Jewish Cooking Boot Camp: The Modern Girl's Guide to Cooking Like a Jewish Grandmother (28 page)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package and drain.

3. In a large bowl mix the noodles with the butter so that the butter melts.

4. Pour the noodle mixture into a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish well greased with cooking
spray.

5. In a blender, mix well the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and orange juice.

6. Pour the mixture over the noodles.

7. For the topping mix the remaining ingredients together, and sprinkle them over the noodle
mixture.

8. Bake the pudding for 1 hour or until golden.

There is always room for fruit desserts, especially apple strudel. It's not that hard and looks quite
impressive. Tastes better than any strudel you could ever buy at a bakery.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Line a baking sheet with baker's parchment.

3. In a bowl, combine the apples, raisins, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and diced butter. Mix well.

4. Remove the cold phyllo dough from the box. (Keeping it cold makes it easy to work with.)

5. Place 1 sheet of phyllo pastry on the parchment and brush with the melted butter. Do the
same with 5 more sheets, stacking them on top of each other one at a time and brushing
them with the melted butter.

6. Spoon the apple mixture down the left (long) side of the phyllo rectangle, leaving a 2-inch
border on the top, bottom, and the side where the filling is.

7. Fold the top edge down and the bottom edge up to cover the filling (like an egg roll).

8. Gently roll the stack of pastry up along the long side to enclose the filling.

9. Brush the strudel with melted butter and sprinkle heavily with the cinnamon sugar.

10. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden.

11. Let the strudel cool, then remove carefully and place on a serving dish.

12. If made ahead of time, wrap the strudel in waxed paper and aluminum foil, then refrigerate or freeze. Reheat the strudel in the oven prior to serving.

Depending on the size of the apples you use, you may have enough apple mixture to make
two strudels. If so, you can assemble them both (one at time) on the same baking sheet.
Be sure to place the first stack of phyllo near one side of the parchment so you can fit both
strudels on the same baking sheet.

Don't worry if the phyllo sheets tear-with 6 pieces, you can overlap the torn parts, and no
one will ever know the difference!

If you don't have a pastry brush to brush the melted butter onto the phyllo dough, you can
spread it using the back of a tablespoon.

Andrea's brother David is a picky eater. He's one of those people who have "rules" about what
foods he will and will not eat and is famous for his nonsensical critiques of any and all menu
selections. This cheesecake is his very favorite dessert. The first time he tried it, it actually
inspired several phone calls from him to both Andrea and her husband, expressing his sincere
sorrow that they were not there to taste it and imploring them to drive over to Roz's house
immediately to sample a piece. Seriously.

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.

2. To make the crust, pulse the Oreo cookies and pecans in a food processor until they
become crumbs, then add the melted butter and pulse quickly to mix them well.

3. Spray a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray and then press the cookie mixture into the bottom and about 1%z to 2 inches up the sides of the springform pan. (Don't
worry if the sides of the crust are not even all around; the cheesecake is so delicious no
one will even notice.)

4. Refrigerate the crust for 10 minutes.

5. For the filling, using a stand mixer beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium
speed until well blended.

6. Add the eggs one at a time, blending well.

7. Pour the filling into the Oreo crust.

8. Bake the cheesecake for 65 to 75 minutes or until the center is set.

9. Cool completely before removing the sides of the springform pan.

10. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the cooled cheesecake.

11. Melt the chocolate chips with the milk over the stove or microwave until melted and drizzle this sauce over the cheesecake as well.

12. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours before serving.

As a variation on caramel and chocolate, you can top the cheesecake with fresh strawberries
or blueberries instead.

This is an alternative to banana bread. It is very light and airy, like cake. You can make it in
a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, or you can make it in a loaf pan like a banana bread.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Break the eggs into two bowls, separating the whites and yolks.

3. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

4. Beat the sugar into the egg whites, little by little. Then beat in the egg yolks, one by one.

5. Mix the flour with the baking soda and baking powder.

6. Add the flour mixture to the egg-and-sugar mixture.

7. Beat in the bananas, oil, and vanilla.

8. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan or into 2 loaf pans (5 x 9 inches).

9. Bake the cake(s) for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.

(Courtesy of Nancy Ratzan)

In 2003, Nancy traveled to China as part of a delegation of nine religious leaders investigating
the role the United Nations plays in Chinese family planning. During this incredible journey, a few
of the delegates were sent to a small, rural township in the Gansu province of China, where the
average annual family income is $300. As they conducted a random interview, they were invited
into the home of a very poor, three-generation family. With great pride and hospitality, the family
invited the group to stay for lunch. Though they politely declined, they did stay to taste a freshly
baked item. With the first bite, Nancy turned to her translator and said, "Please tell the grandmother that this tastes just like something my Jewish Russian-Polish grandmother used to make
for me." The Chinese grandmother asked for her recipe. Nancy told her, and the woman proclaimed
(in Chinese), "Yes, yes, that's it. That's how we make it." Food is a powerful connection.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl.

3. Add the flour, milk, butter, and salt. Whisk by hand until blended (but do not overbeat).

4. Pour into eight 5-ounce greased muffin tins.

5. Bake for 40 minutes at 400° or for 50 minutes at 375°.

6. Serve the popovers warm, with strawberry preserves.

This is a great go-to recipe that can be made ahead of time. It is delicious served with
a little whipped cream and fresh fruit.