Welcome to Milk Street's My Family Recipe.
We help home cooks rediscover and recreate lost family recipes.
- My grandmother Margaret was the absolute best.
- Don't put any pressure on us or anything.
We bring home cooks to our Boston studio.
I'm going to stay back... ...where, along with our host and pastry chef, Cheryl Day... - Isn't it great how food can take you back?
- We teach them how to make their family recipe from scratch.
- You're going to be able to bake this cake.
- I can do it.
- Just the way it was made by, say, their grandmother.
- Beautiful.
Grandma would not tolerate lumps.
- Then we send them home to recreate that recipe for the toughest audience.
- There it is.
- Their own family.
Can our home cooks pull it off?
- Mom, that's really good.
I think that's a yes.
- Or will the recipe be lost forever?
Right here on Milk Street's My Family Recipe.
- That is delicious.
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Ready to grill, ready to season, or pre-seasoned and ready to eat.
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Mowi Salmon.
- My name is Fairlight de Michele, and I live in Oakland, California.
I live with my husband, Nico, and my children, Zoe and Julian Procos.
I do love to cook.
I cook all the time.
Dinner is a nice family meal time to sit down and be together.
The dish that I really want to learn how to make is my grandmother Erna's kugel.
Every time my family got together, this kugel was at the table.
This kugel was very reminiscent of holidays, of birthdays, of just get-togethers.
That smells right.
The recipe was really never written down, and it's because my grandma, Erna, she knew it by heart.
I know there's cinnamon.
A couple of years ago, I went online and I did some research and gave it a shot and it was awful.
It was smushy and overbaked and people were polite, but it wasn't good.
This dish is about comfort, it's about survival.
My grandmother Erna was raised in Poland.
She survived the Holocaust.
They were lucky to escape with their lives and they saved nothing.
This recipe, it came from her heart and in her own memory.
And so to be able to revive this and to be able to share that with my family and bring it to life again, it means a lot.
So I really need Chris and Cheryl's help.
- Hi, Fairlight.
How are you?
- I'm wonderful.
How are you two?
- Thank you, first of all, for entrusting us in recreating this memory.
- Well, this is a really hard recipe to do.
I've been to a few Rosh Hashanahs and Seders, and the ones I had were overcooked and heavy.
- That's exactly what happened.
- When you made it, you said it wasn't great, so what was not great about it?
- The texture was definitely off.
It wasn't exactly sweet, and it wasn't exactly savory.
So getting that flavor sort of in between and just right, I think is really important.
- So the noodles, when you bake it, did they get a little dry and hard on top or they were submerged in, like, in the custard?
- That's a good question.
I think that they probably would have peaked out the top and the edges to get a little bit crunchy.
I think I would have liked that.
- I think I would like that, too.
- That's something on the yes list.
- Who are you most excited to share this recipe with, Fairlight?
- I think I would be most excited to share this with my cousin Lori, but all of my cousins and my mom and my aunts.
- I think we're going to do it.
We're going to send it back to the Milk Street team and try to recreate this memory for you.
- Don't put any pressure on us or anything.
I mean, we got to make this thing work.
So we're going to work on this.
- Wonderful.
- And then you're going to come here and we're going to have you taste it.
- Oh, my gosh.
- That's going to be it.
I'm already...
I'm not going to sleep.
Then if you like it, we can show you how we make it, and you can make it.
- I am so excited.
The last time I had this kugel, I was probably 15.
And that's no easy task to reach back into my memory and try and pull out a recipe.
I don't know how they're going to do it, but I know they're going to come up with something great.
- Thank you, Fairlight.
- Thank you.
- So...
I wanna say so, Here you are.
It's going to be perfect.
It's not a problem.
- I just think it's exciting.
- It is exciting, but the part is the memory from 30 years ago... - Right.
- ...doesn't match the reality of the actual dish.
- But sometimes you can actually recreate it, and you get that sense memory, but also bring it new life and give it better flavor than it probably had.
- I knew you were going to say better.
We'll figure it out.
- We'll figure it out.
- Noodle kugel is a recipe that goes back hundreds of years to about 1500.
The savory potato version is probably the original one, but the lukshen kugel, now this means noodle, has another meaning, which means tangled together, which means it's a way of bringing people together.
And the word "kugel" actually means you know, round or sphere, because it was named after dumplings.
They were cooked in stew and there was a difference between the savory kugels and the sweet ones.
In the early 19th century in southwest Poland, they started sugar beet industry, and all of a sudden sugar was available and it was relatively inexpensive.
So there's something called the Gefilte Line, which runs through eastern Poland.
And to the west you might have more sugar in dishes, and to the east might be more savory.
So this dish in recent years got tarted up with all sorts of things, dried fruit, jam, cinnamon.
