Food and Friendship

Santa Barbara

sweet kugel for a sweet year

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Celebrating the Jewish new year gives us a wonderful excuse to put a few sweet things on our table.  We serve sliced apples and dip challah (egg bread) in honey, and we bake a creamy noodle pudding with raisins and cottage cheese that’s a delectable side dish.  We serve it with our roast chicken or brisket dinner the evening before the holiday begins, or part of our Rosh Hashannah lunch the next day.

There are many variations of “kugel”  but this is our favorite.  It’s loaded with dairy so if that’s not on your diet plan, mazel tov, have a good year, and skip to your next email!  But if you can stand it, this is a killer (by which we mean it could kill you, but you’ll die happy!).  It’s based on a recipe given to me by girlfriend Pam many years ago, but, if you can believe it, we’ve omitted some of the dairy from the original.  The scent of cinnamon will fill your kitchen with a beautiful aroma and you’ll be craving a bite as it cooks; in fact, if you serve it with a little salad, it’s a meal in itself.

Although Joan says it’s hard for her to imagine pasta ever being sweet, we who grew up with this dish understand it in a very different way!  Enjoy, and to all of you, best wishes for a sweet and blessed year.  May you be inscribed in the book of life for a healthy and happy one to come.

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Holiday Kugel
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound wide egg noodles
  • 8 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
  • 1 8-ounce bar cream cheese
  • 1 cup sour cream (optional)
  • ½ cup milk (optional)
  • ¼ pound butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • ¾ cup golden raisins
  • ¼ cup orange juice or 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottom of 9 x 12" casserole dish or baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Boil noodles according to directions on package, then drain and put back into the pot you cooked it in.
  3. While the noodles are hot, add butter, cream cheese, sugar, sour cream (if using), cottage cheese and mix it all together.
  4. When cooled to room temperature, add eggs, vanilla, raisins, orange juice, milk (if using), and cinnamon. Mix well.
  5. Pour it all into your prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula.
  6. Bake for at least an hour, maybe 5 to 10 minutes more, until top is slightly browned.
  7. Cool and slice into squares for serving.
  8. Can be frozen or refrigerated, then defrosted and baked at 300 degrees for half an hour before ready to serve.