Basic Sweet Parve Kugel

Basically there are 2 type of noodle kugels, parve and dairy.  The dairy ones are usually loaded with sour cream and not very healthy, though I'm sure there are a lot of other varieties.  I've just never been that into them.  For the parve variety, you need them to be moist, so they need a lot of fruit and oil. Here's a basic version.  Sray the pan well, the crust is great but sticks like crazy.

In 2025, I asked Eyal and Nadav if they'd prefer a sweet apple kugel or a sweet matzah kugel. They asked for a matzah noodle combo. I tried it and it was pretty great!

8 to 10 oz. wide egg noodles OR 1.5 crumbled, soaked matzahs + 6 oz. noodles
3 eggs, beaten well
½ c. sugar
lots of cinnamon
a dash of lemon juice
1 large apple, peeled and chopped 

1/4 c apple sauce (helps keep it moist)
½ c. margarine or vegetable oil
½ c. raisins
salt

Heat oven to 350°.  Grease a large pyrex pan, like a lasagne shaped pan, or a deep casserole.

Bring a big pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles.  They don't need to cook as long if you're baking them afterwards, usually the directions will be about 6 minutes. If you're using matzahs, crumble and soak them. Drain both.

Peel and chop the apples and put some lemon juice on them, in a large bowl. Add eggs and beat.
Add oil, sugar, salt, cinnamon and raisins

Add the drained noodles and/or matzot.

Pour into a greased or sprayed pan and bake for an hour or more, till browned.  One challenge with kugels is that the top often burns, so keep an eye on it.

Great for a potluck or shabbat/holiday dinner.


from The Jewish Holiday Cookbook by GLoria Kaufer Greene

Fruity Tofu Lokshen Kugel (Noodle "Pudding") 
8 ounces medium-wide egg noodles
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup orange juice, apple juice, or water
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound hard (firm) tofu, well drained and crumbled
1 large apple, finely diced (it is not necessary to peel it)
1 cup dark or light raisins
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Cook the noodles as directed on the package, then drain them well.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the eggs, oil, honey, juice, cinnamon, and salt unitl well combined. Mix in the tofu, apple, raisins, and walnuts (if used). Add the noodles and stir until completely mixed in. Turn out the mixture into a greased or non-stick spray-coated 7-by-12-inch or equivalent baking dish. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until set. Serve warm or at room temperature

Makes about 8 servings.

Frittata with Chard & Sun Dried Tomatoes

This is a recipe from the Inqy - since we have been growing chard, I was happy to try it.  Trick is to make sure your flat large fry pan is oven-safe up to 500°.  It's nice for brunch, or a midweek dinner.
By J.M. Hirsch

Associated Press

It's a complete meal. It's easy. It's fast. It's versatile. A frittata is one of the best choices for a fast weeknight meal. Think of frittatas as scrambled eggs with other ingredients mixed in. And finishing it under the broiler creates a delicious, lightly browned top, especially if you toss a bit of cheese on it before popping it in the oven.

Chard and Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata

Makes 6 servings


6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes,
plus a bit of oil from the jar
4 ounces sliced white button mushrooms
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped chard
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


1. Heat the broiler.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Set a large oven-safe, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the oil the tomatoes are packed in. Saute until the onions are soft and the mushrooms brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chard; cook until just wilted.

4. Spread the vegetables in an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Pour the egg mixture over them, then cook, without stirring, for 4 minutes, or until the bottom has set. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the frittata.

5. Transfer the pan to the middle oven rack and broil until the frittata is puffed, lightly browned and firm at the center, 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven; cool slightly before slicing.

Per serving:140 calories, 10 grams protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams fat, 225 milligrams cholesterol, 340 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/food/20111020_Rush_Hour_Gourmet.html#ixzz1hCujlehq
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Maxine's Secret Egg Kichel Recipe

Maxine Liszt had a flair for the dramatic, being a red-headed, large, funny lady with a passion for Picasso. She painstakingly painted copies of his famous paintings, seriously. They were hanging all over her house.  Her husband Lawrence owned a ladies dress store, The Mary Elizabeth Shop. Maxine felt it was her responsibility to be very well-dressed to advertise the store, and she did that with flair.  She was an exceptionally accomplished baker, devoting a lot of time and effort to crafting cookies. Women had way too much time on their hands in the 50's and 60's, so that's one of the ways they spent it.
Maxine's kichel (pl.kichelach, but we never used the plural) were legendary. In a semi-secret cupboard in her very modern house, which I now realize was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, was a stash of kichel, in a large plastic bin. They kept a long time. When friends dropped in, out came the kichel. I don't remember seeing them anywhere but Maxine's kitchen. You had to be on close terms with the Liszts to merit kichel. It was a big deal when she baked them for our wedding - they couldn't come, but sent a huge box.

On one of my trips home to Fargo in my early married years I talked Maxine into giving me a kichel demo, where I watched and took notes. I then went back to my parents' house and replicated her technique. When Dad saw the kichel, he couldn't believe his eyes. That I had baked kichel that basically was indistinguishable from Maxine's? A feat! I don't think anything else I ever did impressed him in quite the same way.

These are an enormous amount of work.  But they are fun, and oh yes, they are incredibly delicious. Just the right sweetness, nice and crunchy, chewy and satisfying.  And pretty.  Maxine always said the burnt ones were the real delicacies.  I baked them for the family b'nei mitzvah. Helen Koslow Sweig remembers Maxine and her kichel well. They served them at the party for Aunt Sally and Uncle Rob when they got married in Fargo, 40 years ago! The Liszts hosted the bridal dinner. It was Dec 25th and not a restaurant was open in Fargo in those days.

This recipe is actually half of what Maxine baked.  For Jed and Anne's wedding I did the whole dozen eggs and it took FOREVER.

All ready to take these to
Shulamit Zissel's naming!
(this is a double recipe)

6 eggs, at room temperature
2 T. sugar
a dash of salt
2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. brandy, sherry, or bourbon
~3 to 4 cups flour - it depends on how much the eggs absorb
+ Extra oil and sugar for the rolled out dough

In a large bowl, beat the eggs.  Beat in the other ingredients.  Add flour until it forms a stiff, stringy dough suitable for rolling out.  Unless you're using a MixMaster you will probably wind up doing this stage by hand.

Heat oven to 425° - though you might want to wait awhile, as the roll-out takes some time.

I tried using our marble counter, flouring the counter first, and it worked perfectly. Otherwise, flour a large board. It is handy to have some sugar and a dish of flour - your hands will be full of sticky dough.

Divide the dough into thirds or quarters, rolling one out at a time. You need to stretch it by hand as well as roll it, as thin as possible.Then comes the fun part.  Generously schmear oil over the flat dough plane. Then pour sugar over it, spreading evenly and generously.  It is what gives the cookie flavor, and it carmelizes, so the surface needs to be nicely covered.

With a sharp knife or pizza wheel (saw that on YouTube!) make parallel cuts about 1.5 inches apart.  Then start cutting in the opposite direction to create diamond shapes.

Spray about 3 large cookie tins with oil.  Using the pizza wheel, lift up diamond and place the kichel on the tins.  You can dip them in sugar first to get more on the cookie surface. No need to worry about stretching them out, they puff up but don't really spread so you can put them pretty close together.


Put one filled tray on a lower rack.  Keep an eye on it while you repeat the roll out and cookie tin process.  When the cookies are puffy and starting to brown, move them to a higher rack, and add the new ones to the bottom.  Watch carefully because some will start to burn before the last ones are browned.

For the final cookie tin full, you can turn off the oven and leave them in another five minutes or so - a larger number of them will caramelize without burning.

PS One of the versions I saw online said you can use a pasta rolling machine to get really thin dough. That would be perfect.

Sweet Potato Kugel

This is a very flexible recipe. DAT loves this.

You can add a sugary/nut topping.  Sometimes you can find Pumpkin Pie Spice which saves time, being a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves.
You really need to boil the potatoes (in a covered pan), because it gives extra moisture and good smooth texture.  Microwaving wouldn't provide that.

This is also good cold - less sweet than sweet potato pie but similar.

2 large sweet potatoes or yams, boiled in their skins, and cooled (you need to do this in advance!!)
2 T. oil
2 T. sugar
3 eggs 
3 T. flour, matzah meal, or almond flour (to make it Pesadik, or gluten free)
pinch of pepper
1 t. cinnamon
pinch of: cloves, nutmeg, ginger - or 1 t. of pumpkin pie spice
salt to taste
Optional: chopped nuts with extra cinnamon for a crusty top

Peel cooled sweet potatoes by just using your fingers.  The peels slide off when they are cooked.  Put them in a large bowl and smush them with a potato masher.

Add all the rest of the ingredients. Spray a pretty casserole well (or a pyrex 2 qt pan) and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, until it browns.

Kasha Varnishkes - tweaked from Jane Brody

I've already been through the year once with this blog, so there are fewer favorites to add, but kasha varnishkes is a great dish.  I have been bringing it to the break fast at the Ferleger Friedmans for probably 15 years.  I love it, Zach loves it, Abba doesn't love it, so I don't make it for us at home much.  However, it is a great lunch  and it's easy to double the recipe and freeze a lot. This recipe makes a HUGE amount.  This is really good stick-to-the-rib food.  Buckwheat is extremely nutritious and when you cook it in egg, even more so. (not vegan.)

When I was a grad student at HUC-JIR, it was on 68th St, so we'd occasionally eat on 72nd Street at what I think was called the Famous, a dairy kosher deli which catered to refugees who populated the area - by the 1970's, they were elderly.  They served this dish with a mushroom gravy, and it was GOOD.  Rumor had it that Isaac Bashevis Singer ate there.  (there was also a great cafe for pastry -Eclaire, very European and elegant, nearby.)

2 t. butter or oil
2 medium onions, chopped fine
½ lb. sliced mushrooms
2 eggs
1 BOX buckwheat groats, medium granulation  = 2¼ c. kasha  (Wolff's is classic, but any brand is fine.)
4½ c. boiling water + bouillon powder (1 T + 1 t)
1 lb bow-ties (large size, not the little ones for soup)
salt & pepper

In a large pot, bring water to boil (about 2 quarts) to boil and cook bowties according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, in a LARGE skillet with a cover, heat the oil and saute the mushrooms and onions until soft and translucent.

In a medium mixing bowl, pour in the box of kasha and two eggs, and mix until all the groats are wet.

Add to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the groats are dry and separate from one another.


Add the hot broth to the skillet, add salt and pepper, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.  If it's an electric stove, you can turn the burner off for most of the time.

Drain the bow-ties.  In a very large serving bowl, mix the bow-ties with the cooked kasha. You will likely have enough for some freezer utensils, too.

(The advantage of this version, a huge quantity, is that it uses the whole box of kasha and the whole box of bow-ties, so you don't have odd amounts left over in your pantry, and isn't much more work than making a normal amount.)

It is good with grated cheese, and also with a gravy.  The ratio of groats to bow-ties isn't strict.  And, the reason not to use the finest granulated kasha is that it's too fine and separates from the pasta so it's hard to eat.

Easiest Shabbat Dinner Ever: Roast Turkey Breast & Galil Potatoes

We named these
Galil Potatoes because Zach described how much he liked that when he was a camper.  Really soooo easy.
The trick with these potatoes is that you need to cook them at a very high temperature for about 45
minutes, and you need to turn them once and manage to do it

Different colored potatoes make a nice presentation

without burning yourself.  I didn't turn the ones pictured here, and they burned a bit.  The other trick, if you are also roasting a turkey breast, is that the the turkey will take about a half hour to 45 minutes longer, so hold off before putting in the potatoes.  This isn't really a recipe so much as a technique.

3 to 4 larger potatoes, your choice, including sweet potatoes and/or
1 container fingerling potatoes
other vegetables you feel like roasting: red onions, carrots, parsnips

• Spray a flat baking pan with olive oil.  
• Wash the potatoes if needed, but do not peel.  (makes it easy!)
• Slide potatoes into eighths or so, shape really doesn't matter
• Toss the slices in the pan, spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with pepper, salt or whatever you like.
• Bake at 450 for about 45 minutes, turning once to prevent burning, taking care not to burn yourself :-).

If you also do a turkey breast, here is how I do it.  Don't know where the honey mustard idea came from, but the aluminum foil pocket method is in The Settlement Cookbook on page 300.

1 Empire Turkey breast, under 5 lbs. (a half turkey breast works, too) - best to thaw first

~ ¼ c mustard

~ ¼ c honey
or use pre-mixed honey mustard, about 4 T.
(for Passover, you can use ketchup and honey, if you don't have mustard.)

seasonings to taste

Use a large piece of HEAVY weight aluminum foil. Shape it into a large roasting pan, creating a leak-free lining with sides and leaving extra for covering the turkey.  Squirt the bottom with honey. Same with the mustard.  

Gently place the turkey in the foil, turn it once so the honey/mustard coats both sides.  Season.  

Carefully close the foil over the breast, folding the sides over and sealing, leaving no open areas where juice can leak - at 450 it will burn and make a mess of the pan.  Seal the foil.  Poke a few holes for steam to escape.

Bake about 1.5 hours at 450.  The sauce is very tasty, so you can pour it into a small bowl w/ a gravy ladle, or serve in a small pitcher.  The fancy solution: a gravy boat.

If it does leak, be sure to soak the pan - a lot of the burned juice will come up in pieces, after a bit.

Jane Brody's Blueberry Pie with Bran Crust

Jane Brody has been my cooking guide for 30 years.  Being a reader of her New York Times columns made me attentive when she published her big book.  When Zach was little, she had a cooking show on NPR, which I watched and further bonded with her.  Nina Wacholder gave me her second book, but I haven't used it quite as much.  Her recipes are good, solid, unpretentiously presented.  She has already healthed them up, taken out excess fat, used whole grains, et al, so you don't need to further modify them.  And her explanations and stories are realistic.  She seems like someone you'd want to have coffee with.
At the moment, I am looking for a new guru, since her recipes are now a generation old.  Will keep you posted.  This blueberry pie is a favorite for summer shabbat.  You can see some of my modifications from over the years, including where an errant blueberry stuck to the page.

Crust:
1½ c Bran Buds (or any all-bran cereal)
 1/4 c all-purpose flour
 2 T butter or margarine, melted
 1/2 cup apple or grape juice

Filling:
 4 c fresh blueberries (2 pints), rinsed
 6 T sugar or to taste
 2 T all-purpose flour
 1 T lemon juice
 1/8 tsp nutmeg or to taste
 2 t confectioners' sugar (optional)
Optional: Limoncello Sauce

Directions:
1. Combine the crust ingredients in a medium bowl. Blend the ingredients until they are well mixed and the cereal is partially softened. Press the mixture onto the bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch pie plate or springform pan, leaving no holes. [The springform pan makes for a beautiful presentation; the blueberries hold their shape fine.]

2. Bake the crust in a preheated 375° oven for about 12 minutes or until edges of the crust begin to brown. Let the crust cool on a rack before filling it.

3. To make the filling, in a medium saucepan with a tight cover, combine 2 cups (half) of the blueberries with the sugar, flour, lemon juice, and nutmeg. Cover the pan, and cook the filling, stirring it occasionally, over moderately low heat for about 5+ is minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the berries begin to burst. Remove the filling from the heat.

4. Stir in remaining uncooked berries, and mix the filling well. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Let the pie cool on a rack. If desired, sprinkle the top with the confectioners' sugar just before serving.

5. If you like, serve the Limoncello Sauce on the side. It is a scrumptious combination and a great color contrast.