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Epicure Market’s Famous Noodle Pudding
It’s a holiday classic!
The legend is that this was my grandmother’s signature recipe–the elusive Jennie Small-Thal-Robinson, mother of five and inspiration for everything that is/was the Epicure Market in Miami Beach, from the late 1940’s until its sad closing following the disastrous hurricane Irma, which ripped through South Beach in 2017. By that time the Epicure had passed into the hands of the LA deli kings Isaac Starkman and Jerry Seidman, the renowned Jerry’s Famous Deli, which had locations all over the LA metro.
The Epicure is gone, and now, and so, I believe are most, if not all, of the Jerry’s locations. But the Epicure had a long and loyal following, famous as one of the originators of cooked foods in grocery stores, which have become a staple of most stores now. I worked as a chef in one of the Miami Beach stores back in the 1970’s, and still use many of their most popular recipes, some of which have been published here, and are available through messaging–assuming I can remember any of them beyond the few I still regularly use.
This recipe for sweet noodle pudding was one of our most popular, and we made batches of 60 1-pound aluminum pans three days a week, and they never lasted in the display cases more than a day or two, so it was always fresh, as if you’d made it at home.
And now you can make it at home, exactly the same recipe we used back in the day, scaled down to family size. Because no one wants to make 60 pounds of noodle pudding at one time–except maybe some adventurous places that still cater to the deli crowd. But if you love a good sweet noodle kugel, this is the one to make. Here’s the plan…
Epicure’s Famous Noodle Pudding
Ingredients:
- 12-ounce bag wide egg noodles (I use No-Yolk)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 6 TBSP unsalted butter
- 4-ounces cream cheese, room temp
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 lb. small-curd cottage cheese or ricotta
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins, soaked in 1 cup hot water for ½ hour, then drained well
- 1 TBSP ground cinnamon
Preparation:
- Boil noodles in salted water for 7 minutes (no more!). Drain, return to pot and toss with 3 TBSP butter. Butter will melt.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and 3 TBSP melted butter. Beat until smooth.
- Add eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, vanilla, and raisins. Stir well until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add noodles and mix well.
- Generously butter a 9×13 glass baking dish (or 9×9 for a thicker kugel).
- Pour noodle mixture into the baking dish and jiggle the dish to smooth the top.
- Sprinkle cinnamon over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until the kugel looks firm and the outer edges beginning to turn golden. Do not overbake. The kugel should jiggle a bit when first taken from the oven. It will tighten a bit as it cools, but should be moist and creamy in the center.
One-Pot Spicy Thai Noodles
I came across an intriguing recipe the other day, and it looked about halfway unbelievable. I thought I might be able to improve it, 
and improve it I did. I changed it up from the original because A) doing so here would approximate plagiarism; B) I think my version came out way better than the original; and C) I’m not the biggest fan of zucchini in one-pot dishes–I find it to be mushy and I don’t think it adds significantly to the flavor layers in the dish. In most Asian cuisines there are layers of complex flavor and texture, and to me, zucchini doesn’t contribute enough to the dish to make it into the final product. I will, however, provide you with a link to the original at the end of the post.
The recipe as presented is vegetarian, but if you so desire, please try it with chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, or tofu for a jolt of protein and additional body. If you wish to add chicken, beef, or pork, cut into 1-2-inch strips and pound them flat (cut tofu into 1-inch cubes); marinate them 30-60 minutes in 2 Tbsp light soy sauce and 2 Tbsp rice vinegar; add them to the pot after the eggs are cooked; stir-fry them until just barely done; then set aside and continue on, and add them back just before adding the sauce. I am also presenting you options for oils, mushrooms, and leafy herbs based on your preferences. Any will work, in any combination–that’s the beauty of Thai cooking: options abound, while techniques remain the same.
This is a very tasty and simple-to-make one-pot noodle dish, and I highly recommend you try it when you need something quick, tasty, and different.
Spicy Thai Noodles
Ingredients:
1 8-ounce package medium-width rice noodles
2 Tbsp peanut, coconut, or vegetable oil, divided
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 head bok choi, chopped, largest leaves chopped into strips
8 ounces mushroom (preferably shiitake, but white will do), chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
1.5 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce (or more if you wish, up to 1.5 Tbsp–you know what you like)
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup fresh Thai basil (or sweet basil or cilantro–whichever you prefer), chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
Instructions:
1. In a large heavy pot, fill halfway with water, salt, and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce if you are using it, sriracha, and ginger; whisk well to combine; set aside.
3. Return the pot to the stove, heat over medium heat, and add 1 Tbsp oil. Add beaten eggs and red pepper flakes and stir to scramble the eggs. Once cooked, set aside with pasta.
4. Return the pot to stove, heat remaining 1 TBS oil over medium heat. Add the bok choi, mushrooms, and garlic. Saute over medium high heat for 5-6 minutes or until veggies are cooked through but the white stalks are still crisp.
5. Turn heat down to low, add pasta and eggs back to pot, then pour the sauce mixture over the top. Using a wooden spoon, stir well to coat pasta and vegetables with sauce. Remove from heat, add peanuts, green onions, and basil or cilantro; stir to combine, then garnish with additional chopped peanuts and chopped green onions.
6. Serve immediately.
Notes: Serve warm or cold – it’s great both ways! If you choose shrimp as your protein, add that when there is about 2-3 minutes left with for the veggies to cook.
Also, if you wish to see the original recipe from which this is adapted, you can find it here: http://pin.it/smcI5bM
Cheffzilla’s Kitchen 