Two Cowboys: Every Individually Perfect Pierogi is Pinched by Hand in Airdrie, Alberta

The Little Things

When you work with dough, every batch is a little different. Only the trained eye and the sensitive touch of a master baker is in tune with the moods of the gluten gods. They all say that knowing dough is to understand its feel.

The perfect pierogi has the same demands for detail and attention. Emma Linton knows that to craft the ideal delicate shell of her creative flavour explosions, she has to pay particular attention to the dough’s consistency, bounce and stretch. She feels with her hands for when the mixture is perfect. Every pierogi is hand-crafted. She makes her pierogies the way its traditionally been made. She pinches them by hand.

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When she makes them by hand, she can trust each one to provide a thin, yet sturdy housing for her traditional and more adventurous fillings. The shell enhances the overall taste of the morsel, and it promises to remain closed so that no filling leaks out during steaming, cooking, frying or grilling.

Emma makes a lot of pierogies. She sells them at several farmers’ markets in and around Calgary. It is also available for online order through her website (http://www.pinchedbyhand.com) and delivery within Alberta.

We checked in to see how she does it and she obliged us with a privileged look into the inner-workings of pierogi making genius, by taking us through her processes. We are not divulging any secrets, but it is safe to say that as it is with all the simple classical recipes, it has a lot to do with the method of making and with the quality of the ingredients. In the case of pierogies, it also has a lot to do with practice and patience.

Pinching every one by hand is a tedious job. Why then the attraction is to do it? According to Emma, pierogi making was, and still is a family affair. It has a social aspect to it. It brings people together to collectively prepare food and share a meal - something that is quite unique to our species. When Emma makes pierogies, it brings her people together, and it is her hope and wish that it does the same for others.

Observations

Pierogi making is a lot simpler than most people think. A little dough, some filling, a bit of creativity, practice and patience and time with family and friends around the kitchen table.

Not only is it simple, it also allows small quantities of food to go a long way. If you have leftover meat or vegetables from another meal that you prepared, you can mush it together and work it into a filling for pierogies. Add some extra spices or flavouring sauces, and you will soon have your own style and unique pierogi creations. Freeze it to keep it and fry it up with lots of butter when it comes time to enjoy it.

If you are pinched for time and cannot go without your pierogi fix, then Emma will look after you. Enjoy her pierogies because it gives her a chance to come up with another recipe. Emma's pinched by hand pierogies comes with the Two Cowboys endorsement. It is that good!

Hendrik van Wyk 

Pinched Cowboy

 We earn our livelihood by producing great content and supporting inspiring people, businesses, and communities. Please book us here so we can tell your story too. If you want to see us do more of these, then please forward the favour. We will use it for the next episode to promote a local business or event.             

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Yum!

Market Day!

Traveling Cowboys: A Party in a Paddock at the 2018 Wairarapa Harvest Festival in New Zealand

Gourmet

Liz Pollock, the organiser of the annual Wairarapa Harvest Festival, referred to it as the party in a paddock. That was too modest. It was gourmet on the grass!

Sean Toohey of WilliamsWarn arranged with Liz for the last two highly sought-after media passes. The Cowboys were the lucky recipients. Now we could experience what rural New Zealand food festival life’s is all about. We were invited into the inner circle of rustic gastronomy. We thought we'd seen it all after covering countless food events around the globe. What we found was an absolute adventure in gourmet food and wine - in a paddock! It could easily have been a chef-hosted event on Granville Island. The produce, cooking and creativity were that good.

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The event took place at the sheltered riverside setting known as “The Cliffs” on the banks of the Ruamahunga River. It is a remote setting, amongst vineyards and under ancient trees. Remote enough for a noisy pino-lubricated hunger party, but also close enough for Wellingtonians to make the trek up the road for a little culture. Masterton and Carterton are both a stone’s throw away.

If you go by the numbers, it is not a massive festival. Around twenty-three eateries and wineries participated in the day-long festivities. They hosted just over two-thousand hungry and thirsty patrons. The tickets are limited we were told, to keep the festival small and personal. Everyone is guaranteed a sampling of what was on offer. There indeed was enough food and wine for everyone. Chairs and tables were in short supply. Locals knew that, so they brought their chairs, blankets and picnic cutlery.

The event sold out within two hours of tickets going on sale. It happened months ago already. The Harvest Festival is not an event you will likely get to, as an outsider occasionally passing through New Zealand. As with many of these top-class occurrences, you have to rely on a local punter or sponsor within a secret food society, to part with a select few highly sought-after tickets for sneaking you into the inner gourmet circle of the best of New Zealand.

When it came to the food, they spared no expense. Only the best made it to the serving table. It offered nothing pretentious and everything hearty. Only the best fresh local ingredients made it into the dishes that included whitebait fritters, lamb pie, salted beef, spicy wedges and Pinot Noir. All were familiar favourites that came with a creative twist as the restaurants battled to outdo each other.

Observations

We've said it before. Food festivals must have lots of food. Far too often we’ve seen food festivals turn into taster festivals. At the Wairarapa Harvest Festival, they know how to throw a party with enough food and wine for everyone.

What stood out was the quality and variety of the produce and the lengths the businesses went to serve the perfect dish. Our favourite was the lamb cutlet pies and a little Pinot with the whitebait fritters and the Chardonnay a close second. It was simple and hearty and utterly the best of rural New Zealand.

Thank you for the invite Sean, and Liz. We would love to see you next year again!

Hendrik van Wyk

Food Festival Cowboy

We earn our livelihood by producing great content and supporting inspiring people, businesses, and communities. Please book us here so we can tell your story too. If you want to see us do more of these, then please forward the favour. We will use it for the next episode promoting a local business or event.

Photos

Getting the Wine

Entice!

More Food!

Winners!

That Pie!