You can even see variations with cornflakes on the top.
So our challenge was to go back to a basic noodle kugel, the one that Fairlight remembers and is part of her family history.
- So noodle kugel.
There's about as many versions of this in the world as there are cookbooks.
So we got to get this one right.
- The cream cheese and the sugar.
- I'm going to put Diane, our Recipe Development Director, on this.
She excels at dishes like this.
So we're going to start out here and make different combinations of dairy and see what we can come up with.
There's many different kinds of dairy products you can use here, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream.
We went with a combination of all three.
But it was very tricky to get the right balance so that the texture was right, not too creamy and dense, but also nice and rich and flavorful.
Our next quandary was how to prepare the noodles.
There are recipes out there that have it cooked within the casserole, some that are cooked beforehand.
So we had to figure out the best option here.
All right, so what do we have?
- Well, we have two kugels here.
This one was cooked covered with soft noodles, and this one was cooked uncovered with al dente noodles.
- Fairlight has a very clear memory of how this should taste, so we want to make sure we get it right.
- We're going to have to taste them.
So we're at a decision point here.
The right decision is going to bring back some lovely memories for Fairlight.
The wrong one is going to be a dud.
- Now we have to make a decision how sweet or tart to make this.
- What do you think?
- Big difference in texture, for sure.
The noodles are almost the same texture as the dairy.
We tried cooking them all the way through, and then mixing in the dairy ingredients and throwing it in the oven.
That proved to be not quite right.
And this one is a little more defined, I guess.
Better.
It's a nicer texture between the two things.
- Uh-huh.
And I like the top of this one better.
- Yeah, a little brown-- - Crispier noodles.
- Yeah.
Diane had the brilliant idea of par cooking them so they're not quite soft.
Mixing that together and baking it, that was the key.
So we think we've landed on something really special and right on.
But Fairlight's on her way all the way from Oakland, so we hope we've got this right, and we're going to try to teach her what we think is the best representation of her grandma's kugel.
- Okay, so are you ready to learn how to make your family recipe?
- I'm ready.
- I want to ask you a question first.
Your name Fairlight is a great name.
- It's perfect.
- No one's ever asked you about it before, but where did the name come from?
- I was named after a character in a book.
The book was called Christy, and my mom loved the character, and I was named after Fairlight Spencer.
- It's a great name.
- Thank you very much.
- Thanks for coming all this way, and I hope we have the kugel.
- I'm excited to learn.
- Let's get started.
- All right.
- First thing, we have the raisins.
A cup and a half of raisins.
We did not plump these.
You know, some recipes would pump them up, but they're going to sit with this and four tablespoons of melted butter.
- Butter makes everything better.
- Sure does.
- Well, this is a recipe... not about low fat.
- So then he's just tossing those all together, and-- - And we want the noodles to be coated because we don't want them to dry out.
- Right, right.
- While we're busy doing the rest of it.
- So... - Wow.
It already looks good.
- Yeah.
- I would have never thought to butter the noodles.
Think that's a great idea, and I can see how that would really improve the dish over what I had done by myself last time.
- If I could get you to add in the cream cheese.
Just add it all in.
So get all that in, and then we're going to get this started here.
I usually like to just let it mix just for a few seconds, and then we're going to add in the sugar.
So then we're just going to let that mix until it's all incorporated and creamy.
Okay.
And now we're going to add in our cottage cheese.
That's another creamy element there.
- Forgot about the cottage cheese in there, and I'd forgotten about the cream cheese too.
So this is looking a little bit different than I remember.
- All right, so now we're going to add our eggs.
We've got nutmeg and cinnamon - and of course, vanilla.
- Okay.
- So I always like to add the eggs gradually just so they can combine.
Otherwise, things tend to break or separate on you, and you don't want that.
- That's a good trick.
Baking is not my thing, so I'm glad that you're teaching me.
- Oh, good.
So you want to make sure that everything is combined.
Now we're going to add the spices.
I'm going to let you add that cinnamon.
- I don't remember what spices I used last time, but I love the combination of vanilla and nutmeg and cinnamon.
They're just so warm, and they complement each other so beautifully.
- Those beautifully buttered noodles.
I mean, this is off to a good start already.
Thanks, Chris.
- We're going to let this sit for 15 minutes so to absorb a little of that liquid.
- Press it down.
That is something to remember.
- Okay.
- Okay.
15 minutes.
- Pour it in the pan and bake it, and you can do the same thing at home.
- I hope it's as pretty as yours.
- Oh, it will be.
- Yeah.
- So, Fairlight, this is what it looks like.
After 15 minutes, everything has absorbed, it's ready to go into the dish.
- So, yeah, a little softened butter.
- Actually, the butter is going to give it that nice caramelly... - Sides.
