Y'all remember Jennifer Lohmann, right? She's the 2010 RWA Librarian of the Year, and we had a Photoshop contest to celebrate, playing with the cover of Karina Bliss' What the Librarian Did. The entries were amazing, and the winner is still one of my favorite cover mockups ever.
I've done two book events at the Durham County library branch where Jennifer works, and she's still hosting romance reading groups, and trying to reach more romance readers through her job at the library.
But dudes, guess what? SHE WROTE A ROMANCE! Jennifer's attendance at RWA inspired her, and her SuperRomance Reservations for Two came out this month!
The heroine of her book, Tilly, is the chef/owner of a Polish restaurant, and there's a LOT of Polish food in the book. So when she approached me about doing a celebratory giveaway of pirogi, there was NO WAY I was passing that up.
Why pierogi? I had to ask.
Jennifer: A couple years ago, you had a giveaway for a road trip kit for a Kristan Higgins book and I though, “If I get published, I'm giving away pierogi to people!” The heroine of my first book is a chef at a fancy Polish restaurant in Chicago so there is a lot of pierogi. A friend called the book Pierogi and Prejudice.
Anyway, outside of the okay kielbasa you find in the meat section of your grocery store, pierogi are usually people's first exposure to Polish food. While there are versions in pretty much all central and eastern European countries, they are the quintessential Polish dish and people associate them with Poland (they are the Polish national dish).
What would you tell someone who hasn't had pierogi before?
Jennifer: For someone who's not had pierogi before, they are a filled dumpling with an unleavened dough that are first boiled and then fried in butter. They can be sweet or savory, with traditional fillings of cheese (sweet or savory), sauerkraut, mushrooms, or potato.
Like all beloved dishes, there are millions of recipes–one for each babunia in Poland and babcia in the United States. If you have some in your freezer, they make a wonderful dinner with a little sour cream, applesauce, and sauerkraut.Add a little kielbasa if you're feeling flush (pierogi are peasant food). Fry some breadcrumbs in butter for a topping and you are in Polish heaven.
Let's Do This! It's Pierogi Time!
The winner of this here contest shall receive a pierogi sampler from Piast Meats & Provisions. That's five dozen pierogi – which can be frozen, should you wish to space your pierogi madness over a few months of eating time. Plus, you'll also get a copy of Jennifer's book. You can eat pierogi and read about pierogi, as Jennifer says.
Five runners up shall receive a copy of Reservations for Two, ( A | BN | K | S | iB ) digital or print (winner's choice).
This contest is open to anyone in the US, including Alaska and Hawaii. Alas, shipping pierogi internationally does not appear to be an option. (I'm sorry!) Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and prepared for pierogigasm to win. By submitting an entry to the contest as set forth herein, each entrant does acknowledge and agree that, in the event such entrant is victorious, such entrant will perform a ceremony reasonably appropriate to such circumstance, including, without limitation, the Miposian Dance of Joy or, in the alternative, Gangnam Style. Contest winners will be chosen at random at noon ET Friday 15 February 2013.
To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us what food best represents you. The heroine opens a Polish restaurant and so much of the food represents who she is. So, what food is most “you?” Chocolate? Kugel? Your grandmother's stollen? Share and you're entered to win.
Congrats, Jennifer – let's feast on pierogi!
Pasta. All pasta, all the time.
Potatoes. Pretty much any potato dish ever made.
I think the food that is most like me is my homemade quick breads—everyone loves them, and thinks of me when they think of that type of baked good. BUT, I will say that I love Polish food—my great grandparents were born in Poland, and I still love pierogies with a passion, and kielbasa. Dang, are they good.
Pirogues!! Ok, very hungry now and planning a trip to the store. My Polish grandmother made sure I know how to polka, so I will do that if I win. Surprised how many of us there are on the list.
And maybe they don’t eat pirogues with sauerkraut in Poland, but in Chicago, on Sundays, we’ve had pirogues and kielbasa and sauerkraut all at once (with lots of butter, and cream). (No wonder Grandma had a massive coronary.)
I make a triple chocolate chip cookie (which is what I will give away here when I publish) that is complex and not too sweet, with cocoa powder, melted semi and bittersweet chocolate, and chips. Over time, the recipe has evolved to be the closest approximation of my personality I can manage in food. But now reading everyone else’s, I’m wondering if I need to experiment some more…
Food is my enemy and my beloved. But if I were going to hire a food to represent me in court, it would have to be the noble potato. Doesn’t everyone have a starch of choice? Bread people, pasta aficionados, rice lovers, etc. Basic, often shoved into the background, falsely considered bland, your favorite savory carb can define your life. Every potato dish I’ve ever had is connected to at least one memory and can summon up visions of loved friends and family who are now gone. Plain boiled in their jackets when I was a kid, mashed under a glorious deluge of gravy on holidays past & present, home fries in a black iron fry pan at the back of Gramma’s stove, patates en sauce escargot at the inlaws’s, potato salad (mine is superb) on summer picnic tables and at work pot lucks. And hey! Pierogies haz potatoes! Sounds like fate to me!
