Words of Wisdom

I came from immigrant parents who struggled to build themselves a new and better life here and filled our home with hard work, love and laughter.........

Family life was all important - my brother Maurice, Uncles, Cousins, Aunts.......lantzmen from all over the world - congregating in our home on Sundays with Momma cooking in the kitchen, producing the most divine dishes.........to die for - was the only way to describe them

I have made a compendium of those dishes - their recipes and re-creation in my own humble kitchen for the family gatherings in my home.......and over the course I will try to lay them out to honor my parents - Elsie and Henry - and pass them on to my own progeny - my three great kids - Tami, Mark and Hunter - to give them one important connection to our past to use as they continue the tradition of wholesome family life when they gather together among themselves and with their friends and loved ones.....

It is memorable that on the eve of our New Year - Rosh Hashanah 5767 I begin the project with Momma's traditional side dish for that holiday's dinner table..... what we called Lokshen Kugel in Yiddish - a baked dish of noodles in a rich batter of eggs, sugar and raisins...........Cook and Enjoy.....L'Chaim

GRANDMA ELSIE'S LOKSHEN KUGEL
(The kugel in the photo was made just before this blog was posted, to be served at our Rosh Hashanah Dinner on Friday 9/22)

1 LB. BROAD NOODLES
1/4 TSP. SALT
4 EGGS
1/3 CUP SUGAR (+ a smidge)
1/2 TSP. CINNAMON
1 TBSP VEGETABLE SHORTENING - PEANUT OIL
1/8 STICK SWEET BUTTER
1 CUP RAISINS (pre-softened in hot water)

serves ~ 12/14

1. drop noodles into full pot of boiling water and cook till tender ~ 10/12 minutes

2. drain in colander, rinse w/ hot water and shake up and down to separate noodles

3. in a mixing bowl - beat eggs and add sugar, vegetable oil, cinnamon, salt, raisins. then fold in noodles

4. pour mixture into a 9 x 12 pyrex baking dish - greased w/ the butter

5. bake in preheated oven at 400º for 45 minutes - top should show crispiness

6. Allow to cool - even overnight in fridge - before slicing into small (say 2 1/2 x 2 1/2) serving squares......reheat before serving.