Agi Khoury and chef Sebastian Chomczyk of Sabi’s restaurant team up for a Sip and Pinch pierogi making event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20 at Chomczyk’s restaurant in Columbiana.

COLUMBIANA — Pierogi have become a staple in Eastern European households — especially around the Christmas season.

That is why chef Sebastian Chomczyk of Sabi’s is hosting Agata (aka Agi) Khoury to instruct a pierogi cooking class at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20 at his restaurant in Firestone Farms.

Khoury, who is an art director at Youngstown-based Marquee Creations during the day, shares her Polish childhood with Chomczyk, and has been hosting the pierogi classes since 2017.

The Sip and Pinch parties are her “side hustle,” she added.

Using her mother’s simple six-ingredient recipe, she said much of the success depends on the maker’s finesse.

For example, she encourages her students to roll out the pierogi dough to only 1/8-inch thickness before cutting out the circles, filling them and pinching them closed prior to dropping them in boiling water.

It is not complicated. Khoury explained by advises the key is making sure that the pierogi dumpling is properly pinched shut, so the filling doesn’t leak out.

Now ironically a resident of Poland in nearby Mahoning County, Khoury said that the versatile recipe has successfully been used to make both savory, which is the more common, and sweet pierogi.

It all comes down to the filling.

Past flavors have been potato and cheddar, which is her standard filling recipe for the Sip and Pinch sessions; potato and kraut; mushroom and kraut; cottage cheese and meat.

While she doesn’t specify a brand name in the majority of her recipes, she specifically uses Velvetta in the potato and cheese filling recipe, which she enjoys best served with sauteed onions.

Fillings can be refrigerated up to two days before making the final cook on the pierogi, according to Khoury.

Sweet pierogi flavors include those filled either with fresh berries or even lekvar, which is almost like a prune butter. The sweet ones she likes to top with sour cream and powdered sugar.

More information about Khoury’s Sip and Pinch homemade pierogi-making parties can be found at https://www.facebook.com/sipandpinch.

Pre-registered Sip and Pinch participants will learn how to make homemade pierogies from scratch, mastering a traditional dough recipe with potato and cheese filling before cooking up their own batch to enjoy on the spot.

In the past, Khoury also has held Sip and Pinch events at Liebe Wein in Salem.

RSVPs for the Sabi’s event, which will be held at 85 Town Center Ave., are required by Thursday, Nov. 13.

Additional information also can be obtained by calling 704-806-1591. She does accept PayPal and Venmo for event registration.

sujhelyi@mojonews.com