.
Red Pepper Layer
7-ounce / 210 ml jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, chopped
3/4 cup / 180 ml crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)
Combine peppers and feta in processor and blend until smooth. Spread pepper mixture evenly over bean layer in prepared dish.
 Pesto Layer Pesto Layer
2 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup ricotta cheese, partially drained
Mince garlic in processor. Add basil, parsley and pine nuts and mince. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube and process until smooth. Mix in ricotta. Spread pesto evenly over red pepper layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To unmold, invert pâté onto serving platter. Peel off plastic wrap from pâté. Garnish with herb sprigs and serve with sourdough bread slices.
I lined my cupcake tin with saran wrap, placed pecans and almond slivers in the bottom of some cups, then filled them with bean, pea or pesto mash. After chilling in the refrigerator overnight, I gently flipped them out onto my cutting board to make cute little mini pâtés.
I kept them in the freezer until an hour before I was going to use them. Over the course of few weeks, I tried each of these with pita bread, whole wheat bread toast, and a variety of crackers. The bean layer tasted best with some cream cheese on a pita, and the pesto layer tasted great on everything (I love basil and pine nuts).
 Pea pâté The June 2010 Daring Cook’s Challenge was hosted by Evelyne, of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie, of The Chocolate Bunny, and they chose delicious pâté with freshly baked bread.
Adapted from Sesame Sweet Pea Spread in 356 Ways to Cook Vegetarian by Kitty Morse.
10 ounces petite peas
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and cook onion and garlic until softened (3-4 minutes). Add peas, sherry, and salt. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until peas are soft (4-5 minutes). Stir in lemon juice, and let cool 5 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, puree pea mixture. Add tahini and process until well blended.
 Pea Pâté with Pecans Serve chilled, formed or not.
I lined my cupcake tin with saran wrap, placed a pair of pecans in one cup, then filled them with pea mash. After chilling in the refrigerator overnight, I gently flipped them out onto my cutting board to make cute little mini pâtés.
This was the recipe I selected instead of doing the roasted red peppers from the DC challenge recipe. Maybe it was the sherry, maybe it was the tahini, I’m not quite sure, but something just didn’t seem right tasting to me after it chilled in the refrigerator. I liked it better warm, as a spread, than cold as a pâté.
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