Pierogi Casserole - PUBLISHED

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/18841/pierogi-casserole/
http://www.mrfood.com/Pastas/Pierogi-Lasagna

1. A tasty dish, but requires some additions. The noodles should be cooked al dente before assembling the casserole; the potatoes should be run through a food mill. What surprised me and worked well was the quantity of milk in the potatoes - it seemed too squishy, but it worked fine.
2 - Served it to one whose cultural heritage includes this food and he admitted he could not stop eating it. Good sign! The one observation I made was that it needed more salt.

3 - Totally amazing and good, but not at all calorie-light.

4 - Very nice indeed, and I may just prefer it with yogurt instead of sour cream.

5 - This got gobbled down real quick by 4 people. True that most were German, so... Made it with bacon. Bacon is good.

4-6 servings

5 potatoes, (40oz) 
½ cup milk
⅓ cup butter (2.7oz/76gr), melted (#1)
½ tsp salt 
½ tsp pepper 

2 Tbsps. (1oz/28gr) butter (#2)
(Optional: ¼ lb bacon, diced)
2 onions (12oz), chopped
9 lasagna noodles 
2 Tbsps. (1oz/28gr) butter (#3)
2 Tbsps. flour
1¼ cups milk
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese
Sour cream
3 Tbsps. chopped fresh chives

1. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water for 10-20 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain and mash with milk and ⅓ cup of butter, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Melt 2 Tbsps.' of butter to sauté the onion (if using, add them at the same time to sauté together), until soft and translucent.
3. Meanwhile, boil the water and cook the noodles until just al dente. They cook some more as the dish bakes.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Make the bechamel sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan; add the flour and whisk, until the flour starts to turn golden. Stream in the milk, whisking to avoid lumps.
6. Layer the ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish in the following sequence: 
• a single layer of 3 noodles
• ½ of the mashed potatoes
• ⅓ of the cheese
• a single layer of 3 lasagna noodles
• the whole preparation of bechamel
• ½ of the mashed potatoes
• ⅓ of the cheese
• a single layer of 3 lasagna noodles
• ⅓ of the cheese
• onions (and bacon) on top. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Bake, uncovered, in the hot oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with sour cream and chopped fresh chives.