Granny's Noodle Kugel

Another round of Granny's Kugel, best I've made to date and thought it deserves its own thread. Verging on custardy, rich as Scrooge McDuck with a surprising lightness and warm gooey blanket of melted cheddar cheese. This is the King, Queen reigning non-binary champ of side dishes.

Basic recipe may be found in the Rosh Hashanah thread here subtle changes, which enhanced, below.

Slight changes:
Made noodles in advance, light oil, chill.
Half & half for part of the milk (I had leftover I wanted to use)
8-eggs well whipped with the milk and sour cream
Put all ingredients in a well buttered pan and really mixed it well with my hands, bringing it up and incorporating a little air.
350° oven until set, took about an hour and thirty minutes, then cheese topping until bubbling.
Let rest 25-minutes.
Light, fluffy, almost custard. Oooh and Aaahs all around.
Brother in-law ate so much he could barely speak after dinner.







Granny's Kugel, count me a Fan!

That looks amazing, Gary.

The are a lot of variables in kugel. Cheddar cheese sounds weird, but most of the kugels I've had tend toward the sweet side. My family uses pineapple in the mix ("the medium size can, which is the small can since they no longer make the small can" says my mom's recipe), and no topping; my sister's in-laws use raisins and cinnamon in the mix and cornflake crumbs on top, which I am not a fan of.

JoelF wrote:The are a lot of variables in kugel. Cheddar cheese sounds weird, but most of the kugels I've had tend toward the sweet side. My family uses pineapple in the mix

Weird, you want to talk weird, pineapple!
I am not a fan of sweet kugel. That said, I've made Jazzfood's Aunt Honey's Kugel which skews sweet and it's tasty.

And yes, there are many variables in kugel, as many as there are Jewish Grandmothers. I prefer my maternal grandmother's version. Also, cheddar cheese is just a sprinkle at the end, not incorporated in the actual kugel.

The GP wrote:That looks amazing, Gary.

Thanks, this is becoming my most requested friend/relative home cooked meal, ribs, 7-Pepper BBQ sauce, Granny's Kugel and a salad. I offered to grill a giant aged porterhouse from Joseph's but my brother in-law said he could get steak in Arizona, not ribs. That said, he ate equal parts ribs and kugel to the point of bursting.

Muffin tin Granny's kugel. Why? Just for shits and giggles. Plus snappy juicy full flavored Joseph's natural casing hot dog on a Martin's potato bun. #homecooking #lowslowbbq #countmeafan #nobabycorn





Granny's kugel, Joseph's natural casing hot dogs, count me a Fan!

Kugel thread! Speaks to me!
Of the infinite variations of kugel I am aware of, I admit to never hearing of cheddar cheese in there. EVER. But then again, kugel, in its various forms, is a staple on many Kosher tables, and by evidence of the pics posted above, we are in unorthodox (sorry) territory <smile> - so bring it on!

jilter wrote:Kugel thread! Speaks to me!
Of the infinite variations of kugel I am aware of, I admit to never hearing of cheddar cheese in there. EVER.

Two things. One, I grew up in Wisconsin, cheddar cheese went on pretty much everything. Two, cheddar is shredded and scattered on top for the last 15-minutes as color, texture and, well, cheddar. It is not incorporated in the mix.

I've left the cheddar out on more than one occasion without any deduction in perceived deliciousness. (When I forgot to buy cheddar)
And yes, kugel is infinite, like the universe and Elton John's wardrobe.

G Wiv wrote:And yes, kugel is infinite, like the universe and Elton John's wardrobe.

Albert Einstein wrote: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”

G Wiv wrote:

jilter wrote:Kugel thread! Speaks to me!
Of the infinite variations of kugel I am aware of, I admit to never hearing of cheddar cheese in there. EVER.

Two things. One, I grew up in Wisconsin, cheddar cheese went on pretty much everything. Two, cheddar is shredded and scattered on top for the last 15-minutes as color, texture and, well, cheddar. It is not incorporated in the mix.

And now I'm thinking about a kugel with apple pieces instead of the more typical raisins (or my family's mutation with canned pineapple), and the cheddar on top as is done with apple pie.

Potato kugel. On a Yiddisha cooking kick. Just in time for Christmas. #homecooking



Kugel, count me a Fan!

Jewish "Soul-Food"- is a touchy subject.

Yes- there's decades-old debate
about the relative merits of "Floaters" v. "Sinkers"
....and the Chopped Chicken Liver - discussion of frying with
the onions + livers w/schmaltz versus a neutral oil, and
adding "crude"/raw onions at the end for a little "bite"....but,
Noodle Kugel?-
there's only ONE that's perfect IMHO......Momma KRAMER's!
Mrs. Kramer spent so many hours of solid "experimenting"
w/ various proportions and combinations of
Cottage Cheese
versus Sour Cream versus Cream Cheese,
Whole Eggs- or more Egg Yolks, etc.etc.
Vanilla Extract v. Vanilla Bean infusion that I am proud to say-
I "own" The Recipe.
Momma's dream was (and still is- even though she's now 86 year young)
to commercialize her Noodle Kugel-
and sell it in Pop-up-Stores &/or-
Deli Cases of "nice" Grocers throughout
the US.
Noodle Kugel-- Jewish SOUL Food by R. Kramer, on Flickr
Now-
I'd love to share it with you....but-
I will point out-
that one of my adaptations- was to "plump-up"- the Traders Joe's
multi-colored Jumbo Raisins in the microwave- w/a little water + a "spritz" of Orange Blossom Water- and along w/ my Egg Mixture-
with my Cinnamon, just a "setz" of freshly grated Nutmeg.
OMG!
-da'_BEST-ever!
And- Gary- I too- have tried making them in my Muffin Tin's
(cooked in a Baine-Marie though)- which is an ideal- Portion-Controlled-
servin'!

Hombre de Acero wrote:And- Gary- I too- have tried making them in my Muffin Tin's
(cooked in a Baine-Marie though)- which is an ideal- Portion-Controlled-
servin'!

Very good idea, thanks for sharing.
I am not a raisins in kugel guy, neither was my grandmother, not a sweet kugel guy either. I'll eat sweet kugel if set in front of me, and your H d Acero version looks terrific love the crispy edges, but generally not my style.

I made matzo ball soup the other day, for the millionth time. The matzo ball was light, fluffy, huge and delicious. The best I've made.
Question: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Answer: Practice, practice, practice.

G Wiv wrote:

Hombre de Acero wrote:And- Gary- I too- have tried making them in my Muffin Tin's
(cooked in a Baine-Marie though)- which is an ideal- Portion-Controlled-
servin'!

Very good idea, thanks for sharing.
I am not a raisins in kugel guy, neither was my grandmother...

I keep telling you guys, canned pineapple