Thread: Cheese blintzes and noodle kugel

On Tue 05 Oct 2010 05:01:31p, Nunya Bidnits told us...

> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally
> delicious.
>
> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over
> it.
>
> Anybody got anything on these?
>
> MartyB
>
>
>

Nope, I associate both of these with some degree of sweetness.

--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright

Wayne Boatwright <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Tue 05 Oct 2010 05:01:31p, Nunya Bidnits told us...
>
>> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally
>> delicious.
>>
>> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over
>> it.
>>
>> Anybody got anything on these?
>>
>> MartyB
>>
>>
>>
>
> Nope, I associate both of these with some degree of sweetness.

Yeah, I know it's unusual and perhaps there's a hint in the blintzes but its
very faint. So it's what I would call traditional, but I can't question her
Jewish Mother street cred and I really liked her cooking. The noodle kugel
was pretty simple, almost like a fine hash brown pie and you just put it in
a bowl and pour in the soup. She could make a perfect matzoh ball from
scratch too, soft outside, dense center. Yum.

MartyB

On Tue 05 Oct 2010 06:23:56p, Nunya Bidnits told us...

>
> Wayne Boatwright <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On Tue 05 Oct 2010 05:01:31p, Nunya Bidnits told us...
>>
>>> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally
>>> delicious.
>>>
>>> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup
>>> over it.
>>>
>>> Anybody got anything on these?
>>>
>>> MartyB
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Nope, I associate both of these with some degree of sweetness.
>
> Yeah, I know it's unusual and perhaps there's a hint in the
> blintzes but its very faint. So it's what I would call
> traditional, but I can't question her Jewish Mother street cred
> and I really liked her cooking. The noodle kugel was pretty
> simple, almost like a fine hash brown pie and you just put it in
> a bowl and pour in the soup. She could make a perfect matzoh ball
> from scratch too, soft outside, dense center. Yum.
>
> MartyB
>
>
>

Actually, the filling in cheese blintzes is usually not all that
sweet. It's what you put *on* them that contributes most of the
sweetness. The kugel sounds interesting, although I've never had one
like that. Noodles and chicken go together like bagels and lox.

--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright

On 10/5/2010 7:01 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally delicious.

savory potato blintzes I've heard of but cheese blintzes are generally
sweet.

> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over it.

noodle kugel pie? With chicken soup on top? Maybe she fried her luckshin
into a lump?

> Anybody got anything on these?

Not I. where in Europe did her family come from?


--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

On 10/5/2010 8:23 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
> She could make a perfect matzoh ball from
> scratch too, soft outside, dense center. Yum.

Is there any other way to make them than from scratch?

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

On Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:27:50 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue 05 Oct 2010 05:01:31p, Nunya Bidnits told us...
>
>> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally
>> delicious.
>>
>> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over
>> it.
>>
>> Anybody got anything on these?
>>
>> MartyB
>>
>>
>>
>
>Nope, I associate both of these with some degree of sweetness.

Blintzes and kugels can be sweet, savory, and anything between.

http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/rfcj/ca...ategory=KUGELS

http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/cgibin/...nocpp=1&Rank=1

On 10/5/2010 8:30 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> Actually, the filling in cheese blintzes is usually not all that
> sweet. It's what you put *on* them that contributes most of the
> sweetness. The kugel sounds interesting, although I've never had one
> like that. Noodles and chicken go together like bagels and lox.
>

Jennie Grossinger used a little sugar:


* Exported from MasterCook *

Blintzes - Cheese Filling

Recipe By :Jennie Grossinger
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : * Jewish Blintzes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 cups Drained cottage cheese
1 Egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Melted butter
2 tablespoons Sugar -- (optional)
1 teaspoon Lemon juice -- (optional)

Beat the cheese, egg yolk, salt and butter together. Add the sugar
or lemon juice if you like -- some people like them sweet, some don't.
Fill pancakes.

