Pierogies and Patriotism
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Los Angeles,
California,
United States
Monday, July 6, 2009
This is a blog post written by Cristina Francisco-McGuire complete with a recipe for pierogies!
"I've spent all of my 4th of July's since undergrad on the east coast,
searching for the highest rooftop decks and the most capable grills so
that my friends and I can char some poor cuts of meat, drink cheap
beer, and generally celebrate our nation's independence in true style.
This seems to be par for the course for the average New Yorker and
though I love the decadence of it all, I often find myself wistful for
the celebrations of my youth in Chicago. 4th of July was synonymous
with the Taste of Chicago, a week-long eating extravaganza featuring
booths from pretty much every restaurant in the city. No one thinks
to build up to the 4th in New York - all of our eating and drinking
efforts are saved for the day-of. But in Chicago, you have cochinita
pibil tacos on Monday, an Italian beef on Tuesday, and so on, until it
is July 4th. It's not enough to kick the Brits out of the country -
we have to out-eat them too, and really be assholes about how much
better the food became after they left.
My favorite booth growing up was Kasia's Pierogies. Since Chicago has
the largest Polish population in the world outside of Warsaw,
pierogies are pretty standard fare and in retrospect, I probably
should have been more adventurous. But there was something so
comforting about stuffing your face with cheese and mashed potatoes,
all cozy inside their dough-y blanket. Nothing beat standing in a
god-awful line, crammed in with sweaty Chicagoans, waiting in 90%
humidity for 4 little pierogies.
In honor of our nation's independence, I decided to get back to my
roots and make some pierogies. Not for any rooftop barbecues, mind
you - I was going to horde these all to myself the way I used to when
I was 10. Because nothing says 'liberation' like the sweet, sweet
malaise brought on by an overstuffed belly and cheese burps. So for
your next 4th of July, try doing it Chicago-style - sparklers and
roman candles with a side of elastic waistband jeans...."
Get the recipe on tripwolf's blog:
