Not So Secret Family Recipe

As the Jewish holidays approach, I always look forward to my favorite dish of the season: my mother’s noodle pudding. This noodle pudding has the perfect amount of sweetness, with raisins and sugar, while the thick noodles and sour cream give it depth. The texture should be dense but light enough that some noodles fall apart with the touch of a fork. Serve the noodle pudding at room temperature or slightly warm, but remember that cold leftovers make a delicious breakfast!

My Mother's Noodle Pudding

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. extra broad egg noodles
2 eggs
½ stick butter
1/3 c. sugar
3 tbsp. sour cream
½ c. milk
1 tsp. cottage cheese (this may seem like an unusual measurement, but too much cottage cheese will dry it out)
raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cook noodles until very soft. Add next six ingredients to noodles and mix well. Sprinkle raisins in the noodle mixture to taste. Pour noodle mixture into an oven-proof casserole dish, and sprinkle some more raisins on top. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown - don't overcook because that can dry it out. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm.

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Upcoming Food Events

We are going to start a weekly feature in which we post upcoming food events in and around Penn/Philadelphia. We will post it every Sunday. If you have any events that you would like to appear on this weekly feature, please email pennappetit.blog@gmail.com with the information.

This week's events, 9/28-10/4:

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"Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty" with author Mark Winne

• Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 5:00pm
• University of Pennsylvania; Apse, 4th Floor, Fisher Fine Arts Library (220 S. 34th Street)
• Co-sponsored by Fox Leadership Program, Penn Planning, and Penn Center for Studies in Public Health

Food stands as a glaring example of how the gap between this country's "haves" and "have-nots" remains deep and wide. Join us in this public lecture where Mark Winne discusses the issues of hunger, food insecurity, and the policies and systems that seek to close the food gap in America. For more information about the event, please contact foxleader@sas.upenn.edu.
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Metropolitan Agriculture in North America: From Planning to Development

• Saturday, October 4, 2008 from noon - 5:30pm
• University of Pennsylvania, Houston Hall (3418 Spruce St., Philadelphia PA)
• Hosts: MetroAg - Alliance for Urban Agriculture; Penn Planning & Penn Institute for Urban Research; with support from the Cedar Tree Foundation

Please join us for the first public forum for the new Alliance for Urban Agriculture (MetroAg). The afternoon will start with an informal networking lunch, followed by roundtable discussions of regional planning and community and economic development featuring leading practitioners, policy makers, and scholars of sustainable agriculture. The event will conclude with the first general meeting of the Alliance. This forum is part of the annual conference of the Community Food Security Coalition, taking place in Cherry Hill, NJ, October 4-8. The $30 ticket includes a locally grown lunch (with vegetarian options), coffee and snacks. A limited number of student and low-income scholarships are available on a first-come basis. Click here to register.
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Next week, 10/5-10/12:

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Marcella Hazan – Amarcord: Marcella Remembers

• Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 7:30PM
• Central Library (1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103)
• Cost: $14 General Admission, $7 Students

The godmother of Italian cooking in the United States, Marcella Hazan’s standard-setting cookbooks include Marcella Cucina and Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Her husband, food and wine-writer Victor Hazan, will accompany Marcella on stage as she discusses her latest memoir, Amarcord. The Hazans will be interviewed by Patricia Talorico of the Delaware News Journal. (Meelya Gordon Memorial Lecture)

NOTE: Andy Kahan is offering FREE tickets to Penn students for this event. If you are interested, please email him directly at kahana@freelibrary.org.
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Autumn Flavors - Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup at Au Bon Pain. Photo by Alice Gao.

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Friday Blog Lovin' - DIY Potato Chips...in the Microwave

Blog: Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

Yummy microwavable recipes can at times seem few and far between. These surprisingly crunchy chips can be spiced up with your favorite seasoning and for a different twist, try making them with another type of potato, perhaps a purple one?


Note: Click on the photo to see the original post.

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Hummus Restaurant - A Newcomer

Hummus is the newest restaurant to hit the 40th Street strip, nestled between McDonald's and the Radian. They serve sandwiches and platters of near-authentic Middle Eastern food: falafel, shwarma, kabobs, and hummus. Though I find their namesake dip on the grainy and garlicky side, the pita (either white or whole wheat) is nice and fluffy--and it's rumored to be imported from Israel.

I got a delicious shwarma sandwich to go and couldn't have been more satisfied. The meat was tender and well-seasoned; it balanced perfectly with the tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage salad, onions, harif, and tahini. I added fries to the sandwich for $1 to truly do it Israeli style. Hummus is a "must check out" for those who haven't been, but beware: it's not dirt cheap.

Check out the menu here!

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Obscene...vegetables?

I got this beauty at the Headhouse Farmers Market in Philadelphia, located at 2nd and Lombard. Photo by Alice Gao.

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Toxic Typo

As reported by the Freakonomics blog, a recipe typo in a Swedish food magazine led to four cases of nutmeg overdose. What exactly was the typo? 20 whole nutmeg instead of two pinches. While nutmeg poisoning may not sound bad-ass, it still lead to hospitalization. And someone getting fired.

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Taste (and see) the Rainbow

This Eye Candy lollipop appeals to your sense of sight rather than taste. Using sensory substitution, it sends your brain visual information via your tongue. The images transmitted with this hi-tech lolly range from shooting stars to spiders and are meant to help you be a better person (somehow). The website claims this technology is delicious, plus you get a bubbly feeling on your tongue. So, it's kind of like new-age, hallucinogenic pop rocks. Trippy.

