My Mother in Law's Noodle Kugel

The Griller had a birthday the other day. Snow still piled high in the backyard somewhat, so no grilling yet, or he'd have been having a Porterhouse! Instead he chose his mother's brisket and noodle kugel for his special birthday dinner! He was a very happy camper. The Griller is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, prefers home cooked to a restaurant. Opposites attract, I never cooked a thing the first ten years we were married, I love going to the restaurants. My Grandmother and his mother did a lot of the cooking. Thank goodness for Tupperware! I didn't have to bother, they schlepped the dinners to us. Until his mother moved to Florida and my Grandma passed away. Then we were hungry until I figured out it was cook or starve. Shoe leather brisket the first few birthday dinners. I just couldn't get it right. Tough brisket, flavorless noodles. Took years and a lower oven temp, but I got it right this year. He loved it!

I used a different cut that the butcher recommended. Probably because he didn't have a flat cut brisket on hand. And I needed something. Seemed to be the one issue of the day, no one had a brisket. So he raved about this Monterey cut. French-style, he said. I took a chance. It didn't have that layer of fat like a flat first cut brisket has. But it looked great. Like a very thick brisket. Very thick. And it cooked beautifully! Tender, flavorful. What a fantastic cut. Probably a marketing thing, Monterey, and I'll never find it again! Going back to that butcher to find out more, I couldn't find information online.

And the Lipton Soup mix recipe that my mother in law made for years is pretty great, too! We both agree on that one, LOL!

 

Pan-fried Noodle Kugel
Source: Grandma Lor
Printable Recipe

1 bag of extra wide egg noodles, cooked according to package directions. do not overcook!
oil, to fry, a few tablespoons
4 eggs, beaten
salt
pepper

Prepare egg noodles according to the package directions, careful not to overcook them. Drain in a colander and pour it into a large mixing bowl.

Put substantial amount of oil in a pan, and turn on medium heat.

Add eggs, salt and pepper to the noodles. Don't be frugal with salt or pepper because otherwise the noodles will be very bland.

After about 15 minutes or so, check with a spatula to see what the kugel looks like, it should be set on the top and the underside should be golden, if not, leave it for 10 more minutes, if it is golden then grab a large plate and slide the kugel onto the plate, then take another plate on top and flip it so the golden side is now on top. Slide the kugel back into the pan so that the golden side is now face up and the raw side is down. Let it fry for another 15 minutes to make sure the bottom is getting golden. Watch to make sure it doesn't burn. Serve immediately!

Don't skimp on oil, it needs a nice amount to fry just right. At least a big puddle in the bottom of the pan!

Don't cover with foil while it's hot or it will get soggy. Just leave out on a plate so it stays crispy until you serve it!


Onion Soup Mix Brisket
Source: Grandma Lor
Printable Recipe

brisket (flat cut)
1 envelope Lipton mushroom-onion soup mix
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
carrots, sliced thin
potatoes, cut in chunks
1 tablespoons flour (more or less)
mushrooms, quartered (optional)

*If you have porcini powder, you can sprinkle some on top of the brisket, adds great flavor!

Preheat oven to 300 F.

Empty soup packet into a large cup and mix in the flour. Add the water to the cup and stir to dissolve. Put the brisket in a large baking dish and add carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and pour on the soup mix. Cover with aluminum foil. Cook for a few hours, until the brisket is tender. Slice thin, against the grain and serve with the vegetables and gravy. It's even better the next day.

Here's how my MIL makes it, if you prefer to use a higher temp and a Reynold's Oven bag. Click HERE!

I'm joining Suzy over at Kitchen Bouquet for another Flashback Friday!

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Flahsback Fridays!

It's a lot of fun joining Suzy from the Kitchen Bouquet blog every week on her Flashback Fridays! I love going through my old recipes, ones that bring back lots of great memories! This one in particular. Noodle Kugel. This one is sweet. and has absolutely no raisins. but feel free to adapt it any way you want, chopped apricots are nice, too, if you like them. I like my kugel plain. Although my grandma always made it with raisins. Plump, golden ones, even worse than the dried out brown ones :)

I really don't like raisins. but I totally adored my grandma. This is how she made it for me. No raisins. Probably the same recipe as everyone else's grandma, give or take a raisin :)




Noodle Kugel

1 pound wide noodles
1 lb cottage cheese
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz whipped cream cheese
1/4 pound melted butter

Topping:
1/2 box cornflakes
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar

Boil noodles in a big pot of water until tender and drain (don't over cook them!) Rinse the noodles in cold water. Butter a large baking pan and pour in the egg noddles.
Beat eggs and sugar, and then add the cream cheese and everything else. Pour the mixture over the noodles and stir it in.

Crumble the topping together, and sprinkle it over the noodle kugel. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

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