Noodle Kugel

Noodle Kugel is one of those things that every Jewish family has a recipe for, and although they're most likely similar, there are so many different variations. In general, it's a dish made by baking noodles with some sort of dairy mixture. Some recipes add fruits (like raisins or apples), others are just the noodle. When we were talking with my mother-in-law about Rosh Hashanah dinner, I knew I wanted to make something, so I offered to make a noodle kugel, remembering that I had a recipe for it given to me at my bridal shower (in addition to the regular gifts, guests were asked to fill out recipe cards which were then sorted and the cookbook was presented to me at the end of the day). In my head I thought 'I think I remember it was given to me by my Auntie Barbara". Well, I got home and looked in the book, and it wasn't from my Auntie Barbara, but my husband's Aunt Barbara, who was going to be at Rosh Hashanah dinner! I'm sure there are people out there who will make whatever recipe they have and not care if the originator is there, but I always feel awkward about serving someone their own recipe. Thankfully, I pulled out my copy of The Kosher Palette and found a similar-but-not-too-similar recipe to use.

It wasn't hard to make, just make sure you give yourself a day's notice, as it needs to set overnight (or at least 8 hours, so you could also just make it in the morning).  The original recipe called for 2 sticks of butter PLUS 2 more tablespoons for the topping.  That just sounded crazy, so I used a bit less.  Not that this sounds very heart healthy to begin with, but saving that extra bit of butter made my arteries feel a little better...

Noodle Kugel (slightly adapted from The Kosher Palatte)

Ingredients

8oz medium noodles
3 large eggs, separated
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
6oz 1/3 les fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup corn flake crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted


Directions

Prepare noodles according to teh package directions; drain.

Beat egg whites and sour cream at medium speed with an electric mixer.  Add sugar, butter, and cream cheese; beat until smooth.  Add egg yolks; beat until blended.  Fold in noodles.

Pour noodle mixture into a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

Combine crumbs, sugar, and butter; sprinkle on noodles.  Cover and refridgerate 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from refridgerator and let stand 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake for 75 minutes.

Salted Caramel Blondies

As I've said before, I love participating in recipe swaps.  It forces you to venture outside of your normal recipes and try something new.  When I saw a posting for a dessert swap, I jumped at the chance to participate.  I sent off a favorite family cookie recipe and anxiously awaited my assignment.  I got the e-mail with a link to Peace, Love and French Fries (a sentiment that I agree with) for Salted Caramel Blondies.  It sounded so delicious, but seemed like something that I wouldn't have picked out of a book to make on my own.  The best kind of assignment!

What was even better - I looked at the list of ingredients and the only things I needed to buy were butter (I had just used up the last of my supply) and caramel sauce.  It cost me less than $10 to make this, using almost everything straight from my pantry.  It probably would have cost me less, but I didn't want to drive across town to the bigger grocery store, so I went to my favorite local place which only seemed to carry organic caramel sauce.

The third great thing about the timing of this - we were invited to a Labor Day weekend barbeque.  So this was the perfect treat to bring!

The blondies were super easy to make.  The only things that I'd do differently next time, is that I'd make sure the caramel doesn't go all the way to the edges, and I'd use a shallower spoon to drop the top layer of batter on.  I used a deep tablespoon and then had to spread out the batter to cover the wholes.

These tasted delicious, and went over very well at the barbeque!

Salted Caramel Blondies (as posted on Peace, Love, and French Fries)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt, divided
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup caramel sauce (homemade or store bought)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a glass 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
Pour sugar into a large bowl.  Add melted butter and stir until smooth.  Cool to room temperature. 
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Set aside. 
Beat eggs and vanilla into the sugar/butter mixture.  Add the flour mixture a bit at a time and mix until a smooth, thick batter forms. 
Spread half the batter in the bottom of the baking dish.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until batter starts to firm.  Remove from oven.
Drizzle caramel sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle other 1/2 tsp of salt over the top.  Carefully drop spoonfuls of remaining batter over the caramel, smoothing it out as best you can.  Top with an additional sprinkle of salt, if desired.  Return to oven, bake an additional 12-14 minutes.
Let cool before slicing and serving.