- Sides.
And just that great texture that you tasted.
- And then, Chris, pour that in, and we're ready to bake.
Gorgeous.
- I think we're good here.
- Yes, so this is going to go into your oven, preheated, 350 degrees.
- Okay.
- About 45 minutes.
Don't pull it out until...
It's going to have a little jiggle... - And it should be 160 degrees.
- And then that's enough jiggle.
- Okay.
- So, it's out of the oven.
We'll let it cool.
Obviously.
- Looks beautiful.
- It does look great.
Top looks great.
- I can't wait to try this kugel.
It's been forever since I have tasted this dish.
- It smells, oh, so good.
- Grandma's been gone a long time.
- So forever and one more minute.
So we're going to have here... - Beautiful.
- Look at that.
It is beautiful.
- And it looks light inside.
It's just beautiful.
Thank you.
- There you are.
- Something that strikes me are the little pieces of noodles.
- You talked about that.
- Yes, yes.
- You talked about that.
- And the shape of the noodles are so familiar.
Still waiting to taste it.
- All right.
- Okay.
- Let's let you go first.
- Okay.
- Mm.
- Good?
- Is that it?
- That's it.
This tastes so familiar to me.
It really does.
- How is the texture?
'Cause I know that was a big part of the recipe.
- The texture is right on, because I remember it being really light and fluffy, and it reminds me of my Grandma Erna.
You know, this dish... - Says love.
- It says love.
Chris and Cheryl have invented something out of my memory, and it's so close.
I don't know how they were able to do it.
There were a lot of flavors as a child, I think I wasn't used to a dish like this, and it's coming back to me.
- So now you get to try this out on everybody else in the family.
- Right.
- And see if they have the same... - I can't wait to see... - Same memory that you have.
- ...what they think.
- Me too.
Wonderful.
- So today I am baking my grandmother's kugel.
As I was preparing and pulling everything together, I was thinking about my family flying in from the airport.
That puts a little bit of pressure on me, but I'm hoping they will all be kind.
- So the first thing we're doing today is gathering all of our ingredients together.
- I'm not going to lie.
After I came home from Boston and I thought about my memories of the kugel from when I was a child, I realized the flavor profile wasn't quite as I remembered it.
And knowing the way my grandmother cooked, she kind of jeujed things.
So I jeujed things myself.
So what I did was I reduced the amount of raisins by just about half.
I reduced the cream cheese by a quarter.
I reduced the sour cream again to reduce that sour flavor, I added a little bit more sugar.
I like it a little sweeter.
And I remember my grandmother's being just a little bit creamier, a little softer.
So I added milk to the recipe.
I hope Cheryl and Chris won't be upset, but the truth is, I couldn't have made these changes if they hadn't made such a great recipe for me to jump off from.
From the top.
I never use this thing.
- Make sure your bowl is stuck in there well, first.
Okay.
I'm definitely up for the task of making it in my own kitchen.
I think I can handle it.
Add those spices.
The mixture looks delicious.
You can see the little bits of cottage cheese in there, which will bake up nicely.
The whole thing almost looks like a rich custard.
Just smells wonderful.
All right, I want to just go over... make sure I feel like I might have missed something.
I'm going to freak out if I missed something, because then the kugel won't work.
Casserole dish is going to get a nice buttering.
Now I'm going to add the raisins to the butter.
Give them a quick stir, pour over all of that butter, and the rest gets drenched over.
- All right, let's put you in the dish.
Oh, that looks good.
Look at all those raisins.
I want the noodles to poke up a little bit, but not too much.
All right.
To rest in the fridge.
- My kids and my husband have never had kugel before.
I really hope they enjoy it when they taste it for the first time.
- In the oven.
- I think there's a lot riding on this kugel.
One more little mini-kugel.
I am making a gluten-free kugel for my cousin Heather.
So there's a side kugel extra special for Heather.
- Yay!
- Hi!
Oh, you're here.
I'm so happy.
Lori mentioned that one of her life's biggest regrets was that she never learned how to cook with my Grandma Erna before she died.
- It's been so long.
Grandma would be so happy we're doing this.
- This would mean so much for me to be able to give Lori my Grandma Erna's kugel recipe.
- It's so good to see you.
- Hi.
You, too.
- Hi, babe.
- Hi.
- It smells so good.
Can we see the kugel?
- Not yet.
You have to wait.
- Okay.
Why don't you come on in and sit down?
- Just walking through the door.
This house smells incredible.
I want to eat all of it.
I'm excited.
- Hi, guys.
- Fairlight, do you need any help in the kitchen?
- No, I got it.
- Just like Grandma.
- It's the kugel way.
I do remember that Grandma Erna would never let anyone help.
- Which is why we don't know the recipe.
- Why we don't know, exactly.
