(no subject)
I've got some time to kill before I head out, and I'd been meaning to put this up here since last semester -- a photo project on podoyskis that I did for a folklore class. I feel like I'm gaining weight just looking at these things.
Podoyskis are a Lithuanian meat dumpling, traditionally called kuldunai. I haven't got the foggiest where the name podoyski comes from - not even my family knows. It's just the name on the recipe card. So, podoyskis! You can stuff them with cottage cheese if you want, but that's just nasty, (edit Feb. 2011: This is a blatant lie; cottage cheese podoyskis are delicious) so we're gonna stuff 'em with meat instead.
You'll need 2 pounds of meat (we usually go for ground beef, but you could probably substitute ground turkey and get away with it. You're going to be filled to the top of your throat in calories either way!), an onion, a packet of meatloaf seasoning, a splash of milk, and 2 eggs. I don't want to be swimming in podoyskis, as hungry as the idea is making me, so I'll make a half batch. That'll feed a family of four just fine, and probably leave you with some leftovers.
Look, I made it pretty! Just like Paula Deen! btw, podoyskis are probably right up there in terms of "unhealthy" with the stuff Mrs. Deen-a makes. We only get them maybe once or twice a year, although it's for a reason entirely different than the carb count. You'll see.
Toss all that good shit in a bowl. I am such a good cook, I even forgot to put in the meatloaf seasoning! It looks kind of lonely in its bowl over there. Let's toss that in right now.
One of my favorite Cooking Mama games. Get good and dirty and mix that meat up.
All done! Put that shit in the fridge to chill, because chilled meat for some reason is easier to handle than lukewarm meat.
And that takes care of the filling. Let it chill for about 15 minutes or so - let's make the dough in the meantime:
I ... can't really offer much advice on the dough making front. I don't measure any of this when I make it, but I can tell you what I put in it? I use flour, water, and a few pinches of salt. You could probably start off with 3 cups of flour and make a dough from that; that'll be a good start.
Look, I'm Paula Deen again! I've got the filling, the dough, and rolling pins. This is where it gets fun - and when I say "fun," I mean you're going to be stuck doing this for four hours. Double that if you're making a full batch.
Bust out your rolling pin and get to rolling! If you're lucky enough to have a pasta press, using it will cut your preparation time in half. Press it to about level 5 or 6, you should be good. No matter how you go about it, just make sure you get to this end result:
A flat piece of dough on the table. You want it a little less than a half-inch thick. If it's too thick, it'll be difficult to twist and will fall apart while cooking. If it's too thin, it'll tear and fall apart while cooking. The key thing to avoid here is falling apart while cooking.
Cut the dough out into large circles. A biscuit cutter works pretty well - personally, I have my trusty old cleaned out can'o'vegetables that I keep around just for this purpose. I also stretch the dough a teeny bit so that it's easier to twist. Take a small piece of meat, roll it into a ball, and plop it in the off-center of the circle.
Have a glass of water, or a bowl of eggwash handy. Use the water/eggwash to moisten one edge of the dough circle, and fold the circle in half over the meat.
Now for the twisting! Hold the podoyski in your left hand, and with your right hand, pinch the top and fold it towards the meat filling, like this:
It'll create a little edge - pinch that edge, and fold it towards the meat again. Keep going ...
And eventually you'll come out with something that looks like this:
Congrats, you made a podoyski! Now chop chop, you've got a billion more to make:
The most annoying part about this is making sure your podoyskis seal correctly. That means no meat can touch the edges of the dough, or it'll fall apart and result in a broken podoyski.
So, if you're doing this by yourself: You roll out the dough, you wash your hands. You place the meat, you wash your hands .. you twist the dough, you wash your hands..
When you're done, put them in the freezer. Again, they're easier to handle cold/frozen than they are warm and with squishy dough. It only takes maybe ten minutes to freeze them solid.
When they're nice and frozen, get a pot of boiling water going, and pop 'em in frozen. Just pace yourself with them, though. A few frozen podoyskis will kill the boil, and it's very important that the water remains constantly boiling so they can cook properly. Make sure to give your podoyskis plenty of space, too, because they like to stick to each other and tear as they cook.
You'll know they're ready when they start to float to the top.
Now there are two sauces that my family uses with podoyskis. One is the traditional sauce: Cook a pound of bacon (half pound for this recipe), toss in some chopped green onions, and dump the bacon + grease + onions over the podoyskis. I told you this was Paula Deen healthy!
Your other option is to just dump a jar of Ragu over the podoyskis. Don't make your own spaghetti sauce though, that'll make my great grandma turn over in her grave.
