By Spring break for the school district, which is just a regular week for me because the twins' daycare doesn't close, and Ryan is on regular shifts. I had time to clean the apartment for the first time since November, which is to say I deep-cleaned the bathroom and called the rest a wash. The twins followed me around with a Swiffer that did not have a Swiffer pad on it for the entirety of Tuesday morning. They were extremely helpful in the way only toddlers can be, which is to say not at all but very loudly.
I made pierogi this week — a small batch, just for us, not the Christmas batch, which is its own production. Babcia Rose's notebook was on the counter with the pierogi page open. I rolled the dough thinner than I used to. I think I'm getting better. The twins helped fill them — Owen put too much potato in every one, Nora put exactly the right amount and pressed the edges with a fork in a way that made me think of my great-grandmother whom I never met. The pierogi came out misshapen and lumpy and the best ones we've ever made.
I called Wally Wednesday on FaceTime. He doesn't love FaceTime — the screen confuses him — but he loves the twins, who appeared on the screen and waved and shouted his name. He smiled so big I could see it in the pixelation. He said "Myszka, the babies are getting so big." I said I know. I told him about the pierogi. He said "good, you remember." I said I remember.
Ryan worked Saturday. I took the twins to the playground at Memorial Park even though it was forty-three degrees and windy because I needed to be outside. They climbed on cold metal and didn't care. There was a mom at the playground who asked if they were twins. I said yes. She said "I have twins too" and we became friends in the way you do at a cold playground at forty-three degrees. Her name is Stephanie. Her kids are five. We are exchanging numbers. This is how grown women make friends now: at playgrounds, in the cold, exhausted, with a kid pulling on each leg.
There’s something about filled dough that gets into your hands and stays there — the way Nora pressed those edges with a fork like she already knew what she was doing, like some memory traveled right through the recipe and landed in her. I’ve been thinking about that all week, which is probably why this tortellini appetizer felt like the right thing to pull together: small, filled, satisfying in a way that doesn’t ask anything complicated of you. You don’t need a notebook passed down through generations for this one — just a pot of boiling water and something worth dipping.
Tortellini Appetizer
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce, warmed, for dipping
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine), halved
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, for serving
- Small skewers or toothpicks, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the tortellini. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook tortellini according to package directions until just tender, about 7–9 minutes. Drain and rinse briefly under cool water to stop cooking.
- Toss with pesto. Transfer drained tortellini to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss gently to coat. Add pesto and toss again until evenly coated. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Assemble the skewers. Thread each skewer with one tortellini, one cherry tomato, one mozzarella half, and one small basil leaf. Repeat until all tortellini are used.
- Arrange and serve. Arrange skewers on a platter. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Serve warm or at room temperature with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 195 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 340mg