Recipe Source:
THE ART OF JEWISH COOKING by Jennie Grossinger
Published by Bantam Books, Inc. (c) 1958

Formatted for MasterCook by Joe Comiskey, aka MR MAD -
[email protected] -or- [email protected]

03-22-1995


The Jewish Home Beautiful has this one:


* Exported from MasterCook *

BLINTZES

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : doughs and pastries one-dish meals
Side Dishes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Batter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Filling
3/4 lb. cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. farina
1 tbsp. soft butter

Press the cheese through a ricer or a fine strainer and mix thoroughly
with the other ingredients.

Beat eggs, add salt and sugar, water and flour and beat to a smooth batter.

Drop this batter (two tablespoons at a time) onto a small frying pan
that has been slightly greased and heated. Tip the pan so that the
batter spreads thinly over the entire pan. Work quickly.

Bake on one side only until the top is dry and starts to blister. Turn
out, bottom side up, on a board or clean cloth.

When all the pancakes have been made, fill each with one tablespoon of
the cheese mixture. Fold over the opposite sides to form little rectangles.

Place in a well-greased baking pan, brush with melted butter and bake in
a hot oven (400 degrees) until golden brown and crisp. If preferred,
they may be fried instead of baked.

Serve hot with sour cream or with powdered sugar and cinnamon.


It's a long way to Shavuot when blintzes are traditional.






--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

Janet Wilder <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 10/5/2010 8:23 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>> She could make a perfect matzoh ball from
>> scratch too, soft outside, dense center. Yum.
>
> Is there any other way to make them than from scratch?

Go to a restaurant?

;-)

MartyB

--�
-

Janet Wilder <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 10/5/2010 7:01 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally
>> delicious.
>
> savory potato blintzes I've heard of but cheese blintzes are generally
> sweet.
>
>> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over it.
>
> noodle kugel pie? With chicken soup on top? Maybe she fried her
> luckshin into a lump?
>
>> Anybody got anything on these?
>
> Not I. where in Europe did her family come from?

I don't recall but she grew up in the Adirondacks IIRC. Her husband is of
Russian descent. I doubt that influenced her cooking though.

MartyB


--�
-

Janet Wilder <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 10/5/2010 8:23 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>> She could make a perfect matzoh ball from
>> scratch too, soft outside, dense center. Yum.
>
> Is there any other way to make them than from scratch?

All this talk got me really hungry for Jewish Mother Chicken Soup. Besides
I've been ill and we all know this stuff has magic medicinal powers. I had a
dozen skinless drumsticks left over from the barbecue contest. So I did my
best to knock it off last night and I must say it's quite creditable, if not
perfect, hint of dill and garlic, some well cooked carrots floating around
and most of the onion and celery broken down.

I pulled the meat from the bones when done and returned bones to stock. I
compensated for the lack of skin by starting with a lot of water and
reducing down the stock by a good 2/3 or more to extract as much flavor as
possible from the bones over a long period. A little more schmaltz from skin
would have been nice but it has the right flavor and the biggest diff is
that it chilled down with only about a millimeter of congealed fat on top,
probably not even worth skimming. (IMO, this stuff is always better served
the second day.)

Now I have never made matzoh balls so I may just resort to a box of
Manischevitz mix rather than attempt that learning curve in one day. I could
do dumplings but that requires a different flavor of slightly thickened
chicken soup IMO.

If I could just figure out the noodle kugel pie I wouldn't worry about the
matzoh balls.

MartyB

On Wed 06 Oct 2010 06:38:51a, Nunya Bidnits told us...