Well, it's been half a day of hard work! It is finally time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Also, enjoy your constipation. I like to think it's worth it, personally.
Podoyskis are a Lithuanian meat dumpling, traditionally called kuldunai. I haven't got the foggiest where the name podoyski comes from - not even my family knows. It's just the name on the recipe card. So, podoyskis! You can stuff them with cottage cheese if you want, but that's just nasty, (edit Feb. 2011: This is a blatant lie; cottage cheese podoyskis are delicious) so we're gonna stuff 'em with meat instead.
You'll need 2 pounds of meat (we usually go for ground beef, but you could probably substitute ground turkey and get away with it. You're going to be filled to the top of your throat in calories either way!), an onion, a packet of meatloaf seasoning, a splash of milk, and 2 eggs. I don't want to be swimming in podoyskis, as hungry as the idea is making me, so I'll make a half batch. That'll feed a family of four just fine, and probably leave you with some leftovers.
Look, I made it pretty! Just like Paula Deen! btw, podoyskis are probably right up there in terms of "unhealthy" with the stuff Mrs. Deen-a makes. We only get them maybe once or twice a year, although it's for a reason entirely different than the carb count. You'll see.
Toss all that good shit in a bowl. I am such a good cook, I even forgot to put in the meatloaf seasoning! It looks kind of lonely in its bowl over there. Let's toss that in right now.
One of my favorite Cooking Mama games. Get good and dirty and mix that meat up.
All done! Put that shit in the fridge to chill, because chilled meat for some reason is easier to handle than lukewarm meat.
And that takes care of the filling. Let it chill for about 15 minutes or so - let's make the dough in the meantime:
I ... can't really offer much advice on the dough making front. I don't measure any of this when I make it, but I can tell you what I put in it? I use flour, water, and a few pinches of salt. You could probably start off with 3 cups of flour and make a dough from that; that'll be a good start.
Look, I'm Paula Deen again! I've got the filling, the dough, and rolling pins. This is where it gets fun - and when I say "fun," I mean you're going to be stuck doing this for four hours. Double that if you're making a full batch.
Bust out your rolling pin and get to rolling! If you're lucky enough to have a pasta press, using it will cut your preparation time in half. Press it to about level 5 or 6, you should be good. No matter how you go about it, just make sure you get to this end result:
A flat piece of dough on the table. You want it a little less than a half-inch thick. If it's too thick, it'll be difficult to twist and will fall apart while cooking. If it's too thin, it'll tear and fall apart while cooking. The key thing to avoid here is falling apart while cooking.
Cut the dough out into large circles. A biscuit cutter works pretty well - personally, I have my trusty old cleaned out can'o'vegetables that I keep around just for this purpose. I also stretch the dough a teeny bit so that it's easier to twist. Take a small piece of meat, roll it into a ball, and plop it in the off-center of the circle.
Have a glass of water, or a bowl of eggwash handy. Use the water/eggwash to moisten one edge of the dough circle, and fold the circle in half over the meat.
Now for the twisting! Hold the podoyski in your left hand, and with your right hand, pinch the top and fold it towards the meat filling, like this:
It'll create a little edge - pinch that edge, and fold it towards the meat again. Keep going ...
And eventually you'll come out with something that looks like this:
Congrats, you made a podoyski! Now chop chop, you've got a billion more to make:
The most annoying part about this is making sure your podoyskis seal correctly. That means no meat can touch the edges of the dough, or it'll fall apart and result in a broken podoyski.
So, if you're doing this by yourself: You roll out the dough, you wash your hands. You place the meat, you wash your hands .. you twist the dough, you wash your hands..
When you're done, put them in the freezer. Again, they're easier to handle cold/frozen than they are warm and with squishy dough. It only takes maybe ten minutes to freeze them solid.
When they're nice and frozen, get a pot of boiling water going, and pop 'em in frozen. Just pace yourself with them, though. A few frozen podoyskis will kill the boil, and it's very important that the water remains constantly boiling so they can cook properly. Make sure to give your podoyskis plenty of space, too, because they like to stick to each other and tear as they cook.
You'll know they're ready when they start to float to the top.
Now there are two sauces that my family uses with podoyskis. One is the traditional sauce: Cook a pound of bacon (half pound for this recipe), toss in some chopped green onions, and dump the bacon + grease + onions over the podoyskis. I told you this was Paula Deen healthy!
Your other option is to just dump a jar of Ragu over the podoyskis. Don't make your own spaghetti sauce though, that'll make my great grandma turn over in her grave.
Well, it's been half a day of hard work! It is finally time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Also, enjoy your constipation. I like to think it's worth it, personally.