The ultimate Jewish soul food … for many it’s the rich and creamy dish known as kugel.
“It’s a noodle casserole, really. It holds together like a pudding,” said Marsha Krieger.
But she notes that the dish, which typically includes eggs and a fat, can be sweet or savory. It can contain sugar and raisins, or onions and a vegetable or two or three. The varieties are endless.
Two sweet and one savory kugel will be offered at this Sunday’s Art and Jewish Food Festival at Temple Israel in Bath Township. The event, which brought crowds to the synagogue when it was last held two years ago, will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Temple Israel, 91 Springside Drive.
Also on the menu is another iconic Jewish comfort food — matzo ball soup — along with latkes, corned beef, stuffed cabbage, cabbage rolls, chopped liver, hummus and desserts, nearly all of it made by members of the Temple Israel Sisterhood.
Organizer Carol Friedman said there will be a separate carry-out line, and baked goods will be in a room separate from the main dining area. Parking and a shuttle to the synagogue will be available at the nearby Infocision facility at 325 Springside Drive. Admission is free.
Roughly 30 vendors will offer such items as jewelry, glass art objects, hand-turned wood bowls, pottery, pillows and scarves.
Back to the kugel. Among the sweet varieties are a simple noodle kugel (recipe below), whose ingredients include sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar, as well as fine egg noodles.
“My mother said when you use the fine noodles it comes out like a souffle,” said congregant Renee Pinsky, who joined Krieger and others at the synagogue to prepare kugel for the fest.
She got the recipe from her mother, who got it from a friend “a zillion years ago,” Pinsky said.
Krieger significantly altered a recipe she found on the internet to create a savory variety with cauliflower, caramelized onions, spinach and roasted red pepper hummus.
“It’s not your grandmother’s kugel,” remarked Sisterhood member Lynn Cohen.
Mothers and grandmothers and their recipes, and stories of passing down traditions came up frequently as the women gathered with fellow Sisterhood members to cook. Congregant Alan Fortnoff was the lone man in the kitchen that day, but other men also have cooked for the fest.
“There are all the mothers who aren’t here with us,” Nancy Scherr said, “but their recipes are. They live in our heart.”
Savory Noodle Kugel
with Spinach and
CarAmelized Onion
8 tbsp. non-dairy, unsalted margarine, such as Fleischmann’s
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 large onions, minced
Salt and ground black pepper
1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 lbs.), cored and cut into ¾-inch florets (about 6 cups)
1 lb. wide egg noodles
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 boxes (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach; thawed and squeezed dry
½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
4 tsp. white balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp. roasted red pepper hummus
Paprika
Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt 3 tablespoons margarine with the oil over high heat in a nonstick skillet. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt; cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until onions are golden brown and sweet, about 25 minutes longer. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste, and let cool.
Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot (with a perforated pasta insert, if available) over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cauliflower; cook until cauliflower is mostly tender but still slightly crunchy at the core, about 5 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to a paper towel-lined baking sheet using a slotted spoon (or by lifting out the pasta insert). Let cool.
Return water to a boil, add noodles and cook until almost tender but still firm to the bite, about 6 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with 2 tablespoons margarine. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Add onions, cauliflower, spinach, parsley, vinegar, hummus and eggs to the cooled noodles; toss to combine. Transfer the mixture to a 9- by 13-inch baking dish greased with 1 tablespoon margarine.
Pour broth evenly over noodles and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons margarine. Sprinkle with paprika for color. Cover tightly with foil and bake about 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until the surface is golden and the center is hot, about 20 minutes longer. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 8 to 10.
Notes: Recipe adapted by Marsha Krieger. Vegetarian and non-dairy. Additions could include cheese, sautéed mushrooms, shredded carrots, roasted peppers, garlic or chopped herbs. Freezes well.
Dairy Noodle Kugel
1 lb. fine egg noodles
1 tbsp. butter
1 pint sour cream
1 small container (1 lb.) cottage cheese
8 oz. cream cheese
5 eggs
1½ cups sugar
Graham cracker crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles a few minutes less than called for on package instructions; they will cook further when kugel is baked.
Drain water from pot; melt butter on top of noodles and mix. In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients except graham cracker crumbs with a hand mixer.
Combine with noodles and pour the mixture into a greased 9- by 13-inch pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top for color.
Bake for 1 hour. Serve with a side of sour cream.
Serves 8 to 10.
Subs in Fairlawn
The former Wendy’s in Fairlawn is turning into a Firehouse Subs.
A franchisee of the growing Jacksonville, Fla., chain plans to open at 3023 W. Market St. in early December, according to the advertising company that works with the chain.
Making its first foray into the Akron area, Firehouse specializes in subs with steamed meat and cheese on toasted buns. The chain was founded in 1994 and grew with a menu that mainly offered hot sandwiches; last year it began expanding its cold selections.
Also offered are salads and a limited menu of “extras,” including chili and brownies.
Bill Arnold, Fairlawn’s assistant commissioner for zoning, housing and residential building, said city officials are happy to have the former Wendy’s occupied “with a restaurant [chain] with a good reputation.” The Wendy’s site sat vacant for more than two years.