Gnocchi with Spinach and Gorgonzola

As I said in yesterday's post, when I was freshly out of my dad's and living on my own, the first cookbook I bought was Rachael Ray's Just in Time.  Since I had it out to make the flounder, I decided to whip up another old favorite last night - Gnocchi with Spinach and Gorgonzola.  We usually make this as a main course, but we had bought some salmon the other day and wanted to have that, so the gnocchi ended up being a side for that (which meant more leftovers and a yummy lunch today!)

This is very simple to make, though Rachael Ray says it takes 15 minutes and tries to lay it out step by step so you can be doing 5 things at once.  The way it's written, it's a little hard to tell exactly when you're supposed to start the next step, and usually I was still finishing one thing when the timer for the previous component went off.  In all, it took me maybe 30 min to get everything done and cooked.  To make this kosher, I substituted Imagine No-Chicken Broth for the chicken stock.  Additionally, in my market, the gnocchi only comes in 17oz packages, so we ended up using a bit more than she says.  Oh, and I thought that we had chopped walnuts at home and it turned out we barely had any left, so I used sliced almonds this time around.  Tasted delish, though!
  

Gnocchi with Spinach and Gorgonzola (from Rachael Ray's Just in Time)

Ingredients
2 (10 oz) boxes frozen chopped spinach
Salt
2 (14-16oz) packages fresh gnocchi
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 4 times around the pan
3 to 4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
Black Pepper
1 cup chicken stock
8 oz gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Directions
 To defrost the spinach, place it on a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Wring it dry in a clean kitchen towel and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the gnocchi and season it liberally with salt.  Cut open the gnocchi packages and set aside.

Place the walnuts in a small skillet and toss over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes until toasted and fragrant.

In a deep skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic to the warm oil, then add the spinach, separating the clumps as you add it to the garlic oil.  Season the spinach with salt and pepper, add the stock, and bring to a bubble over medium heat.  add the gorgonzola to the spinach and stir until it melts.

While the spinach heats, cook the gnocchi in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the surface.  Drain, then add to the spinach and toss for 1 minute to coat, then adjust the seasonings.  Serve the gnocchi topped with the toasted walnuts.

Poached Flounder

When I was first living on my own, I decided that I should try eating like an actual adult and cook real meals, so I went out and bought Rachael Ray's Just in Time.  One of the first recipes I tried was her recipe for Poached Flounder.  In the past, I would eat flounder a few times a month, but mostly just put lemon juice and paprika on it and throw it under a broiler for a bit, so I was excited to have a new way to cook it.  It was so delicious that I started making it every few months.  A few months into dating my now-husband, I decided to cook for him and made this dish.  I'm convinced it's one of the reasons he married me.  Even at my bridal shower, they played a game where they asked me questions and I had to guess his answer.  They asked what his favorite dish I made was his favorite, and without hesitating I knew it was this one.  He knows that I've been trying to make new stuff and try new recipes, but every so often he'll put in a request for the flounder.

What's interesting about this dish, kosher-wise, is that it can be dairy, parve, or meat with minor adjustments.  I normally make it dairy, using butter and vegetable stock, but this time decided to make it a meat dish, using soy margarine and chicken stock.  To make it parve, I'd use the soy margarine and either vegetable stock, or (the best invention ever for Kosher cooking) Imagine No-Chicken Broth.  The recipe actually calls for chicken or seafood stock, but I haven't yet found a Kosher seafood stock, so I'm not sure how that would change the flavor profile.

I don't know if it was the chicken stock or the fact that my chopping skills have vastly improved recently (thanks to a knife skills class at The Brooklyn Kitchen) but this was the best this dish has ever tasted!  This recipe will be staying in regular rotation for a long time to come....