- It's top secret.
- I have lots of memories of having the kugel, so I cannot wait to try it.
- Look at that.
- So pretty.
- You made it.
- I did it.
- You did it.
You cooked it.
- A little gift from Grandma Erna.
- Aww.
- Does it look familiar?
- Oh, yes.
I think you got it.
- Definitely looks like Grandma's kugel.
All right, now, this one has gluten, but I have a special one just for you.
- I think Grandma Erna would have been very proud of the way Fairlight made sure that everyone was well taken care of and had this special experience with her.
- All right.
The gluten-free.
- Ooh, yum.
Certainly smells familiar.
- Yeah.
- Well, shall we serve them up?
- Yes, please.
- All right.
- Thank you.
- Uh-huh.
All right, everybody, dig in.
- Mm.
Fair.
You did it.
- Did I nail it?
- You nailed it.
I think she hit the nail on the head.
- This is it.
- Aw.
- Grandma would be so proud.
- Aw, thank you.
That means a lot.
- That kugel tasted just like what I remember the way Grandma Erna used to make it.
- That's excellent.
- Really tasty.
So good.
- It's delicious.
- Aw, I'm glad you like it.
- I like the cinnamon.
- Good.
- It feels so good to have this bit of my Grandma Erna back.
That kugel is going to be at every holiday table from now on, and it will be ingrained in my kids' memories.
And maybe even their kids' memories.
Even as it's in my mouth right now, I have that memory of all of my aunts and uncles sitting around the table and you guys and our other cousins and Grandma cooking in the kitchen for hours, and Grandpa John sitting at the table.
And so to have it back at the table, means so much.
So I guess that's why I did all of this.
And to have you all with me here today...
It's really special.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thanks guys.
- I can just think of... Grandma looking down on us, and being so happy that we're together.
- Makes me really happy to have you all here today.
- I think that was the final ingredient in this kugel, is just to have all of you.
To eat it together, to eat more than we know what to do with.
More than we could.
Fairlight did such a great job.
I'm so proud of her.
I love that she was so dedicated to getting this right.
- Kugel's not light.
My wish came true.
I had so many of my loved ones together at the table, sharing a dish that I made from a memory.
I mean, that's a beautiful wish.
I think my grandma would be proud of me, especially when she gets to look down and see me hugging my cousins and my mom and sharing her kugel.
Mom, looks like your plate's finished.
Would you like some more kugel?
- Just a little bit.
- All right.
Chris, Cheryl, thank you so much.
- Savannah is a city that loves the past and when it comes to food, that means crab-stuffed, pecan-crusted, or even corn bread-fried.
But when it comes to desserts, Cheryl Day of Back in the Day Bakery has doubled down on culinary history... - Good morning!
- Hey, how are ya?
- How are you?
- Nice to finally meet you.
- Welcome to Savannah.
- ...whether it's her three-layer chocolate cake, or perhaps her sweet potato cupcakes with cream cheese caramel frosting.
- So yeah, let me give you a tour of the new space.
- So this-this used to be your dining room?
- Yes, this used to be our dining room, and now we have put up a wall and put in a little retail area.
And then we sell our greatest hits, the baked goods.
- So what are your greatest hits?
- Well, it depends on the time of year, we're gonna be making some of them today.
- You know, Savannah is more than a taste of the past.
The past just never left town.
- I have all of my family kind of watching over me.
These are all old family photos.
- Cheryl, thank you so much for hosting us.
I mean this is, like, the most beautiful bakery ever.
It's cool.
- Thank you.
- But... so I was shocked when you told me...
I thought you were, like, born and bred Savannah, but you are-- you grew up in L.A. - I grew up in L.A., born and raised.
I was actually born in Hollywood.
- Hmm.
- And I grew up in Los Angeles, and yeah... - As a kid, though, you did come to this part of the country like in the summers, right?
- I did, I think my mom, since she was from the South, thought it was really important for me to kind of see a different way of life and... growing up in Los Angeles, so I came from about the age of eight and I spent summers with my grandmother.
And it was just a way of life that was so different from what I was used to and I just fell in love with it.
- So was your grandmother the baker in the family?
- She was one of the bakers in the family, and as it turns out, I come from a long line of bakers.
It goes back to my great-great grandmother who was enslaved, and I found out that she was actually a pastry cook also.
I think once I found out that baking has been in my DNA for so long, really gave me clarity of purpose.
And I realized that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.
Recipes and episodes from this season of Milk Street are available at MilkStreetTV.com/MFR Access our content any time to change the way you cook.
Funding for this series was provided by the following.
Mowi Salmon comes ready to cook.
Ready to grill, ready to season, or pre-seasoned and ready to eat.
In an assortment of flavors for an assortment of people Mowi Salmon.
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