Vereniky

I spent yesterday at my mom and grandmother's house making our traditional Ukrainian Christmas meal: Vereniky (better known in the U.S. by their Polish name, pierogi.)

Every year, the women in my family get together a couple weeks before Christmas and crank out hundreds of these simple yet satisfying dumplings, as well as ushka (much like mushroom tortellini), which are served with borscht on Christmas Eve.

We make two varieties of vereniky...one with potato and cheese filling, and one with sauerkraut filling. They are the main dish on Christmas Eve, and are served boiled, with fried onions and a dollop of sour cream.

Last year I graduated from the vereniky assembly line to making the dough, which was my job this year as well. I had long been intimidated by it (no one wants to be responsible for making a crummy dough and having the vereniky fall apart when boiled), but now that I've got it mastered, I've got the know-how to carry on with the tradition for decades to come.

Because honestly, it just wouldn't be Christmas without home made vereniky.

P.S.-Although I haven't had them in years, vereniky can also be sweet...filled with cherries or blueberries, and served with melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Definitely going to have to try and make some this summer!

P.P.S.-If you ever want to give it a shot, Martha (whose mother was Polish) has a whole bunch of recipes and tutorials on her website.