Today I have a treat for you! Luscious, buttery Lobster Pierogi, with a rich corn puree that’ll knock your land lubbing socks off! OMG, this is manna to the thousandth degree, and I am so happy after eating a plate of these about an hour ago!
That being said…
Have you ever had kitchen equipment, whether it be a gadget or something electric, just sitting around gathering dust because you never use it? You hold on to it anyway because who knows, you might need it one day, right?
Well, I had a box of plastic pierogi sealer/crimpers taking up room for years. I never used them, and frankly, never thought I’d ever be making pierogi from scratch. SO, after letting this box take up room for way too long, and since I couldn’t even give them away, I trashed them a few weeks ago.
Well, whaddya know, this month the Daring Cooks are challenging us to make pierogi! #$%^!!!
I had no idea how much I’d need those pierogi sealer/crimper doodads since I was confident I could make a pretty crimp, not unlike some of my pie crusts, but no dice. I really, really thought I could easily fold and crimp these pierogi without tearing, but, again, no dice. OH, how much time I would have saved with those plastic pierogi sealer/crimpers, and how much dough wouldn’t have been wasted!
It’s official, I’m a really bad pierogi sealer.
Once again, #$%^!
Alright, enough bitching because they’re gone, and I need to make pierogi, and well, I do a pretty good job with Asian dumplings, so this shouldn’t be difficult. HA! OKAY, I’m starting to bitch again, so it’s time for this amazingly delicious lobster pierogi. Aesthetics aside, they really ARE that good, but please excuse the sloppy plating and over-browned pierogi. I’m not loving this entry at all. You can’t even make out the beautiful corn puree around the plate underneath my sad, artificial lighting (it looks like a ring of something infectious). UGH.
The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.
I knew I wanted to do some kind of seafood pierogi from the moment I saw what the challenge was, and instantly recalled a recipe for lobster pierogi by Micheal Symon that I’d bookmarked. Once I looked at his recipe, it all came together instantly. I could take his lobster pierogi filling and give it a ‘clambake’ theme, minus the clams (lobster>clams, at least for me).
If you’ve ever been to a clambake, whether it be on the beach, at the pool, or in someone’s kitchen, a huge steam pot is partially filled with sea water and seaweed, then topped with potatoes, corn, clams, and sometimes lobsters and other seafood. This amazing pot of gold is steamed over a fire, then dumped on a paper covered table for all to gorge on with fingers and loads of napkins.
If you’re clam and/or lobster baking on the beach, never mind the seagulls trying to pilfer a claw or clam from your hand, the sand in your bathing suit, and the wind blowing even more sand into your scalp and eyes, because it adds to the ambiance.
Clambakes on the beach are the best!
So, sometimes it’s just a lobster bake, and that’s what it is when it comes to my pierogi; a froo-froo lobster bake, but with a down-home, old country feel and taste. I know lobstah is usually associated with New England, particularly Maine, but we have clam and lobster bakes here in the NY-NJ area too, so I’m standing put and making these pierogi rep-re-sent!
Plus, who doesn’t love lobster? Baked lobster tails drenched in butter was a favorite of my paternal grandfather, so I started early since we spent so much time there! I can still see him in his huge, regal chair with his pipe, waiting on my grandmother to ply us with lobster heaven! He also loved Nesselrode pudding, and there’s a funny story about it. He opened the fridge one day and saw a bowl filled with what looked like Nesselrode pudding. He took a huge spoonful, then started spitting it into the sink, and rinsing his mouth incessantly.
It was schmaltz, also known as pure chicken fat.
Anyway.
You can enjoy them just boiled, like above, but a good sear in melted butter, after boiling, with caramelized onions (or sauteed shallots, for these), is the way to go.
Before I go on, I want to inject some of that ‘old country’ into this entry. Being of Russian descent (along with several other international bits and pieces, including a bit of Polish, conjointly known as mutt), I grew up being able to sample some of the best pierogi and varenyky from scratch. I never considered making them myself because I felt there was no way I could duplicate them, and I was spoiled with the best. For years, I’ve stuck with frozen pierogi doctored up with fried onions and sour cream, and that was more than good enough to satiate my pierogi cravings.
I had a glimmer of hope when I thought of a lovely lady from Poland (you can see her in my DB pizza entry ; the blonde lady tossing the pizza dough), who is a recreational director/kitchen deity at the rehab facility I stayed at for my knee. When I was there, she told me she would teach me the magic of pierogi whenever I wanted. Unfortunately, I was released before that happened, and wasn’t thinking about pierogi upon my return home since I had to focus on getting my knee in working order.
I thought about calling her when this challenge was announced, but then decided to try and teach myself, which I’ve pretty much done since I was 13 when it comes to cooking and baking. Well, teach myself via reading/watching and learning from many amazing chefs, such as Jacques Pepin, my idol.
