Pierogi Dough

Mound flour on a bread board and make a well in the center. Drop eggs and salt into well. Add water; working from the center to outside of flour mound, mix flour into liquid in center with one hand and keep flour mounded with other hand. Knead until dough is firm and well mixed. Cover dough with a warm bowl and let rest 10 min. Divide dough into halves. On floured surface, using half of dough at a time, roll dough as thin as possible. Cut out 3 inch rounds with biscuit cutter. Place a tablespoon of filling a little to one side of each round of dough, moisten edge with water, fold over and press edges together. Drop pierogi into boiling (lightly salted) water. Cook gently 3 to 5 minutes, or until pierogi float. Lift out of water with perforated spoon. At this point, you may drain the pierogi and lightly saute. First fry some bacon and crumble; reserve bacon fat. Saute some chopped onion in same pan; remove and add to crumbled bacon. Add a little butter and lightly saute pierogi in same pan. Mushroom Filling Tradition is to use Polish Mushrooms, or as those of you familiar critters, Polish Gold - they are VERY expensive, and often VERY hard to come by. I use a combination of Shitake (sp) and button mushrooms. Soak Shitake mushrooms in warm water for atleast an hour. Chop 1 lb button mushrooms roughly and 1/2 medium onion and saute in butter until mushrooms cook down. Chop Shitake mushrooms fine and add mushrooms AND WATER THEY HAVE BEEN SOAKING IN to pan and simmer 5-6 min, until liquid starts to evaporate. Salt and pepper lightly. (This holds nicely in the refrigerator - if you make the mushrooms the day before you make the pierogis, they will absorb more flavor from the cooking liquid - or so it seems, but I'm not a chemist). When filling pierogis, squeeze liquid from mushrooms - if filling is too moist it will run out of the dough. Now, when my wife and I make them I also make mashed potatoes, and let them cool a little. Then I get some sharp cheddar cheese and cut it into very small pieces and add it and a little dill, salt, and pepper to the potatoes. This makes a wonderful stuffing as well.