In Fairlawn, the franchisee is Matt Mikola, who also owns a Firehouse Subs in Strongsville.
Mikola has some 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, including working as a manager at a Northeast Ohio Bob Evans.
Local turkeys
You can find out about Thanksgiving feast ingredients available from local farmers in the new Field Guide from the nonprofit Countryside Conservancy.
“We get asked every year [about] where to find turkeys, where to find potatoes” that are locally produced, said Beth Knorr of Countryside, which operates area farmers markets. “We thought this was a great opportunity to really spell it out for people.”
The free guide, which includes recipes by local chefs, will be available at Countryside’s indoor farmers market at Old Trail School in Bath Township this Saturday and Nov. 19. The market runs from 9 a.m. to noon. Old Trail is at 2315 Ira Road.
The cover features a regal-looking turkey photographed by Shane Wynn. The turkey was raised at Goatfeathers Point Farm in Boston Township. The farm is among those begun under the Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Countryside Initiative, designed to boost sustainable agriculture in the Cuyahoga Valley.
The guide was designed by James Kurtz of Kurtz Graphic Design in Hudson. Knorr and Erin Molnar, farmers market manager for Countryside, did much of the writing.
A portion of a grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation of Hudson paid for the guide.
Gingerbread class
Reeves Cake Shop in Akron is again offering classes to make a gingerbread house. You can take the class at the bakery or as part of a group at your own house or other location.
Three classes will be offered at the bakery, 2770 Cory Ave., at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. Cost, which covers all supplies, is $25. Space is limited. Call 330-848-1036 to reserve.
If you have a large group, employees of the longtime family-owned shop will come to you. Rick Reeves said he and co-workers present workshops at homes, businesses, schools, churches and other locales. Cost is $23 per person (minimum of 10). Group classes will be offered Nov. 26 through Dec. 17.
And from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 19, Reeves is offering an open house at the bakery, featuring samples of more than 15 flavors of cakes, as well as holiday pastries and cookies. Call 330-848-1036 or visit www.reevescakeshop.com for information.
Wine time
• 3 Point, 45 E. Market St. in downtown Akron, will host a South American Wine Dinner at 4 p.m. Nov. 28. Five courses will be paired with wines. Cost is $60. Call 330-535-6410.
• The Galaxy Restaurant in Wadsworth will host its Premier Holiday Wine Festival featuring more than 100 wines from 7 to 10 p.m. Nov. 26. The cost is $75. The Galaxy is at 201 Park Centre Drive, off state Route 94 and Interstate 76. For reservations, go to www.galaxyrestaurant.com or call 330-334-3663.
• Cellar 59, the wine bar and shop in a renovated farmhouse at 3984 Kent Road in Stow, will host its fourth annual Fall Tasting from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, featuring 20 wines accompanied by light appetizers. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. Call 330-688-2684.
• Papa Joe’s at 1561 Akron-Peninsula Road in Cuyahoga Falls will offer a Progressive Wine Dinner with Vinifera Imports at 6 p.m. Friday. Cost is $85. Call 330-923-7999 for reservations.
Little doughnuts
Peace Love & Little Donuts — the small Pittsburgh-headquartered chain offering little doughnuts with a variety of toppings — has arrived in Hudson, and a second shop is set to open any day in Green.
The Hudson store, which opened late last month, is at 51 S. Main St., in the Evaporator Works complex off state Route 91, south of state Route 303.
It’s a franchise operation that is owned by husband-and-wife Gina and Brian Bishop of Hudson. Gina is known to many as owner of Home Girl, a venture that has included periodic sales of vintage and modern items at her barn. Brian is owner of Bishop Financial Advisors.
For now, Gina said, she’s focusing on the shop, where the decor speaks loudly to her love of funky repurposed materials. The counter is made from the body of a 1963 VW bus. Gina said she always wanted a VW bus, “but I didn’t know it would be in a doughnut shop.”
Father-and-son Hans and Alex Loos of Hans Noble Design of Cleveland made the counter. Danielle DeBoe of DeBoe Studio Interiors, also of Cleveland, had seen a picture of a similar store counter and shared the idea with Gina.
The counter fits in well with the chain’s desire to evoke a hippie vibe.
Doughnuts come in classic flavors, such as cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar and honey glazed. “Far Out” selections feature various frostings. “Funkadelic” flavors include frosted donuts adorned with toppings, such as Maple Bacon, S’mores and Salted Chocolate.
Store hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Phone is 330-653-9568.
In Green, Kirstin Poling plans to open up her Peace Love & Little Donuts store very soon at 3700 Massillon Road in the Shops of Green plaza. Her sons Garrett, 20, and Brayden, 17, will help run the place.
Poling is director of rehabilitation at an area nursing home. Phone is 330-563-4439.
The Green and Hudson shops join area Peace Love & Donuts in Canal Fulton, Hartville, Kent, Massillon and North Canton. A spokesman for the Pittsburgh corporate office said there are 29 stores open or in development.
Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com and read the Akron Dish blog at www.ohio.com/food.