Eddie Hertzberg Noodle Pudding

Click Me!

I found this recipe in Nika Hazelton's cookbook American Home Cooking. Ms. Hazelton was an expatriate from England who married an American. She was a prolific cookbook author who traveled over the world. She died in 1992. This cookbook of hers is not just an exercise in ego. Ms. Hazelton selected the quintessential American family dishes from every region in the United States. Every recipe works perfectly

As cooking became trendy and precious in the United States, she seemed to raise a speculative eyebrow. Facing a group of wine writers in New York several years ago, Mrs. Hazelton waved aside questions about white truffles and little-known family vineyards. "I'm here to show you a meal from Tuscany that has the virtue of not being too expensive and not taking much genius or fuss to prepare," she informed her audience and proceeded to demonstrate the proper way to make escarole and rice soup. - Molly O'Neill, New York Times 

Eddie Hertzberg's Noodle Pudding - from New York

1/2 pound medium Noodles, homemade or store bought
6 tablespoons Butter
Salt and freshly ground Pepper
2 cups creamed Cottage Cheese
2 cups Sour Cream,

Cook the Noodles in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water until almost but not quite tender. Drain. Turn Noodles into generously buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Toss with 4 tablespoons of Butter, Salt, and plenty of Pepper. Stir in the Cottage Cheese and Sour Cream and mix well. Dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Butter. Cook in a preheated moderate oven (350 degrees) for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. 4-6 servings.

Mr. Hertzberg must have been a great cook. Although made of simple ingredients, this noodle pudding or kugel is elegant enough to serve to company. In order to get the fabulous texture and taste, you must follow directions precisely. If you do so, this recipe is simple, inexpensive and sublime. I made one alteration. I top the pudding with panko bread crumbs. If you also do that, you must watch carefully as a bread crumb topping burns easily. And this dish is easy even if you "can't cook."

Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Stuffings

I love Philadelphia. If you poke around in corners of the city, you can find unexpected treasures. I found Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes at the Tacony Library Book Sale. 

Find out about the Church that created the cookbook HERE if you want to know more about the particulars. Just scroll on down past the chickens.

Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes devotes a whole chapter to Stuffings. I produce two of the recipes verbatim. I am making the Fish or the Capon. Or maybe Roast Duck. I hate Turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sweet Potato Stuffing the Jamaican Way
from Ms. Thelma Graham

1 and 1/4 cups mashed Sweet Potatoes
7 slices toasted Bread cubes
6 links Pork Sausage
2 tablespoons Water
1/4 teaspoon crushed Marjoram leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped Celery
1 finely chopped Onion
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Sage
1/2 teaspoon ground Thyme
2 tablespoons Butter
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Salt

Combine toasted Bread cubes and Celery with mashed Sweet Potatoes. Mix and set aside. In a frying pan, put Sausage links and cold Water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes then pour off any fat and break links into small parts. Add chopped Onion to the pan and cook until Sausage is browned and onions are clear. Remove from heat and add all the seasoning. Mix well. Now add Sausage mix to the Sweet Potato mixture. Blend well and stuffing is ready for stuffing a large Capon.

Sweet Pickle Stuffing for Baked Fish
from Albert the Chef

2 cups Rye or Whole Wheat Bread crumbs
1 cup Sweet Pickles, minced
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 tablespoons Onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Sage (optional )
2 tablespoons melted Butter

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Toss the crumbs so they are well coated with melted butter. Stuff the Fish cavity. This is enough for a 3 pound Bass or Trout.

Ms. Susan Dunn's Sweet & Sour Sauce

This is another recipe from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes.  I am making homemade Egg Rolls today. I buy the Egg Roll Skins at local Asian Market. I am going to make this Sauce. So good for anything one would find on a PuPu Platter extravaganza. I like it on Crackers with Cheese. 

I produce this recipe verbatim. I use a small can of Crushed Pineapple. 

SWEET & SOUR SAUCE.

1 (1 lb.) can of Apricots
1/2 (1 lb.) can of Pineapple
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon White Pepper
1/2 cup Honey
4 tablespoons Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Force Apricots through a sieve. Put into a saucepan and add all the remaining ingredients except the Vinegar. Cook the mixture over high heat until the Sugar is dissolved and the mixture boils. Reduce heat and cook 10 minutes longer. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly and then stir in the Vinegar.

Tutti Frutti Pie

My Aunt Carrie (rest in peace you Great Cook) made Tutti Frutti Pie often. I was so happy when I found this old recipe in a community cookbook Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes.

This pie is delicious and inexpensive. Best of all there is no need for fresh fruit. Pie in the Winter. Pie from the pantry.

Miss Maxie Gaine's Tutti Frutti Cream Pie

1 cup Sugar
2 cups Milk
1 tablespoon Corn Starch
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Butter
2 Eggs
1 tablespoon Flour
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 cup canned Fruit Cocktail, well drained

Heat one cup Sugar, Milk and Butter together. Make a smooth paste of Flour, Salt and Corn Starch with a little Water. Add this gradually to the heated Milk. Separate Eggs. Beat Yolks well; blend into the Milk mixtures, stirring constantly to keep smooth; cook 5 minutes over low heat until mixture becomes thick. Remove from heat and fold in well drained Fruit Cocktail. Pour into a baked Pie Shell. Beat the Egg Whites until stiff and blend in two tablespoons of Sugar until very smooth. Spoon onto the Pie filling. Place in a 300 degree oven until light brown.