SO, here’s my take on this pierogi challenge. Using a filling recipe from Michael Symon via Food & Wine (I used the Russian dough from the challenge, although Symon’s dough is awesome), and taking a few of my own liberties, I cut up 8 ounces fresh, steamed lobster (the recipe called for only 4), and used a purple potato along with a yukon gold for the filling. Bad idea, but in retrospect, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I had no clue that instead of a beautiful purple-y, buttery, creamy potato-lobster filling, I would end up with a gray buttery, creamy potato-lobster filling. I suppose the yellow of the yukon gold with the purple doesn’t quite make for purple.
Then something weird happened. After boiling the pierogi, as you can see in the photo above, the grayish hue disappeared, and the potato filling was almost white upon cutting.
Any scientists out there care to explain?
Having said all that, instead of adding corn to the potato-lobster filling, I was inspired by a recipe in Art Culinaire from Charlie Trotter, and decided to make a corn puree/sauce for my lobster bake pierogi, and serve it alongside and on the plate, topping it all off with some shallots sauteed/softened in clarified butter, and butter poached pieces of lobster. I must say, I LOVED it. Rich, fattening, comfort food in Loboutin heels!
If you’d like the Daring Cooks recipe for basic Pierogi, click HERE.
If you’d like my recipe for Lobster Pierogi, scroll on down!
FINALLY, time to announce the winner of the Hamilton Beach 1.5 QT ice cream maker. I REALLY wish I could give everyone who commented an ice cream maker – but keep checking back as there will be more giveaways to come! For this one, Random Integer.org decided that Charlene gets the ice cream maker! Congratulations, Charlene – the peaches and gingersnap ice cream sounds awesome! I’ll ship it out to you as soon as I get your address. Just reply to my email with your info. 🙂
NOTE: A few people entered after I already generated and posted the winner, so it was 89 people at the time. For those who missed it by a nano second or more, keep checking back as there will be more giveaways to come!
Lobster Pierogi
Corn Puree recipe adapted from Charlie Trotter via Art Culinaire
Try these with other seafood like shrimp, crawfish, monkfish etc.
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 4 oz Yukon gold potato
- 1 4 oz purple potato (of course you can use another yukon gold if you can't find purple potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons half-and-half or heavy cream
- 6-8 ounces cooked lobster meat, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- 3 stripped cobs of corn, kernels reserved
- 1 quart of cold water
- 1 tablespoon clarified butter or olive oil
- ¾ cup fresh corn kernels
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 1½ cups corn stock (ingredients and directions above and below)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional - I didn't use it)
- 2 more tablespoons clarified butter (you can use unsalted melted butter if you'd like)
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream with 4 tablespoons of the butter, the egg, the chives and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Using your hands, work in the flour. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into two 6-inch disks, wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, boil the potato in water to cover until tender, about 20 minutes; drain. Peel and press through a ricer or sieve into a medium bowl (note - if you use a ricer, you don't need to peel the potato because it takes the peel right off when you rice it through). Stir in the 2 tablespoons of butter and the half-and-half until smooth, then add the lobster meat. Season with salt and pepper and let cool completely.
- In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the cobs and water to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat and cover with a round of parchment paper. Maintain a simmer for one hour.
- Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve, then return the strained stock to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium and simmer stock until reduced to about 1½ cups. Remove the corn stock from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. Reserve until ready to use.
- In a small saute pan, heat clarified butter or olive over medium heat. Add the corn kernels, garlic and shallots and saute until soft, about 45 seconds. De-glaze the pan with white wine and simmer until dry.
- Transfer mixture to blender and add ½ cup of the reserved corn stock. Puree until smooth, then strain through a fine mesh sieve and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Season corn puree well, then add in ¾ cup of corn stock and cumin, if using. Using an immersion blender or just a regular blender, puree the corn mixture, drizzling in 2 tablespoons of clarified butter, until light, foamy and slightly creamy. Add some or all of the remaining ¼ cup corn stock for desired consistency. I poured the puree into a squeeze bottle for easier plating, but you can spoon it around the plate or just serve alongside to dip the pierogi, or let your guests spoon it out and plate it the way they want it. This corn puree also pairs well as an accoutrement to so many other dishes, savory AND sweet!
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 piece of the dough to a 15-inch ( I prefer the dough a just a tad thicker, so I rolled it to a 12 inch round) round about ⅛ inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter or a glass, cut out 12 to 15 rounds. Brush each round lightly with water and spoon 1 scant tablespoon of the lobster potato filling in the center. Fold the dough over the filling to form half moons, pressing out the air; then press and crimp the edges to seal. Arrange the finished pierogi so they don''t touch on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Drop the pierogi in boiling, salted water and cook until they float to the top. If frozen, let cook a little more after rising to top. If desired, fry in some seasoned, melted or browned butter for an even richer treat!
