On Christmas Eve, Pass The Pierogi And The Memories
Sometimes it takes years to get a family recipe right. And in the meantime, new holiday traditions emerge, like arguing over how to seal "Grandmom's" Slovakian pierogi perfectly.
In 2004, after three decades of serving Slovakian-style holiday dinners, my grandmother declared that she was done. Since no single person could match Grandmom's culinary prowess, the rest of the family did our best to divide up her dishes. For our Christmas Eve meal, my father learned to make the opening course—a lima bean soup. We purchased the dessert, a nut roll called kolachi, from a nearby Ukrainian church. For our main course, pierogi, I took the lead. I was entirely unprepared.
Pierogi look simple enough. These half-circle-shaped dumplings are made from dough stuffed with filling and boiled. The filling varies across the Central and Eastern European countries where pierogi originate. There are savory