>
> Janet Wilder <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 10/5/2010 8:23 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>>> She could make a perfect matzoh ball from scratch too, soft
>>> outside, dense center. Yum.
>>
>> Is there any other way to make them than from scratch?
>
> All this talk got me really hungry for Jewish Mother Chicken Soup.
> Besides I've been ill and we all know this stuff has magic
> medicinal powers. I had a dozen skinless drumsticks left over from
> the barbecue contest. So I did my best to knock it off last night
> and I must say it's quite creditable, if not perfect, hint of dill
> and garlic, some well cooked carrots floating around and most of
> the onion and celery broken down.
>
> I pulled the meat from the bones when done and returned bones to
> stock. I compensated for the lack of skin by starting with a lot
> of water and reducing down the stock by a good 2/3 or more to
> extract as much flavor as possible from the bones over a long
> period. A little more schmaltz from skin would have been nice but
> it has the right flavor and the biggest diff is that it chilled
> down with only about a millimeter of congealed fat on top,
> probably not even worth skimming. (IMO, this stuff is always
> better served the second day.)
>
> Now I have never made matzoh balls so I may just resort to a box
> of Manischevitz mix rather than attempt that learning curve in one
> day. I could do dumplings but that requires a different flavor of
> slightly thickened chicken soup IMO.
>
> If I could just figure out the noodle kugel pie I wouldn't worry
> about the matzoh balls.
>
> MartyB

All sounds good. My one piece of advice when forming the matzo balls
is to make sue your hands are wet.



--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright

Wayne Boatwright <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Wed 06 Oct 2010 06:38:51a, Nunya Bidnits told us...
>
>>
>> Janet Wilder <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> On 10/5/2010 8:23 PM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>>>> She could make a perfect matzoh ball from scratch too, soft
>>>> outside, dense center. Yum.
>>>
>>> Is there any other way to make them than from scratch?
>>
>> All this talk got me really hungry for Jewish Mother Chicken Soup.
>> Besides I've been ill and we all know this stuff has magic
>> medicinal powers. I had a dozen skinless drumsticks left over from
>> the barbecue contest. So I did my best to knock it off last night
>> and I must say it's quite creditable, if not perfect, hint of dill
>> and garlic, some well cooked carrots floating around and most of
>> the onion and celery broken down.
>>
>> I pulled the meat from the bones when done and returned bones to
>> stock. I compensated for the lack of skin by starting with a lot
>> of water and reducing down the stock by a good 2/3 or more to
>> extract as much flavor as possible from the bones over a long
>> period. A little more schmaltz from skin would have been nice but
>> it has the right flavor and the biggest diff is that it chilled
>> down with only about a millimeter of congealed fat on top,
>> probably not even worth skimming. (IMO, this stuff is always
>> better served the second day.)
>>
>> Now I have never made matzoh balls so I may just resort to a box
>> of Manischevitz mix rather than attempt that learning curve in one
>> day. I could do dumplings but that requires a different flavor of
>> slightly thickened chicken soup IMO.
>>
>> If I could just figure out the noodle kugel pie I wouldn't worry
>> about the matzoh balls.
>>
>> MartyB
>
> All sounds good. My one piece of advice when forming the matzo balls
> is to make sue your hands are wet.

So noted, thanks!

MartyB

Nunya Bidnits <[email protected]> wrote:

> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally delicious.

The cheese used is in blintzes is farmer's cheese, which is basically
the same as the traditional "tvorog" (Russian) or "bialy ser" (Polish).
Usually, at least some sugar is added (not to mention other sweet
components), but it can be omitted if desired. Here is a recipe:

Filling:
600 g (20 oz) farmer's cheese
1-2 tablespoons good sour cream or crème fraîche
1-2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
a pinch of salt
optionally, cinnamon to taste

Mix everything very well until it combines into a uniform elastic mass.

Blintzes:
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups water
4 tablespoons butter for frying

Lightly beat the eggs and milk together. Sift the flour and salt
together, add to eggs and milk and mix till smooth. Add water and mix
again. In a hot pan put 1/2 teaspoon butter. Pour in about 4
tablespoons of batter and cook on one side, then on the other till light
brown. Drain on grease-proof paper. Continue process till all blintzes
are made.

