I know that it's no longer July. I also know that celebrating Christmas in July is a bit tacky. But if you'll remember, this past Christmas we celebrated the holidays on the island, and one of the new Christmas traditions we enjoyed was Wigilia with R&M. One of our favorite aspects of Wigilia was the make-your-own pierogi station, so when MO suggested that we do a Polish at-home date night, we were all in.
But first! Sunset-watching rituals along Seven Mile Beach.
It's a good thing I don't use a traditional film camera. When I am being wooed by a good sunset, I can barely look away or stop clicking the shutter button, because every moment yields an entirely new masterpiece. I always end up with dozens of photos.
Anyway. I'll stop swooning and get back to the task at hand. Pierogi. (Which, Google just told me, is both singular and plural. Like "deer".)
Uh oh. Sidetracked again: Dips and "crisps" by MO (with a little help from Waitrose. Why not.)
Okay! Here we go. The foundation of pierogi is the dough. It requires just three ingredients, but someone in our party has been known to meddle with the ratios, so the all-important task was entrusted to RM.
RM's sous chefs made sure to remind him to keep the dough from getting too thin so that we could stuff it with the delicious fillings.
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| Various combinations of meat, cheese, potato, and bacon. What's not to love? |
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| Working for my dinner. Happily so. |
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| I hope you've reviewed the pierogi procedures, NS! |
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| Dough-master kneading away |
Soon we had enough to feed a crowd. Or at least several hungry boys (and girls).
We could barely cook the pierogi and set the the table fast enough.
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| A view of the sea during dinner suits me juuuust fine. |
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| A bit of traditional herring while we waited. I had seconds. |
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| Main course, perfectly done. |
Then, to polish off the meal (like that play on words?), I made one of my favorite summer desserts: Banana Cream Pie. Or possibly: Banana Pudding Pie. Basically, Nilla wafers, bananas, instant vanilla pudding, and Cool Whip.
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| Well, it did have layers. This pie isn't about presentation. |
I make a big deal about the food we eat on this blog. Eating is a pastime that never gets old, as there are always new flavors and combinations to experience, and besides, it's a well-known fact that I have to eat approximately five times per day. But what I love about mealtimes are how it brings people together. Ever notice how people tend to congregate in the kitchen? Some of my warmest, most genuine conversations took place around the dinner table. I'm comforted by the fact that while we live in Grand Cayman away from our families and childhood friends, we have friends that feel like family to share a meal, and some laughs, and a part of our lives. Whether it's pierogi or pizza, I'm just happy to see these faces at the dinner table.
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