Never Fail Pie Crust
(makes 4 single crusts)

4 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 3/4 cup Vegetable Shortening
1 tablespoon Vinegar
1 Egg
1/2 cup Water

Mix Flour, Sugar, and Salt. Cut in the Shortening with a fork or cutting tool (or you could give it a whirl in your food processor for a bit).

In a separate bowl mix Vinegar, Egg, and Water. Add it to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork until moistened. Use your hands to mold into 4 equal balls. The dough may be frozen and thawed for future use. Four frozen homemade pie crusts and four cans of fruit and you do not have to go out in the snow all Winter. 

Haitian Mango Pie from Simpson-Fletcher Soul Food Recipes

Tommy Atkins Mangos are in season now. I enjoy a Mango more than a Peach. And I love Peach. We do grow them in the United States. And we import some as well. They make a luscious Pie. You can find some variety of Mango year round.

Haitian Mango Pie

4 cups chopped Mango

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon grated Lime Peel

2/3 cup Flour

1/2 cup Lime Juice

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 unbaked Pie Shell

Combine the Flour, one half of the Sugar, Lime Peel, and Salt with the Butter. Mix until they are like crumbs. Chill. Toss the chopped Mango with Lime Juice and the remaining Sugar. Mix the Mango mixture and pour into the Pie Shell. Sprinkle the chilled sugar crumbs over the fruit, covering well. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees continue baking until crumbs are brown and fruit is tender. 

This divine recipe is from Simpson-Fletcher Soul Food Recipes and Albert the Chef, who also gave us Fish Stuffing.

Never Fail Pie Crust
(makes 4 single crusts)

4 cups flour
1 Tbl sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup vegetable shortening (non trans fat, such as Crisco or other). 

1 Tbl vinegar

1 egg
1/2 cup water

Mix flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the shortening with a fork or cutting tool (or you could give it a whirl in your food processor for a bit).

In a separate bowl mix vinegar, egg, and water. Add it to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork until moistened. Use your hands to mold into 4 equal balls. The dough may be frozen and thawed for future use. 

Date Pie

This Pie recipe comes from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes. Seems like the perfect Pie for Winter when there is no fresh native Fruit.

Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. Date Palms are believed to have originated around Iraq, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE.

Miss Melvina Price's Date Pie

1 cup chopped Dates
3/4 cup of Sugar
2 Eggs, separated
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
1 cup Butter
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 unbaked Pie Crust

Cream Butter and Sugar together until light and fluffy. Add beaten Egg Yolks. Blend in milk. Beat well. Stir in Pecans and Dates. Beat Egg Whites until stiff. and fold into the Date mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until set and browned. This Pie is good served with Whipped Cream, Ice Cream, or Custard Sauce.

Mrs. Austine Sutton's Cider Sauce

“Up until Prohibition, an apple grown in America was far less likely to be eaten than to wind up in a barrel of cider. (“Hard” cider is a twentieth-century term, redundant before then since virtually all cider was hard until modern refrigeration allowed people to keep sweet cider sweet.)”
― Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World

Mrs. Austine Sutton's Cider Sauce for Ham or Pork Dishes

3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 tablspoon Corn Starch
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 cup Apple Cider
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Thoroughly mix Sugar, Corn Starch, Salt and Spices together. Stir in the Cider and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring all the time. Remove from heat. Let mixture cool until it is thick and clear. Then stir in Lemon Juice. It is then ready to serve.

This recipe comes from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes.

City Chickens

I was searching for a recipe for a dish called City Chickens. My friend Grace Persichelli made it for me long ago and it was so good. I typed the phrase into google and I got back this delightful and informative site about raising chickens in the city.

Even though I got such a happy result, I still wanted to find a good recipe for this old dish. So I typed in "city chicken" and I found this dish has a wikipedia entry all its own.

After diligent searching, I found the definitive City Chicken recipe. It comes from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes published by Simpson - Fletcher United Methodist Women and Fundcraft Publishing. We can thank Sue Delaney for providing the recipe. The Church has a Facebook page. I sent a message to find out if this regional cookbook can still be purchased. I will let you know if I get more information. Illustration from The Old Design Shop an award winning blog and shop featuring Vintage Illustrations. 

City Chicken

3/4 pound Pork, cut in one inch pieces
3/4 pound Veal, cut in one inch pieces
1 cup Cracker Crumbs
1 Egg, beaten
5 tablespoons Shortening

1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup canned Milk
Salt, Pepper and Paprika to season the Gravy

Alternate, very closely, Veal and Pork on wooden skewers. Dip each skewer into the beaten Egg, and then into the Crumbs. Continue to alternate this dipping until the meat is well covered and resembles a chicken leg. Brown the skewers on all sides in hot Shortening. Place skewers side by side in an oiled roasting pan, cover and then bake in a moderate oven until the meat is very tender. Baste occasionally with drippings. Remove the City Chicken from the pan. Add Flour, Milk and Seasonings to the drippings. Stir until brown and thick. This is a gravy for the City Chicken.

Note: Put your Crackers in a bag and bang them with a rolling pin to make the Cracker pieces fine.