- The pierogi can be refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 1 month; do not thaw before cooking.
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Mouth watering! Screw the steaks I’m about to grill. You got me craving Pierogi’s now. 🙂
just loved your pierogis. Seem so tasty and delicious. I didn’t like MY pierogis that much. Pehaps I’ll give it another try with you filling recipe.
Awesome photos.
These look FANTASTIC! I think they should be featured in Gourmet magazine! I only have had pierogis once, made by my son-in-law (who lived in Poland for a couple of years) and I cleaned my plate:)
Congrats to the winner!
Those pierogis look so good, no matter if you had problems seaking them! Great job nonetheless!
Cheers,
Rosa
Lobster pierogi – so decadent!! They look amazing!
Love the little claw peeking out. Looks like you taught yourself how to do it very well!
Wow those look delicious! I love me a clambake so I’m definitely getting the vibe of these. Great job on the challenge!
Lobster perogies sound great. I love the clam bake theme. We have similar feast but with crab.
Lobster pierogi — how decadent! They’re beautiful. I just make the potato and cheese-filled ones. My aunt’s mother-in-law is Polish and she taught my aunt to make pierogi. My aunt makes them every Christmas Eve… she does potato and cheese and sauerkraut. About 3 or 4 years ago, she taught me how to make them. I’ve made them twice since then and really enjoy the experience. I’m looking forward to some down time this fall so I can make a huge batch and freeze them. I love frying them up with butter and onions. Also, I don’t get picky about perfect circles and crimping… I just cut the dough in squares and fold them. They have that rustic, homemade look that way… and I don’t drive myself crazy!
Thanks for the ice cream maker – I am looking forward to many wonderful days with homemade ice cream. Those pierogis look fabulous and I am Polish and love them. I have never tried lobster stuffed ones, but am going to give these a crack.
Oh wow! These are absolutely gorgeous and delicios I bet as well. Lobster filing .. yuuummmmy! I would love to try this out.
YOU. ARE. HILARIOUS!! I would have been frustrated about the pierogi crimpers too! Nonetheless, your pierogis look perfect!! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, I’m finally back from vacation and trying to catch up! I LOVE pierogis and have the recipe for wonderful potato, mushroom & caramelized onion ones on my blog – for the little bit of Russian in both of us! But WOW Lobster? Woot woot I want to come to your fancy faux clambake – without the sand in the swimsuit! These are perfect and sound so delicious! Cute putting the corn in the sauce. I’m lovin’ this Lobsterbake…
Missed you!
These look so darn delicious LIsa. I’ve never had pierogi before but I think I’d like them. At least I’m sure I’d certainly like your very decadent version!
Gorgeous pierogies! Reminds me of some lobster ravioli I made once upon a time. I was making peach ice cream in my sad hand-cranked model when I remembered to check if I won. Bummer that i didn’t, but your photos make a visit so fabulous.
🙂
Oh my… I love lobster (born and bred New England girl, I’ve got brine in my veins!), and wanted to do something like this for the challenge, but since I’m living in Germany now, no dice. I’m so glad someone did lobster, and so creative with the corn and potato accents! Really beautiful, and it sounds like it was kept simple enough to let the lobster really shine!
Oh wow, your pierogis are yummy looking not to mention decadent! Butter+lobster=yumminess!! Love the pictures-excellent job as usual!
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I would love to try your seafood filled pierogi!!! What a beautiful plating and photos 🙂
Thank you for taking part this month!
Cheers. Anula.
I have never heard of pierogi! It’s times like this when I would love to be in Daring Cooks but I suffice with Daring Bakers and follow your recipes from Daring cooks! These look delicous!
Va VA VOOM!!! Lobster pierogi! does it get more decadent!! LOVE it!!!
Hey I am a part Russian mutt too 😀 Well I think you are too hard on yourself, OMG lobster pierogi. Me want some. I think everything looks awesome. Too funny about the crimpers gone bye bye. I got rid of mine years ago as well.
Oh, Lisa, your pierogi look so luxurious and flavourful! Love them! I wish I’d had time to get my hands on a crimper, as I agree these were a lot of work… but well, yours look beautiful even without the gadgets!
Hahaha, I hate when that happens! I try and keep things simple myself, and not have too many do-dads with singular purposes, but it never fails that the second you decide you no longer need something and get rid of it then you need it! Oh well, your crimping looks great anyways! 🙂 I’m not a seafood person by any means, but your pierogis look good enough to eat! 🙂
I am sorry, but I have to laugh about you being disappointed in the pictures/presentation for this entry, because, well, I would be THRILLED if my pictures came out that “badly”!! Your lobster pierogi sound fantastic, and the corn puree was a great idea. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful work, as always.
Gourmet and pierogies are not usually words found together but your lobster ones with the corn puree and buttery lobster parts (and HOW idd you balance the chives in the photo!?) are truly gourmet.
