Arts is Life

Food

Favorite recipes for the holidays are awaited

with great anticipation.

ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

rom my experience, many of
the best Rosh Hashanah
recipes don't come from fancy
cookbooks. More often than
not, they come from family and friends
who. prepare wonderful meals that have
guests exclaiming, "I want that recipe."
So it's no surprise that local cooks have
collected some of their favorites and are
only too happy to share them with Jewish
News readers.
Among these are dishes handed down
through generations with names like
"Renee's Aunt Helen's Noodle Kugel" or
"Taigas Chicken."
"Diane's Noodle Kugel" was a recipe
that Diane read to me from a worn, food
stained, recipe card — a sign she has
made this kugel time and again.
Still other recipes are difficult to trans-
late. Sandra Schechter of Beverly Hills
said her mother cooked "shittza aline" —
throwing in a little of this and a little of
that into her unwritten recipes.
Some of the best "other" recipes come
from food packages. Barbara Wallace of
Huntington Woods found her favorite
lemon pound cake recipe on a package of
cake flour.
No matter where they came from,
these beloved concoctions are the small
treasures families have come to expect
and await, with great anticipation, each
holiday season. As Sandra Schechter
explained, "They're good for the kishkes."
And what could be better than that?

DIANE'S APPLE KUGEL
Diane Mondly Bloomfield Hills
This recipe is unusual in that it's not
made with noodles (many kugels are
made from different ingredients). It's like
an apple cake, really, but perfect as a side
for whatever you're cooking.
Kugel:
4 large eggs
2 cans (about 15 oz.) Comstock or
Thank-You brand sliced apples,
undrained
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
1 1/3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 t. salt
Topping.

9/19
2003

. 102

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter or
margarine
1 cup crushed corn flake cereal
1 t. ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350E Spray a 9x13-
inch baking dish with non-stick cooking
spray or grease it well. Set aside.
Beat eggs lightly and stir in the
undrained apple slices. Stir in the butter,
flour, sugar and salt and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared bak-
ing dish. Set aside.
Make the topping: combine all topping
ingredients in a medium bowl and stir
well. Crumble the topping over the kugel
and bake, uncovered, for one hour, until
the top is golden and the kugel is set.
Cool before cutting the kugel into
squares. Serve hot or warm. Makes about
15-20 servings.

RENEE'S AUNT HELEN'S
NOODLE KUGEL.
Leslie Stein, West Bloomfield
1 package fine egg noodles (about 10
oz.)
4 T. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t salt

8 oz. apricot nectar
lcup milk
1 t. vanilla extract

3 large eggs
Topping.
2 cups crumbled cornflakes (do not use
comflake crumbs)
1/2 cup sugar
6 T butter, melted
Preheat oven to 325E Spray a 9x13-
inch baking dish with non-stick cooking
spray. Set aside.
Cook noodles according to package
directions and drain well (do not rinse).
While the noodles are cooking, cream
the butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt in
a large bowl with an electric mixer. Mix
in the apricot nectar, milk, vanilla and
eggs. Add the drained noodles and stir
well. Transfer the mixture to the prepared
pan.
Make the topping combine all topping
ingredients in a medium bowl and stir
well. Crumble the topping over the kugel
and bake, uncovered, for one hour, until
the top is golden and the kugel is set.
Cool the kugel 10 minutes or more
before cutting into squares. Serve hot or
warm. Makes about 15-20 servings.

FAIGNS NEVER-FAEL
ROAST CHICKEN
Sandra Schechter, Beverly Hills
Sandra chops the onions, celery and car-
rots in a food processor and finds that the
finer they're chopped, the better —
almost ground rather than chopped.
2 cups finely chopped onions
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots (about 1/2 pound), finely
chopped
2 large carrots (about 3/4 pound)
2 whole fryers (about 2 1/2 pounds
each), cut into 8 pieces each
1 large garlic dove, minced
1 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 cup water, plus more as needed
Preheat oven to 425E Mix the vegeta-
bles together and spread over the bottom
of a large roasting pan with lid. Sprinkle
the seasonings over the chicken pieces
and, using your hands, "rub" them well
over and around the chicken pieces.
Arrange the chicken on the bed of veg-
etables in the roasting pan. Pour 1/2 cup
of water around the chicken. Place the
cover on the roasting pan and roast for
30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350F and roast the
chicken, covered, for one hour more,
adding additional water if the vegetables
begin to dry out (they should always be
moist).
Serve the chicken hot with the juices
and vegetables as "gravy," adding more
salt and pepper if needed. Makes 8-12
servings.
Note: You may also add large pieces of
carrots, celery, halved small onions and
potatoes to the chicken during the last
hour of cooking and serve them as a veg-
etable, surrounding the chicken or in a
separate serving dish.

SELMA'S STUFFING PATTIES
Selma Bremen, Bingham Farms
1 challah (about 1 pound), sliced
water

3 large eggs

1 large Idaho potato (about 1/2 to 2/3
pound)
2 cups grated or finely chopped onions
3 stalks celery, finely chopped