Put 1 tablespoon of the filling on each blintz, not quite in the centre.
Fold over a flap to cover filling, then fold in each side and finally
roll up remaining side, making a kind of envelope. Five minutes before
serving heat 1 tablespoon of butter in the frying-pan, put in the
blintzes and brown all over.

Note: I personally prefer to cook the blintzes and other kinds of crèpes
on one side only, put the filling on that side, fold in the crèpes and
then brown them in the pan. That way the wrapper won't be overcooked.

> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over it.

A simple version of lokshen kugel is easy enough to make. Here is what
I make very occasionally.

Cook the noodles in salted water until not quite ready. Put in a
colander and rinse with cold water. Drain, put the noodles in a plate
and mix with an egg. In a hot pan cook the noodles in some fat until a
firm golden crust forms. Turn over the kugel (perhaps inverting it onto
a flat lid, to make it easier), adding more fat if necessary, and cook
the other side. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10-15
minutes. If desired, cut in pieces and serve with broth or soup, or
with some other dish.

Victor

Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>
> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally delicious.

Why would cheese blintzes ever be sweet? Never had any that were; are
they supposed to be?


> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over it.
>
> Anybody got anything on these?
>
> MartyB

Hmmm...chicken soup over a kugel/pudding? Could be interesting.

Most of our traditional Ashkenazi recipes are best prepared in colder
weather, so haven't started that route yet. Not very familiar with
Sephardic cooking though.

On Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:34:34 -0600, Arri London <[email protected]>
wrote:



I've seen jam and honey accompany cheese on a cheese plate, so why
not?

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

Victor Sack <[email protected]> wrote:
<good recipes clipped>

Thanks!!! I appreciate all the detail.

MartyB

Arri London <[email protected]> wrote:
> Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>>
>> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally
>> delicious.
>
> Why would cheese blintzes ever be sweet? Never had any that were; are
> they supposed to be?
>

That was my experience. I had never had blintzes any other way. Later down
the road after we divorced, I had blintzes elsewhere and thought something
was wrong with them. Only then did I find out that sweetness was the norm.
But I still love the savory ones the best.

>
>> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over it.
>>
>> Anybody got anything on these?
>>
>> MartyB
>
> Hmmm...chicken soup over a kugel/pudding? Could be interesting.
>
> Most of our traditional Ashkenazi recipes are best prepared in colder
> weather, so haven't started that route yet. Not very familiar with
> Sephardic cooking though.

It wasn't pudding texture, more like a crispy noodle pie. Not strong
flavored at all, mostly a vehicle for soaking up that wonderful soup.

MartyB

sf wrote:
>
> On Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:34:34 -0600, Arri London <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> I've seen jam and honey accompany cheese on a cheese plate, so why
> not?
>


Where did you see that? Sounds dreadful

Nunya Bidnits wrote:
>
> Arri London <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Nunya Bidnits wrote:
> >>
> >> My Ex MIL made savory cheese blintzes. Not sweet, and totally
> >> delicious.
> >
> > Why would cheese blintzes ever be sweet? Never had any that were; are
> > they supposed to be?
> >
>
> That was my experience. I had never had blintzes any other way. Later down
> the road after we divorced, I had blintzes elsewhere and thought something
> was wrong with them. Only then did I find out that sweetness was the norm.
> But I still love the savory ones the best.

Same here. Only fruit blintzes are sweet, in my own limited experience.

>
> >
> >> She also made a noodle kugel pie and poured her chicken soup over it.
> >>
> >> Anybody got anything on these?
> >>
> >> MartyB
> >
> > Hmmm...chicken soup over a kugel/pudding? Could be interesting.
> >
> > Most of our traditional Ashkenazi recipes are best prepared in colder
> > weather, so haven't started that route yet. Not very familiar with
> > Sephardic cooking though.
>
> It wasn't pudding texture, more like a crispy noodle pie. Not strong
> flavored at all, mostly a vehicle for soaking up that wonderful soup.
>
> MartyB

Sorry bout that...kugels are often labelled puddings as in 'lockshen
pudding'. Noodles and soup always work for me