Crunchy Noodle Kugel à La Great Aunt Martha Food

CRUNCHY NOODLE KUGEL A LA GREAT-AUNT MARTHA

Steps:

• Put raisins in a micro-wave safe bowl or small saucepan and cover with sherry or orange juice. Heat on stove top (3 minutes) or microwave (1 1/2 minutes) until liquid is steaming hot. Let cool while you prepare kugel mixture.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 11 x 17 inch jellyroll pan. Cook noodles according to package directions and drain well. Immediately return noodles to pot and add butter. Toss until butter melts.
• In large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Drain raisins and add to bowl along with butter noodles. Mix well.
• Spread mixture in prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until top is crusty and golden, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CRUNCHY NOODLE KUGEL à LA GREAT-AUNT MARTHA

Steps:

• Put raisins in a microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan and cover with sherry or orange juice. Heat on stove top or in microwave oven until liquid is steaming hot (about 1 1/2 minutes in microwave or 3 minutes on stove). Let cool while you prepare kugel mixture.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 11-by-17-inch jellyroll pan. Cook noodles according to package directions and drain well. Immediately return noodles to pot and add butter. Toss until butter melts.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Drain raisins and add to bowl along with buttered noodles. Mix well.
• Spread mixture in prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until top is crusty and golden, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CRISPY POTATO KUGEL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Using a box grater or the shredding attachment on the food processor, grate the potatoes and onion into a colander fitted inside a large bowl (or in the sink).
• Using your hands and working with a bit at a time, squeeze as much water from the potatoes and onions as humanly possible and transfer the dry potatoes to a large bowl (you can use that same bowl, just make sure it's drained and dry). For added insurance, you can also do this with cheesecloth or a porous kitchen towel, if you like.
• Add eggs and 6 tablespoons chicken fat to the potatoes, and season with salt and plenty of pepper, mixing well. Heat another 2 tablespoons fat in a 9- or 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high. (This recipe will work in a 9- or 10-inch skillet, but the kugel will be slightly taller in a 9-inch.) Delicately place the potato mixture into the skillet, taking care not to pack it in tightly. (You want to keep the kugel light and airy.)
• Cook the potatoes, rotating the skillet occasionally to promote even browning, until it's golden brown on the edges and up the sides, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Drizzle the top of the potatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons fat and place in the oven. Bake until the top of the kugel is deeply golden brown, the edges are wispy and crispy, and the potatoes are completely and totally tender and cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes.
• Remove from oven and top with more pepper, chives and flaky sea salt. Slice and serve warm.

NOODLE AND APPLE KUGEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Begin heating a large pot of water.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the apples. Cook, stirring or tossing in the pan, until they begin to color and are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• When the water comes to a boil, add salt to taste and the noodles. Cook al dente, a little firmer than you would want them if you were eating them right away. Drain through a colander and add to the pan with the apples (if using long flat noodles, cut them first with a scissors into shorter lengths). Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and toss together until the butter melts. Stir in the optional raisins. Set aside.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sugar and beat together until the mixture is thick. Beat in the yogurt, vanilla, rum, nutmeg and about 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste. Add the noodles and apples and fold everything together. Scrape into the prepared baking dish. Push the pasta down into the egg and yogurt mixture (it will not be completely submerged, but try to cover as much as you can). Place in the oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the kugel is set and the sides are browned. There will always be some noodles on top that brown and become quite hard. You can remove these from the baked dish if you wish. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

FRITTATA WITH GREENS

Steps:

• Heat a large pot of water over high heat while you stem and wash the greens in two changes of water. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous tablespoon of salt, and the greens. Blanch spinach for 30 seconds only, chard and beet greens for 1 minute, or until tender, and transfer to the ice water. Let sit for a few minutes, then drain, squeeze dry, and chop.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, and stir in the greens. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until coated with oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
• Beat the eggs in a bowl, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, freshly ground pepper to taste, the milk, and the cooked greens.
• Clean and dry your pan and return to the stove. Heat over medium-high heat and add the remaining olive oil. Hold your hand above it; it should feel hot. Drop a bit of egg into the pan and if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture, scraping every last bit out of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Swirl the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with the spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan every once in a while, until the frittata is just about set. Meanwhile, light the broiler.
• If the frittata is not quite set on the top, place under the broiler, about 3 inches from the heat, for 1 minute, watching closely, until just beginning to color on the top. Do not allow the eggs to brown too much or they'll taste bitter.
• Remove from the heat, allow to sit in the pan for 5 minutes or longer, then carefully slide out onto a platter, or cut in wedges in the pan and serve.