Elle, just stuck them behind the lobster claw meat 🙂 It was a last minute, last ditch effort photo lol
Awesome job!
I’ve cooked purple potatoes before and had them turn grey uponm mashing as well. No idea why.}:P
I love the idea of a seafood pierogi- except I’d have to use crabmeat instead of lobster, as I hate lobster. }:P
I think nearly everyone who’s had commercial pierogis has had Mrs. T’s.}:P I don’t think there’s another commercial brand as well known, lol.
Well, I have to tell you…. I have been seeing those pierogi makers in my kitchen store for a long time now and I’ve always wondered what on earth they were for. To be quite honest I thought they were maybe for squeezing lemons… :)) (seriously..it could be right??) Until I saw the entries for the daring cooks and some photos of the pierogi makers and I thought “aha!” Would I have made them myself I would have know even earlier, but again… not so…. 🙁
Yours look absolutely delicious!
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Thanks for dropping by, Lis. Glad you enjoyed the challenge, and thanks for the opportunity to co-host this one. Lobster pierogies? My! Aren’t we fancy?… Good job. My mouth is watering….
Congratulations to the winner…and the pierogi looks delicious filled with lobster…love the photos 🙂
OMG – beautiful! Great photos – they leap off the screen. What a great idea for my next attempt. Well done.
Wow, these lobster pierogi definitely look 5 Star! Excellent!
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Lobster! And it is lobster season in Maine right now…. Your photos are gorgeous and I cannot believe how lovely these look. I can only imagine how they taste. YUM!
🙂
Valerie
OMG – lobster pierogi??? YUM!!!
The lobster concoction looks incredibly appetizing along with your FIVE STAR presentation.
A big applause on a very highly succeeded challenge.
Lisa, you certainly can cook with the very best of them ;o)
Ciao for now and flavourful wishes,
Claudia
Your pierogis look beautiful, even without the crimp. I’m sure they tasted amazing.
Another thing you can do to make them easier to make is using a “samosa maker”…which would allow you to make several at a time, with nice clean edges and a uniform shape.
Ok that is like the best DAMN pierogi I have ever seen. Crowds are cheering. Or at least I am. GIrl- you got it goin on!
Great picture! Yum!
Love what you’ve done with these! We were so sorry to miss the challenge this month, since it sounded like such fun. This seafood girl is swooning 😉
gorgeous creation. would it be wrong of me to just consume copious portions of that corn puree? 🙂
Oh wow mmm this looks delicious 😀 😀 i love lobster, ive only ever eaten it once, i wish i could have it more often
Beautiful photos. I love the way you have styled the pierogis. I’m not a fan of seafood outside of crawfish and shrimp (one of those rare individuals, I know, who doesn’t LOVE lobster) but there ya go. I won’t let that stop me though…I can think of lots of other flavorful foods to stuff mine with! I have some langoustines I’m going to use to make these!
I can’t begin to tell you what this blog is doing to me at almost 1 am! Love the photography! I’ve never seen a more mouth watering plate of pierogi Where I used to live in PA, we were able to get pierogis and cheese.AKA macarogies. Mac and cheese but with pierogis instead of macaroni! I bet yours would be amazing in a cheese sauce! — H-T-G.
Yum! These look so good! I was so busy I missed out on entering your competition 🙁 I’ll have to keep a more eager eye out 🙂
I’ve wanted to attempt pierogi for years, and this sounds like an amazing version! A lobster bake in a pierogi is decadent in so many ways. Wish I could grab a few off the screen.
The lobster pierogi looks so yummy!! I love your plating and the way you “paint” the corn puree sauce. Simply beautiful!
And by the way, I am smiling hard reading paragraphs about your crimper incident. I consider bitching is an artform or comedy?? 🙂
Sawadee from bangkok,
Kris
Your PIEROGIS look the best!! Waw!! What a lovely art of fab food!
The lobster creation looks absolutely fabulous!! Georgous pictures,…right from a top end gourmet magazine!
Kisses from Brussels!
You’re crazy, these look fabulous! Oh how I wish I hadn’t developed a shellfish allergy because lobster is a favorite and these look worth the effort.
I never knew pierogies could get so elegant! Lovely!
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Wow yum! Beautiful photos
well written post, bookmarked, I’ll check back later.
yumii.. i’m hungry….nice recipe. I’m sure they tasted amazing.
They do! Can’t go wrong with lobster in most anything! 🙂
So, we jumped in feet first when we decided to make homemade pierogi, and boy are we glad we did!Since lobster wasn’t on sale, but shrimp was, we made these with shrimp, and they were incredible!Thank you for this great recipe and thank you for motivating us to take the plunge to become pierogi makers!
Thank Michael Symon, Ken! But I’m so glad you tackled his pierogi recipe head on and succeeded! Shrimp sounds amazing!!