My Family’s Christmas Eve Tradition

After Christmas Eve mass, every year since I can remember, my family invites the priest over for a big Polish meal — one we spent days preparing and a year looking forward to. The meal is laborious, eaten late (around 10pm), and is traditionally meat-free to follow traditional Catholic guidelines.

The first course starts with shrimp cocktail and crab legs, but we are always careful to save room for what comes after that… Pea Soup (Grochówka), Sauerkraut (Kiszone Kapusta), Mushrooms, Fish, Prunes, Mashed Potatoes, and our favorite — Pierogi!

Rychlak Christmas Eve Dinner

The pierogi has been the cornerstone of our Polish heritage for generations. We have tried out different recipes over the years, especially searching for the right dough, and everyone claims to have found their own variation of the “perfect dough recipe”. Pierogi dough can be finnicky. You want it light, but not so flimsy that it cannot withstand to contain its own contents.

Post-Boil, Pre-Fry Pierogi

The filling varies in our family, and everyone has their favorites, with three main types:

• Mushroom: Finely chopped and sautéed mushrooms, onions, and seasonings. This filling is tangy and earthy.
• Cheese: A creamy blend of ricotta cheese, sugar, and egg, mild and sweet in flavor.
• Cabbage: wilted cabbage cooked down to your liking- super soft, or with a little crunch :)

Pierogi Factory — made with love

Before the meal begins, we have a tradition of sharing a thin cracker, similar to a communion wafer but without religious consecration. We break off pieces and everyone has a 1:1 moment with everyone in the room, exchanging blessings of love, forgiveness, health, and happiness. It is customary for me personally to sneak a piece to the dog as well.

Pierogi

Each pieróg carries the taste of our family history and the love of those who made it before us. Sharing this tradition reminds us of the importance of family and honors the memories of the family we have lost — my dear brother Joseph, my grandma Lenora, and my Dza Dza, who are enjoying pierogi in heaven.

Chef Sally Rychlak

sally rychlak