PEROGIES and EXPERIMENTS (Bryan calls this thinking outside of the pot.)

The problem with deciding to work my way through Savella’s cookbook is that some of the recipes don’t sound appealing.  But you never know, right?  Even though boiled chicken is boring, I thought the 2 and ½ hour cooking time for Tyshkovana Koorka (Stewed Chicken) might result in a thick, savory sauce.

Green beans would be one side dish; a family favourite.  For the other, and some guaranteed zest, I decided to make Lemon and Cheese perogies by adapting a recipe from HELLO magazine, April 23, 2012.
  

RESULTS: 

1.  Tyshkovana Koorka:  The chicken was tender but not mushy (except for the skin, of course, which everyone discarded as unappetizing).   There was so much juice in the pot that, even after adding flour, it was more like soup than gravy – it was tasty and we should have removed some and reduced it.   Consensus:  okay

(My mother probably would have loved it.  She always kept her own chickens and there was often one in a pot on her stove.

Mom never forgot the first chicken she cooked.  After wringing its neck, she scalded and plucked it.  Then it got up and ran away.

2.  Lemon and Goat Cheese Perogies: 

-          a big hit with one of my daughters; the rest of us are not big fans of goat cheese

LEMON AND GOAT CHEESE PEROGIES  

DOUGH:  Add ¼ tsp turmeric and zest of 3 lemons to the dough.

FILLING: 

300 g goat cheese

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp chili flakes

½ tsp black pepper

GARNISH FINISHED PEROGIES

1 tbsp grape seed oil (instead of butter)

2 tsp rose peppercorns, crushed

1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

zest of 1 lemon

*Not necessary to serve sour cream with these.