Kugel Calling

Andria Frankfort shares this kugel recipe that was passed down to her. 

My grandfather was fairly adorable. Minute and bald, with a ring of white hair around the sides of his head, he was a man who kept his golf clubs in the trunk of his black Cadillac Eldorado long after he stopped being able to see the ball fly after he hit it – just in case his vision came back one day. (Why exactly was he driving when he couldn’t see the golf ball? Very good question.)

So when my grandmother died, ladies swarmed around him bringing cakes and wanting to be “friends.” A couple of cruises later, he literally had ladies across the country calling. But there was only one who got anywhere – Lottie. Lottie was even shorter than Grandpa Joe and significantly fluffier. She, too, was smiley and loveable, and she stuck around for seven whole years.

Even though we don’t have Grandpa Joe or Lottie anymore, we have lots of memories – one being Grandpa literally rounding a corner on two wheels of his Cadillac, another being Lottie’s famous kugel. If you’re not Jewish, you might not have heard of the baked, buttery pasta casserole that is kugel. But if you are, you’ve surely eaten it countless times at countless Jewish holiday dinners. Usually a noodle kugel is sweet with sugar and cinnamon and raisins, but Lottie’s wasn’t. Super buttery and creamy, with pockets of cream cheese and a crunchy baked noodle top, her savory version was the highlight of our Jewish holidays.

This week – Wednesday, exactly – is Yom Kippur, the day Jewish people fast and repent for the sins they committed throughout the year. A week ago, on Rosh Hashana, we began a new year. At Yom Kippur, we wipe the slate clean, apologizing for our transgressions against God and family and friends, and we get to start the new year fresh. After the fast (which, traditionally, is sundown to sundown), there’s often a “break-fast” where everyone celebrates their fresh starts – and re-fuels after a day without food.

Lottie’s kugel is the perfect thing to serve at a break-fast – or as a side for any dinner. It’s super easy and, as Lottie told me in the typed version of the recipe that she gave me, it freezes beautifully. Maybe the taste will be just nostalgic enough to make you remember your own Lottie.

Lottie’s Kugel

Ingredients: 

2 12-ounce packages of wide egg noodles 
5 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
Salt and pepper
1 quart whole milk

Recipe directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the noodles for 6 to 7 minutes, until they are al dente. Drain the noodles in a colander, then put them back into the pot. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs, cream cheese and butter until well mixed (you will still see small specks of cream cheese – that’s okay). Pour the egg-cheese-butter mixture over the noodles and mix well, adding salt and pepper to taste. Pour the buttered noodles into the baking dish. Pour the milk over the top of the noodles (after this, I play with the noodles a bit to be sure they reach the edges of the pan).

Bake for 55 minutes, uncovered. Let the kugel sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes before either cutting it into squares or scooping it out with a spoon.

Smile, knowing how happy Lottie would be for you to have made her kugel.