sdritz wrote: I've now been roped into making about 18 for next week. . .
Suzy

Wow--18! Do you make them with raisins? I do a round raisin Challah every year for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I use my ancient bread machine to mix and knead, then shape and let rise one more time before baking in the oven.

Yes, raisins and cinnamon and sugar -- they are a little sweeter than a normal Friday night challah. My recipe makes three at a time. I'm going to double it this time and make 6 at a time, but that still means going through the motions three times. And I knead it by hand -- I don't have a bread machine.

Suzy

Shana Tova everyone! I love the kreplach pictures. My mom and I are thinking of making kreplach for the meal before Yom Kippur.

sujormik wrote:I probably won't be able to post until after Rosh Hashanah (but well before Yom Kippur, I promise) with my mom's creamy sweet deliciously yummy kugel. Sour cream, butter, apricot preserve, eggs, frosted flakes, a true retro dish that you just can't help but eat more of.

Sujormik - is your kugel made with noodles or potato? I sounds very sweet, which is what I'm going for. I decided to spruce up the presentation on whatever kugel I decide to make and serve them as individual muffins/cupcakes. I think this would work better with potato kugel, but I'm more partial to noodle kugel so I want to give it a try.

abe_froeman wrote:Here's what I'm making this year:

Applesauce Noodle Kugel

Would your recipe work in muffin tins? It also sounds very sweet and I love that it includes the applesauce.

Thanks!

HI,

Can Kugel be frozen and still have respectable taste and texture?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Can Kugel be frozen and still have respectable taste and texture?

Regards,

With noodle kugel, I have done so with success. Don't think potato would work out.

Kennyz wrote:With noodle kugel, I have done so with success. Don't think potato would work out.

I get the best results by freezing noodle kugels in the unbaked state. This works for both sweet cheese kugels and savory pareve kugels. They are OK if frozen baked but you have to reheat carefully or they dry out and get hard.

Potato kugels freeze fine if baked first. So do carrot kugels.

I haven't tried freezing a matzo kugel or a challah kugel; I think I would at least parbake it first.

We'll find out about the matzah kugel this year -- my mother is having carpal tunnel surgery tomorrow, so she already made her soup stock (in my freezer) and handed me a matzah kugel. I was a little upset because I told her I was coming over the Saturday before the holiday and would be cooking, cleaning and setting up for her for three days and fully expected to make the matzah kugel at that time, but she insisted that she wanted to do it in advance. I will report back to let you know if it held up or was a pile of mushy matzah farfel with vegetables.

Suzy

The Serious Eats challah recipe has become my go-to challah recipe, and I particularly like the double application of egg wash, which gives the challah the exact crust I desire. Also, it's incredibly easy thanks to the use of instant yeast (I get mine at Gene's sausage shop in Lincoln Square), where you don't have to worry about proofing, water temp, etc.

I up the honey in the recipe just a little too. Just be careful about the honey chosen - I've used stronger flavored honey and because this is not a very strong flavored bread, stronger honey can slightly overwhelm. Also, I add additional rising time in the refrigerator, which I think adds just a little flavor to the finished project. And of course, you can add raisins, or top with sesame or poppy seeds as you desire (I love sesame seeds and almost always add them).

Here's this holiday's version abridged, start to finish:

Has anyone ever frozen chopped liver? We ended up with much too much, in the only one that eats it in the house, and I don't want to employ a cardiologist.

JoelF wrote:Has anyone ever frozen chopped liver? We ended up with much too much, in the only one that eats it in the house, and I don't want to employ a cardiologist.

I have-when I packed it up, I first placed in plastic wrap then in a tight fitting container. After defrosting, pulsed it in the food processor with a touch of oil and added some freshly sauteed onion and hard-boiled* egg white to perk it up a bit. Was just fine.

*Edited to add "hard-boiled"--wouldn't make much sense otherwise!!

JoelF wrote:Has anyone ever frozen chopped liver?

I freeze it all the time. No problems. It probably won't keep forever, because of the high fat content, but for a few month, it's just fine.

I can't say that my family has many heirloom recipes, and most are ones that appear at various Jewish holiday celebrations. Essentially, your standard Ashkenazi holiday foods, and occasionally foods of the type you'd expect to find in Romania, Hungary and Poland.

One recipe that has always been universally loved in my family (and by our friends) is my Mom's perhaps less traditional challah. It tends to be more honey forward and denser than your usual challah, and the dough is always too sticky to braid. But whenever my mom has served this challah, it's quickly gobbled up, and guests rave about it. Perhaps the fact that it's just a little different than your usual challah makes it so popular, but I love it anytime. And with the obvious honey flavor in the background, it's particularly suitable for Rosh Hashanah. And the sweet aromas of honey and bread that spread throughout the house as the challah is baking are intoxicating, in a very good way.