I'm pretty sure the experience of licking a lollipop and seeing spiders would forever ruin lollipops for me. But I'd totally go for "tranquil fish swimming through the streams of [my] consciousness."

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A Romp with Rhubarb

My mom always raved about strawberry-rhubarb pies from her childhood. In Best Food Writing 2007, there's an excerpt from Barbara Kingsolver's 2007 book, Animal Vegetable Miracle, that highlights rhubarb's savior-like qualities when no other seasonal fruit is available. And when I made rugelach this summer, I used some strawberry-rhubarb preserves in a few of them (heated and mashed a bit, of course).

Reading Kingsolver's book this summer piqued my rhubarb curiosity once again, and the Boston Globe Magazine serendipitously printed a recipe for Foolish Rhubarb Cardamom Parfaits. Naturally, I wanted to have my hand in preparing this fruit...er, stalk...er, plant...


What the heck is rhubarb? According to wikipedia, rhubarb is a vegetable, but we use only the stalk for cooking/baking. Good thing, because the leaves are toxic. I'd suggest checking out the wikipedia article (linked above) to see photos of the stuff before it's chopped up into packable pieces for the grocery store.

My adventure with rhubarb turned into a late-night cooking craze, as I decided to make the parfaits after finishing up a batch of Scottish scones (some made on the griddle, some in the oven). And unfortunately, I was actually the only person that even tried the parfait, or the rhubarb for that matter, because my parents both had stomach bugs at the time. So you'll either have to trust my judgment or make it yourself!


The rhubarb is a hard stalk, with skin about the same color as a red onion. Under the skin, it's a pale green. I have no experience with it, so I don't know if mine looked healthy, or if it was old as the hills - all I know is that it cooked up fine so I don't have any complaints. You have to peel off the skin by digging under it with a knife and peeling all the way down the stalk. It's very simple, and produces beautiful curls of purplish ribbon.


After peeling and chopping the rhubarb, I threw it in a saucepan with some sugar, orange juice/zest, cardamom, and vanilla. I didn't think there was enough liquid, so I added more juice. That ended up being a mistake: first of all, the rhubarb oozes liquid when it's cooked, so the extra juice was unnecessary; secondly, the sauce ended up too orangey.


Once cooked down and mashed up, I refrigerated the sauce overnight. I made whipped cream the next morning, and then assembled a giant parfait (if made with cream, parfaits should be tiny, I've learned). I must say that I liked the look and idea of the concoction better than the actual taste. I thought it was too sweet, so maybe with less sugar and less orange juice it would work better. But it was still fun, and paired well with the plain scones I had made. Not bad for a first attempt at rhubarb preparation.

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Let's Do Brunch

Brunch is, without hesitation, my favorite meal of any day I can get it. Since I normally wake up at a crisp 11AM, brunch and I have had a long love affair--full of scones, home fries, pancakes...

Sabrina’s, Rx, and my newfound favorite Honey’s Sit 'n' Eat are all fine choices in the Philly brunch scene. However, during my last weeks of school I didn't want to bother with SEPTA, an hour-long wait, and a $14 omelet. Instead, a brunch in the comforts of our home and pajamas sounded more to my liking.

Hosting a brunch may sound overwhelming when you take them on full force but with the right attitude, some good planning ahead, and a solid menu, they can be an easy and relaxing event for all. The most solid advice I could offer is don’t be overambitious. I’ve made this mistake too many times while hosting dinner parties. Individual omelets with the guest’s choice of ten different chopped fillings can be elegant but why go through the hassle? Instead, go for scrambled eggs which can be made in a big batch and served buffet style.

It's also important to do enough preparation. This starts with having a menu in mind long before the morning of the party. Try to prepare as much as possible beforehand to avoid being exhausted and stressed by the time your guests arrive that morning. For example, scone dough can be prepared in advance and simply cut up and baked the morning of. It is important to have a game plan before cooking. Know what order you plan to make items so you can figure out what needs the oven and what should be served warm.

As far as what should be on the menu, try to make a balance of savory and sweet dishes to cater to different brunch palates. Avoid making dishes for the first time - stick with tried and true recipes so you don't encounter unexpected surprises midway into cooking. A pot of coffee is a must, even if you don’t drink it. I assure you others will.

It is best to do your brunch family style--have dishes out on the table and let guests serve themselves. And of course, a vase of flowers is always a nice touch.

My last piece of advice, and the most important, is that you should enjoy yourself as the host. If a dish does not come out as perfectly as hoped, don’t obsess over it. Enjoy the company of your friends and family and by all means, eat until you can’t even think about dinner.

Our Brunch Menu
• Asparagus and Onion Frittata (Courtesy of Epicurious)
• Trader Joe’s Basil Chicken Sausages
• Roasted New Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic
• Banana Berry Smoothie
• Trader Joe’s Orange Juice
• Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake Muffins (Courtesy of Joy of Baking)

Other suggested menu options: French toast, quiche, scrambled eggs or frittata with various toppings (goat cheese, lox, mushrooms, artichokes, leeks, spinach, etc.), yogurt, coffee cake, cinnamon rolls, bacon, hash browns, home fries, biscuits

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