Recipe: Rosh Hashanah Dinner

I am kind of ashamed to say that I don’t know much about the Jewish culture despite the fact that I worked for a Jewish family for a long time and had a close friend that was Jewish. Also, I have been to a few weddings where they stomped on a glass wrapped in a napkin and yelled “Mazel Tov!” and lifted the newlyweds on chairs. I have even danced the Hora!

But one thing I have never done is cook a traditional Jewish dish. Of course I am familiar with some things, like Matzo Ball Soup and Gifelte fish, Potato Latkes and Brisket. But there is one dish I have never tried or even heard of. That is Sweet Noodle Pudding, sometimes called Noodle Kugel. Had I known about this delightful dish when I was younger, I probably would’ve converted.

One my lovely co-workers gave me this recipe, so I cannot take a lot of credit for it. She explained to me that the side dishes are more important than the meat when it comes to Rosh Hashanah dinner. I was glad she said that because I was not sure I was ready to cook an entire holiday meal, but as I gave it further thought, I changed my mind. What good is a delicious side dish if it’s going to stand alone?

Subsequently, even though I am not Jewish, I decided to make a holiday meal, but on a smaller scale. It is actually a great family holiday dinner when you are short on time and energy.

However, my meal did not come without stress. After I prepared the noodle pudding and placed it in the oven, I made the mistake of searching the internet for other noodle pudding recipes. Every one of them called for at least 4 eggs, plus butter and some other ingredients that this recipe did not have. Could my friend have forgotten some key ingredients? Suddenly, panic set in. I quickly posted a Facebook status asking for help or advice, but I didn’t get much of a response. So I kept my fingers crossed. There was not much I could do at that point anyway.

After about an hour and 15 minutes of cooking, the smell of the sweet pudding was permeating the apartment and it made me think, if it smells like that, it couldn’t have turned out that bad. Boy, was I right. It was sweet, crispy, creamy and scrumptious! It also went very well with my savory roasted chicken and Green Bean Oreganata. I guess the only thing I have left to say is Shana Tova!

Sweet Noodle Pudding

Ingredients

16 oz. cream cheese

16 oz. cottage cheese

16 oz. sour cream

16 oz. thin egg noodles

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 325 degrees.
2. Cook noodles for three minutes in boiling water.
3. Combine all other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add cooked noodles to cheese mixture and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and bake for an hour and 20 minutes.
6. Enjoy with dinner.

Roasted Chicken Legs

Ingredients

4 whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)

1 tsp. olive oil

6 cloves of garlic

bunch of fresh thyme

salt to taste

white pepper to taste

poultry seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 375.
2. Finely chop garlic and thyme.
3. Add oil, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning to the chopped garlic mixture.
4. Rub over chicken pieces.
5. Bake for 45 minutes until brown and crispy.
6. Enjoy!

Green Bean Oreganato

Ingredients

1 package frozen green beans (steam-in-a-bag is fine)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Steam or microwave green beans.
2. Heat oil and garlic in sauté pan on medium heat.
3. Add green beans.
4. Toss with cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.
5. Cook for about five minutes until cheese and bread crumbs stick to the vegetables.
6. Enjoy!