Apricot Cranberry Kugel Food

FANTASTIC APPLE-CRANBERRY APRICOT MATZOH KUGEL!

Steps:

• Set oven to 350°F.
• Grease a 3-quart casserole dish (you can also make this in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, I used my 3-quart Corning Ware casserole dish for this).
• In a bowl toss the apple pieces with 1/3 cup brown sugar (can use less than 1/3 cup sugar if desired) and 1/4 cup fresh orange juice; set aside.
• In another bowl soak the matzoh pieces in 1 cup warm water until soft but not mushy; set aside.
• While the matzoh is soaking, in a large bowl whisk the eggs until well blended; add in the salt, cinnamon, 1-1/2 cups sugar, melted butter, cranberries (or Craisins) and chopped dried apricots; mix to combine.
• Gently squeeze the liquid from the matzohs (don't worry about squeezing all of the water out completely!) add to the egg mixture along with the chopped apples; mix very well.
• Transfer the mixture into greased baking dish.
• Sprinkle lightly with about 2 tablespoons white or brown sugar, then dot all over with the cold butter pieces.
• Bake covered with foil for about 40 minutes.
• Remove from oven uncover, then return and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes, or until the casserole is set.
• Serve at room temperature.

APRICOT-CRANBERRY NOODLE KUGEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Liberally butter a deep 8-inch square baking dish.
• Fill a large pot with generously salted water and bring to a rapid boil. Cook egg noodles at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, 7 to 9 minutes.
• Drain egg noodles and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and mop up any excess moisture with paper towels.
• Beat sour cream, cream cheese, eggs, salt, and vanilla with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in apricot preserves and cinnamon.
• Crush cereal in a food processor or by hand until it's broken up enough that it's no longer identifiable as cereal. Mix in softened butter until well distributed.
• Place noodles in the prepared baking dish. Pour sour cream mixture over top and stir to combine. Mix in cranberries. Sprinkle crushed cereal mixture evenly over top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is browned and crusty, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, checking every so often starting at 45 minutes. If the top looks like it's headed towards burning, stick some foil on the top. At the end, if the top's not crusty enough, put it under the broiler until the butter bubbles a bit and the the color gets nice and rich looking, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.

CRANBERRY APRICOT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Quarter apricots and pick over cranberries. In a 3-quart saucepan bring water, sugar, and apricots to a boil and simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved, 5 minutes. Add cranberries and simmer until berries have burst, about 5 minutes. Finely chop shallots and stir into compote. Remove pan from heat and cool compote completely. Compote may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

KUGEL WITH APRICOT NECTAR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the kugel: Brush a 4-quart shallow baking dish with margarine. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook as the label directs. Drain well, then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Add the margarine and stir to melt and coat the noodles.
• Beat the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons apricot nectar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk and the remaining apricot nectar; beat until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture over the noodles; stir to coat.
• Make the topping: Combine the cornflakes, melted margarine and sugar in a medium bowl. Sprinkle on top of the noodle mixture and bake until just set in the center, about 1 hour. (If the topping is golden but the kugel is not yet set, turn off the oven and keep the kugel inside up to 20 more minutes.) Let cool 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

APRICOT AND CRANBERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Boil the water and sugar together for 5 minutes. Add the cranberries and apricots. Simmer until the cranberry skins burst, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the orange zest and cool.
• Note: A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

APRICOT CRANBERRY KUGEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Cook EGG NOODLES in well salted water to al dente. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking and drain as much as possible, stirring noodles in colander to get all the moisture out. Set aside to allow more drying.
• Crush about half the box of CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH in food processor (or you can do this by hand. I sometimes put it in a zip-lock and crunch it up with my hands). Stop short of completely pulverizing it, but it should be broken up enough that it not longer is totally identifiable as cereal.
• MIX in softened BUTTER to CRUSHED CEREAL until butter is well distributed. Put aside (refrigerate if it will be a long time until you cook).
• In a mixing bowl, beat together EGGS, SOUR CREAM, CREAM CHEESE, SALT, and VANILLA EXTRACT. You can use an electric mixer for this, but it's really not difficult to do by hand. Everything should be well incorporated and fairly smooth, but it's okay if it's still a slightly lumpy.
• Mix in APRICOT PRESERVES and GROUND CINNAMON to taste (batter should taste good, but very sweet, since it will mellow out when combined with the noodles and baked).
• Liberally BUTTER the inside of an 8x8 baking dish (I like to use glass, but anything will work).
• Check that the noodles are pretty dry (if not, dump them on a paper towel to mop up a little more moisture.
• Transfer NOODLES to baking dish and pour in BATTER. Stir to combine.
• Add a handful or two of DRIED CRANBERRIES and mix to get it evenly distributed. Use more if you really like CRAISINS. Use less or none if you don't.
• Sprinkle topping mixture evenly over the top. I like to totally cover the surface for a nice crust.
• Insert into oven, uncovered for 1 to 1.5 hours. (depending on the oven and the baking dish, sometimes if only needs 45 minutes, especially if you like it a little looser). If you're nervous, you can check "doneness" using the toothpick method- insert a toothpick in center and once it start coming out fairly clean, it's ready to come out.
• Keep an eye on the top. It should brown, but not burn. If it looks like it's headed towards burning, stick some tin foil on the top. At the end, if the top is not looking "crusty" enough, I'll stick it under the broiler for 1-3 minutes, watching for the butter to bubble a bit and the color to get nice and rich looking.
• When the top is browned and the middle seems cooked, remove from oven and let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes (you can eat it right away if you want, but giving it time to rest, allows it to set a bit.
• This will feed a family of 4 (with leftovers for a couple of days).

APRICOT CRANBERRY CHICKEN

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken with salt. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat and brown half of the chicken on both sides. Remove from pan; repeat with remaining oil and chicken., Add onion to same pan; cook and stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until tender. Stir in broth, cranberries, preserves and vinegar; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 2-3 minutes or until slightly reduced. Return chicken to pan; cook, uncovered, 4-6 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink, turning chicken halfway.

APRICOT NOODLE KUGEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
• Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in egg noodles, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix egg noodles with 1/4 cup butter, cream cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla. Stir in apricot nectar and milk. Mix in raisins. Transfer to the prepared baking pan.
• In a separate medium bowl, mix cornflake crumbs, 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar, remaining vanilla, and cinnamon. Spread over the egg noodle mixture.
• Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned.

APRICOT CHEESE KUGEL

Steps:

• Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until smooth; stir in lemon juice. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Drain and rinse noodles; add to egg mixture. , Spoon half into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Top with half of the preserves; sprinkle with half of the cinnamon. Repeat layers. , Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.