The Other Woman Cooks

Looking for easy ooohs and awwws?  Whip up this elegant and filling vegetarian treat.  Halved in size they make a fabulous "heavy" appetizer. Started out as a puff pastry tart, but the bottom never quite crisped up.  If there's one thing I cannot abide, it's a soggy bottom. A minor brainstorm and tada ... savory puff pastry hand pies! Mushroom, Leek, Goat Cheese Savory Hand Pies Ingredients: 1 package puff pastry, thawed 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 tablespoon EVOO 2 small leeks, white & pale green parts (halved lengthwise  then thinly sliced  crosswise, rinsed & drained 4 or 5 large chopped white button mushrooms salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup goat cheese 1 tablespoon ground parmesan 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves flour (as needed for rolling) 1 egg white (mixed with 1 teaspoon water as egg wash) Directions: Place oven racks in top and center positions. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt butt...

The women in my husband’s family were expert pierogi makers. His late aunts were part of a still ongoing brigade of the tasty Polish dumpling makers at St. Stanislaus Parish - a church so beautiful it is designated a minor Basilica.  More savory cabbage and sweet cheese pierogi are sold the weeks before Easter and Christmas than the ladies ( and a few talented men) at our parish can keep up with. It helps to have an “in” with the pierogi making crowd for advance notice of when there’s a batch ready for sale. A successful pierogi purchase feels like a Pat’s touchdown in the last moments of a tie game.  And if you’re really lucky enough to be the recipient of your Polish aunt’s cookbook with a variety of sweet and savory pierogi recipes to be cherished, and celebrated by making them at home.  Thank you, Cioce (pronounced Chutchee) for your lifetime love of cooking and us. Blueberry Pierogi DOUGH 2 cups plain, all-purpose flour 1 tbsp powdered sugar...