Amid a pandemic, a fond memory of in-person pierogi preparation

Two years ago, before we became circumspect about entering each other’s kitchens, my mom cleared her countertops and taught my daughter and me how to make pierogi. It was a day-long affair that included making dough from scratch; preparing four fillings (potato, sauerkraut and cottage cheese, prune, and mushroom); boiling the dumplings; then sealing, labeling and freezing each batch for the Christmas and Easter holidays, when they would be sauteed in olive oil and butter.

It was a heck-ton of work—a multi-step process I had been only vaguely aware of until I participated in person. It was also really fun. I loved reading my grandma’s handwritten instructions to mix the dough by hand until it felt “like velvet” and to cut the dough into circles with an empty, clean tuna can. Spooning teaspoons of filling onto dough circles, then folding them and gently pinching them shut, was relaxing. Eyeing the sheer variety of fillings, anticipating their flavors and textures, was a treat for the senses. We took photos along the way that day, documenting every step of the process, and, thanks to my mom’s efforts, we have a hardbound photo book that includes detailed instructions and some fun snapshots of a special October Saturday. Pierogi preparation wouldn’t have been the same on Zoom, of course, so I’m grateful we seized the opportunity when we did.

I’m not sure exactly how many generations of my family have made pierogi, but my own memories begin with devouring them in my Grandma Rose’s Northwest Indiana kitchen, sitting in chairs upholstered in turquoise vinyl, my short legs dangling in the air. As I grew up, I ate my mom’s pierogi every Easter and Christmas, not willingly tasting the sauerkraut filling until I was an adult. When my husband joined our family, he declared the prune to be his favorite. A couple of years later, my mom added Martha Stewart’s mushroom filling recipe into the mix: a mouthwatering, modern addition and my three kids’ filling of choice.