You may have clicked on this link, thinking I was referring to Marilyn Monroe. I'm not. But don't go away--this is even better.

Because I'm talking about an even MORE glamorous, even MORE mysterious, knock-out gorgeous lady. That's right, folks: I'm talking about my grandmother, Marilyn Moskowitz.

Full disclosure: I am pretty sure my grandmother never actually made kreplach (Eastern European dumplings, boiled or fried, filled with either meat or cheese). Traditional kreplach are pretty work-intensive, as you must mix, roll and cut the dough, and make the filling from scratch. Grandma's kitchen style tended toward the less-is-more school of thought, when it came to prep. Once, when I was about twelve years old, I watched her cover a lasagna with pre-shredded cheese. I had never seen bagged, shredded cheese before.

"How come you don't grate it yourself?" I inquired.

"Because, sweetheart, I have better things to do with my time than grate cheese," she answered, pinching my cheek. I saw her point: spending time with me was definitely more fun than grating a block of mozzarella.

Though my approach tends to be the opposite of hers (I'd rather do more work and spend less money), I've had Grandma on my mind recently, so I decided to take the Marilyn approach to homemade kreplach: fresh, simple filling made from cooked chicken, onions, garlic, parsley, dill, salt and pepper stuffed into eggy dumpling wrappers, rather than the traditional fresh, eggy, time-consuming noodle dough. I floated them in simple, seasoned chicken broth with a bit of sliced, wilted kale, and nobody suspected the meal was made from anything less than scratch. 

Wasn't she beautiful? My grandfather was a looker too.

The recipe is easy. First, you mix up the filling:

Then put a little on a dumpling wrapper:

Dab some water on the edges, then fold one side in like so, making sure to seal tightly:

Seal all the edges so it looks like this:

 

Make a bunch:

Cook them in chicken broth with sliced kale:

Ladle it up: