Traditional Jewish Foods

Now that the fast has past, let me introduce you to one of my all time favorite foods, Jewish noodle kugel!

I recommend filling belly with this delicious, rich, sweet and down right decadent kugel. This is one of my favorite noodle kugels. The recipe was given to me by a good friend, C.R. It is sweet and warm and so delicious.

Making traditional food like this brings me back to when I was young. This food is home-y traditional and it reminds me of so many other holidays before. I know you all get that I love to cook, but my heritage and my food are very intertwined in who I am as well as how I define myself.

I am a Jewish girl... these traditional foods and these Jewish traditions are part of my soul. Part of the crazy, yummy, delicious, decadent part of my DNA. This is a perfect make ahead dish.

Batter:

1 8 oz Cream Cheese, room temp

1 cup Sour Cream

4 Eggs, beaten

1 jar Apricot Jam, warmed

1 16 oz) pkg semi-broad Noodles

Topping:

1 cup crushed Cornflakes

⅓ stick Butter

Salt

Brown Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° Boil and drain noodles and set aside. Divide the butter in half, melt one half and set the other piece aside for later. In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese, ½ cup of melted butter, sour cream, and eggs. Spray the bottom and sides of pan with cooking spray. Place ½ of the noodles on the bottom and cover with ½ of the batter. Use ½ of the warmed apricot jam and spread the jam over the noodles and batter. Repeat with noodle, batter and jam. Crush the cornflakes and sprinkle them over the top, sprinkle some brown sugar over the cornflakes. Slice up the remaining butter and sprinkle on top of the kugel. Bake for 1 to 1½ hours- watch closely the last ½ hour. Serve hot!

Yields: 1 9x13" pan or 2 loaf pans. This can be reheated in the oven, covered with foil.

These are my grandmother's silver kugel servers.

This baked kugel is a messy dish and unlike lasagna, it will almost never stay in one piece.

Crazy Days

OK, these last 2+ weeks have been so crazy, I know I have not kept you all up to date. Starting with Passover, my favorite Jewish holiday. We had an amazing dinner and so much fun!  Cooking with my mom was great and not as stressful as I had thought it would be.  I still have more Passover and Easter Recipes to post.  After Passover on Wednesday, we had Easter with our friends, the Reeds on Sunday.  Easter is another of my favorite holidays. My family and the Reeds, celebrate Passover and Easter together. We have been using the term East-Over to describe my families Jewish holiday and  and Easter. We have been getting together for more years than even I can remember. I always love the big family dinners and holidays, Easter, Passover, and Thanksgiving. As stressful as they can be, they are my favorite holidays to cook for and to be with everyone, together. 
Shannon and Phil at 9 irish brothers Saint Patricks Day Me, Phil, and Tiffany 2 on Halloween, I am a cat!My birthday cake at work, with a measuring cup. LOL

Along with both Easter and Passover, another event happened this week... my birthday. One of the most hated days of the year. I like the birthday thing, but just for everyone else. I have always made a big deal of holidays and birthdays, I am always the one planning for everyone else's birthdays and I seem to be the idea person in my family for gifts and holiday, birthday, anniversary parties and dinners. Don't get me wrong, most of the time I enjoy it, this job that somehow I don't remember signing up for. But I am good at it, but I am not good at my birthday.  I have never really enjoyed having my birthday, until this year. I have never felt accepted or as totally loved. I have never really had such a joyous surprise as I got this year. My friends made me cry, I do not remember feeling that loved my friends in a very long time. I was truly surprised and I guess birthdays are a present your friends and family give you each year.