Who doesn't love Pierogi? Peeling back my Polish roots with this delicious dumpling

Potato pierogis  (perogies) are definitely one of those ubiquitous bites. They appear on menus from fine dining establishments with uber chic presentation and posh ingredients like white truffles, all the way down to the humble menu at Swiss Chalet. For me perogies are just a part of my cultural makeup. My grandmother is from Poland - yes she's the same grandmother who refuses to throw anything out  from the post "Taste this ______ I think it's gone bad". Ever since I was a little girl I can remember perogies being present at Friday night dinners at my grandparents house. My grandmother would always serve them along side rice and peas. Not a traditional Polish paring but my grandfather is Jamaican so we always had an interesting combination of dishes at our dinner table. For years my grandmother has had us all fooled. We thought every Thursday night she would make her perogies from scratch but she really just popped by Regina's a Jewish food emporium specializing in Eastern European delights. In all fairness those perogies are pretty damn flawless - and I'm positive Regina or who ever  else works in that kitchen isn't cutting any corners. For my perogies I used dumpling wrappers to save some time, but it"s easy to make your own dough. You must, must, must serve these with sour cream with chives, and caramelized onions. 
INGREDIENTS: 
Yukon gold potatoes - peeled and boiled 
butter 
garlic (optional) - boil with the potatoes (1 clove for every 2 potatoes)
s & p 
milk - splash 
water - for assembly
onions - to be caramelized
chive - for garnish
sour cream - for serving
lemon zest - (optional) for sour cream 
dumpling or wanton wrappers - I used the round ones


For mash potato: 

COOK: In a pot with cold water, add potatoes and garlic. Bring to the boil and let simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Using a ricer or a hand masher mash your potatoes with a few spoonfuls of butter, splash of milk and s & p to taste. Let cool before assembling your dumplings. You can make this a day in advance.   


FILL: Set up an assembly line with water, mashed potato and wrappers. Use a demitasse spoon (small spoon)  for measuring how much filling. Place the filling on the wrapper - then seal them closed with water. Refrigerate, or freeze on a flat tray if you will be making the perogies later


COOK: You can boil the perogies in salted water until they float, then pan fry in butter, or you can double whammy them. This means keep a lid and a water squirt bottle close by. Start off by frying the perogie in a little oil/ butter then squirt a little water in the pan, and place a tight fitting lid on so its fry/ steams them at the same time. Cook until crisped on the edges, about a minute or two.