Cheryl's Poached Fish (from Rachael Ray's Just in Time)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons drained capers
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken or seafood stock
4 (6-8 ox) fillets of flounder or other white fish
Salt
Black Pepper
1 lemon, sliced
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Crusty bread for mopping


Directions:
In a large skillet, melt the butter into the extra virgin olive oil over medium to medium-high heat.
Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the capers, Worchestershire, and wine, and allow the wine to bubble up and reduce for a minute, then stir in the stock.
Pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Arrange the fish in the skillet, scatter the lemon slices around the skillet, and poach the fish for 10 to 12 minutes until firm and opaque.
Scatter the parsley over the fish, then transfer the fillets and sauce to shallow bowls or deep plates and serve with bread for mopping.

Geshmearta Matzo

I remember my father making Geshmearta matzo ever year for Passover.  This recipe was created (so I'm told) by my great-aunt.  While I was never a huge fan of cottage cheese, I always looked forward to eating this treat every year.  When I moved out on my own I started making it myself and continue to whip up a batch every Passover.  Even my husband who doesn't like sour cream thinks this is tasty!  I eat it for breakfast or as a snack.

I make it on plain matzo, but you can vary it up with whole wheat or egg matzo and I'm sure it'll still come out well.  The amount of matzos this makes will vary by what brand you use.  The original recipe says it makes 11 matzos, meanwhile with the shrinking Manichewitz matzo, I made about 16 pieces.  I scoop 3-4 spoonfuls of the mixture onto the matzo and spread it out leaving a little bit clear around the edges.

Geshmearta Matzo

¼ lb butter (1 stick), melted

3lb cottage cheese (I use 2lbs small curd, 1lb large)

4 eggs

½ pt sour cream

¾ c sugar

Matzo meal

Cinnamon to sprinkle

Mix first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Add enough matzo meal to make it a good “shearing consistency” (I used about ¾ cup at first, then sprinkled a little more in a few batches in).  Schmear onto whole pieces of matzo, sprinkle cinnamon on top

Bake for 30 min (or until edges are brownish) on ungreased baking sheets at 350.

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls

I did not participate in the pasta recipe swap on the Nest message board, mostly due to the fact that I don't have any awesome recipes to submit.  But when the swap ended and everyone posted their results, I drooled my way through the blog postings.  One that stood out to me was for Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls.  Now, I love me some spinach and artichoke dip.  I even have an amazing recipe for it that I can't wait to share here, but I don't make it too often because I would end up eating it all and that's never a good thing.

When I saw the post by Jey I fell in love.  Spinach and artichoke and other yumminess wrapped up in a lasagna noodle?  Yes, please!!  These lasagna rolls were easy to make and super delicious.  I never had a panicked moment where I thought I screwed it up (though I did have to make a panicked "we're out of shredded mozzarella" call to the husband).  It's so simple.  You cook the lasagna noodles, thaw the spinach (I heated it on a plate in the microwave for 4 minutes, then put it in my colander to squeeze out the access water), mix everything up, then spread, roll and bake.

My adjustments that I made were that I didn't use as much roasted red pepper (though I think I'll use the full amount next time, I thought my husband hated them, but it turns out he just dislikes raw red peppers) and I didn't use as much alfredo sauce.  I did the 1 cup in the mixture, but when I went to add the cheese and sauce to the tops when it was in the muffin pan, I just scooped a spoonful into each one, not using the full leftover amount.  I also used light alfredo sauce since I was trying to make this somewhat healthier (the recipe already calls for low fat cream cheese).

I normally wait a day or two to take leftovers for lunch so I vary my meals, but this was so delicious that I couldn't wait.  I even brought a little extra shredded mozzarella and put it on top as I heated it up in the microwave at my office.  It's just as delicious reheated!

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls – from The Jey of Cooking

• 12 Lasagna Noodles
• 1 8 oz. Package Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
• 1 10 oz. Package Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 14 oz. Can Artichoke Hearts, quartered
• 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 3 Cups Alfredo Sauce, divided
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Oregano
• 1/2 Cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 375.   Spray a muffin pan or baking pan with cooking spray.

Cook and drain the noodles, then set them individually on waxed paper to prevent sticking.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, spinach, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 cup alfredo sauce, garlic and oregano.  Mix well, then spread evenly on top of each noodle.  Sprinkle with the roasted red peppers.

Roll the noodles up tightly and place into the muffin tin (or baking pan, seam side down).  Top with remaining alfredo and mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through.