I've only recently begun making this challah myself, and I haven't quite nailed the texture - my mom's version is always denser. And maybe I don't need to get it quite right, but I preferred my mom's denser version. I suspect that a little less yeast, or perhaps a shorter rise, will accomplish the trick. Regardless, I'm very happy with the results.

The ingredients (for 2 loaves):

2 packages of yeast (I used instant, and might reduce quantity to 1 1/2 next time)
4 t kosher salt
1 3/4 C water
3/4 cup honey (make sure to use one you really like as the honey flavor/aroma really shines through in the finished bread)
7 C bread flour
3 eggs
1 1/4 C oil (my mom always used peanut, and so do I)

Mix, knead for 10 or so minutes (it will and should remain sticky), allow to rise according to yeast used in a greased bowl, and scrape into greased cake pans (or loaf pans, but you'll probably need 4). Use an egg wash -- one beaten egg mixed with a pinch or two of salt -- (I apply once, wait 10 minutes and apply again). Then bake at 350 degrees for about 50-60 minutes (I simply bake until interior of loaf registers about 190 degrees, which seems to take 50 minutes).

Here's what the loaves looked like pre-baking, post-egg wash (don't worry much about the shape, it will spread out perfectly on its own):





Here's a look at it fresh out of the oven, removed from the pan:





And finally, the interior:





As I noted above, the bread should be denser, not that I was disappointed with my results - I love the flavor. My mom may have overcome this issue by not letting the dough rise long enough, but I think I'll probably adjust the yeast downward my next try.

That bread looks excellent. I love this thread. I am struck by the traditions. The food is so completely different than anything we served at holidays. The only familiar note is the challah but we called it hoska its about the same. Braided egg twist bread with or without raisins. And maybe a few nuts.

Star of tonight's Rosh Hashanah meal Granny’s kugel, thought I'd share this simple yet ever so delicious holiday recipe.



Granny's Kugel

1-lb egg noodles, cooked and drained.
7-8 eggs
1-24oz cottage cheese*
3-4 Tlb sour cream
3/4-stick butter
1/4-stick butter to grease the pan
1-1/2 cup milk, whole
Cheddar cheese, shredded, to sprinkle on top

Bake at 350 for 1-hour 15-minutes
Top with shredded cheddar cheese
Bake another 15-minutes to melt cheese
Let rest at least 20-minutes before slicing, serving.

Note:
* Granny called for 1%, I used 4%
I used doubled up half-size steam-table pans resting on a half-sheet tray.
Don't just use doubled up pans, kugel may overflow or, worse yet, bend and slip from your hands.

Granny's Kugel, Count me a Fan!

5780, the year of the kugel. l'shanah tovah


Kugel, count me a Fan!

My hit of this year's festivities was a salad with goat cheese*, slices of tart apple and a vinaigrette with honey, and thyme from the garden.

1C extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C cider vinegar
3 T mayonnaise (I used Kewpie) - helps emulsify
1 T stone-ground mustard (I could have used more)
2 T honey (I used Tupelo)
3/4 t salt
fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 t Chimayo chile powder (or other high quality, mild chile powder)
1 1/2 t fresh thyme leaves

Combine everything, then emulsify with a stick blender, blender or enthusiastic whisking. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. It's rather tart but with the apples in the salad it worked well.

* Yes, I know, dairy on a meal that's typically fleischig. That's not something this family observes.

Gary,
I showed your Granny’s Kugel recipe to my sister-in-law and she wants to make it to serve at breaking the fast. She asked me what size glass(?) pan the recipe you posted was baked in. Please share that information, too.

B2B wrote:She asked me what size glass(?) pan the recipe you posted was baked in. Please share that information, too.

Very happy Granny's Kugel appealed to you and your sister in-law, its a family tradition. In fact my sister in-law made one a few days ago.

I'd guess the recipe was for a standard 9x13 glass casserole dish, I tend to use larger baking dishes, smaller volumes or two casseroles as I like to optimize surface crispy crust.

Its a pretty forgiving recipe, just use lots of butter, don't succumb to low fat milk or cottage cheese and test for doneness earlier than stated time.

I've made Granny's Kugel in a variety of pans, from 2-inch half-sheet pans for full-on crusty goodness to smaller tall pans that came out eggy in the middle. Always delicious.

Good luck, let me know how it turned out.