All the best to Ms Lohmann! I look forward to reading her freshman effort.
This is a fantastic giveaway with lots of funny comments! I’d be a lasgna – many-layered, a little acidic, kind of meaty, and VERY cheesy. 🙂
I’m Polish! Pierogi all the way! Though also cheese. Because I am cheesy. #obviously
Pizza dough is easy. Put 1 pkg yeast and 1 tsp sugar in a bowl and cover with 1 cup warm water. Let stand until yeast is foamy. Gradually add 2 cups flour, blending with a wooden spoon. Knead until no longer sticky (you may need to add more flour.) Coat with olive oil, set in a clean bowl, cover with a dishtowel and let rise for about 10-15 minutes. This will make one thick-crust pizza; for a thin crust divide in two. Press into an oiled pizza pan and let rise for about 10-15 minutes again. (The longer you let it rise the thicker the crust.) Put on the sauce and toppings and bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes for a thin crust or 20 minutes for a thick crust; take it out when the edges are golden brown. Enjoy! 🙂
I have to go with blintzes!
thanks for the fabulously fun and tasty giveaway! I’d have to say general’s chicken. Not just b/c I’m asian, but b/c I’m got a secret kick 🙂 But then again, I’m a pasta nut. So maybe I”m secretly Italian under the asian 🙂
Homemade New York style cheesecake…you can make it in the time it takes the oven to preheat 🙂
This is the best giveaway EVER!!! Boring as it may sound at first, I think salad best represents me. A little bit of everything all jumbled together into something colorful and healthy. I’m super healthy for folks, just like a vitamin!
I’m also Polish (and Hungarian, with a bit of Romanian for good measure). My grandmother made kreplach instead of pierogi, though. I think almost every culture has a somewhat similar food. Ravioli, pasties, dumplings—it’s all variations on a theme.
I think a sandwich. Simple, easy to make and has a million permutations. And when you’re feeling lazy you can always go with plain old peanut butter. But you can dress it up, make it country or rock and roll – whatever suits your mood. Even better, no cooking has to be involved!
Coming from a Polish family – a pierogi giveaway is awesome.
I am a Zuni-style chicken roasted over bread, which is my go-to dinner – perfect classic domestic comfort that can also clean up well enough to be classy for company.
I am best represented by banana bread, my go to recipe when I have to bring a treat to work. Easy to make with ingredients in the pantry or freezer. If only it didn’t have to bake for an hour. On the opposite end of the fragility and time-consuming scale, biscuits made from the recipe in Farm Journal Breads cookbook. They always turn out well and bake in 12 minutes.
spaghetti & meatballs!!
I am 1/2 Polish and have not had pierogis in quite a while—I would be thrilled to win platter.
A pan of brownies made from deep dark chocolate represents me. No nuts – no frosting – nothing frou-frou – just straight on simplicity that speaks for itself.
I’m German so I suppose beer? But my husband is Chinese and our kids will be mixed. So maybe a dish like beer-infused stir-fry chicken or something. 🙂
I am very crusty bread with a soft interior 🙂
Grilled burger with onion, bread and butter pickles, and a side of potato chips, and a brownie for dessert. Oh wait, you said a food, not a menu.
Hey, me too! I’m German, my hubs is Chinese, yep on the kids. Coincidence that we read SBTB and enter pierogi contests?
Orange chicken I make in my crockpot. So delicious.
Potatoes. Why? Because they are Samwise Gamgee’s favorites. And Tolkien is the reason I ever started writing.
OH, it would have to be my grandmother’s Pierogi. LOL. with my dad’s sauerkraut. YUM!
OH, it would have to be my grandmother’s Pierogi. LOL. with my dad’s sauerkraut. YUM!
How funny! What are the odds of that??
Food that represents me best: Chocolate chip cookie with nuts. I am a grown, adopted Army brat who lived all over the U.S. and other parts of the world. Like so many service brats, my ethnic background didn’t make any difference—we were all just 7-hr. olds, 9-yr. olds, 10-yr. olds, etc. Our common denominator was the fact we were Army brats and proud of it. Chocolate chip cookies are the same: they go by different names in different parts of the country, and their ingredients may differ a little. But at the end of the day, they’re still wonderfully all-American.