Harry and Elizabeth Davidovski are Jamie's great-great-grandparents on her dad's side of the family. They grew up in Elizabethgrad, Ukraine (now called Kirovograd) and their children emigrated to the United States after a violent pogrom. They passed through Ellis Island and settled in Philadelphia. Even though Jamie's family changed locations often, they brought their traditions with them wherever they went. One of the family's favorite dishes is a casserole called kugel, which is a traditional Eastern European/Jewish recipe that has been passed down through the family orally for six generations. Nowadays, Jamie's dad's family still lives in Cincinnati, where the extended family gathers twice a year. No family gathering is complete without Harry and Elizabeth's kugel.
When the Davidow family is at home in McLean, they celebrate Passover with kugel, BBQ chicken, and flourless cake. Nobody knows why, but barbecue chicken tastes delicious with kugel. The cake must be flourless on Passover in keeping with the Torah's commandments.
Ingredients for Kugel (serves 6 people with leftovers of course):
Egg noodles (20 oz)
Cottage cheese (1 small container - about8 oz)
Sour cream (1 small container - about 8 oz)
Melted butter (2 tbsp)
One egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions for Kugel:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil water and cook the egg noodles in a large pot. Strain and pour pasta into a large Pyrex glass or ceramic bowl, then add cottage cheese and sour cream while mixing continuously. Add one egg. Finally, drizzle the butter over the top of the pasta and place the bowl (uncovered) in the oven. Leave the bowl in the oven and check after 30 minutes - the pasta might need a few more minutes, so check and decide whether or not it needs more time. Sprinkle pepper on the top of the pasta once it has come out of the oven, and then add more pepper to taste when serving.
Ingredients for flourless cake:
Melted butter (2 sticks)
Semisweet chocolate chips (1 lb)
Milk (1 cup)
7 large egg yolks
Heavy whipping cream (for whipped cream), powdered sugar, and berries
Instructions for flourless cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch circular cake pan with butter, PAM, or a combination of butter and parchment paper - then put the pan aside. Melt the butter and let it cool. Using a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and pour in the milk gradually. Stir constantly to avoid having the chocolate burn. Next, pour the chocolate and milk combo into a large bowl or an electric mixing bowl (the egg and butter can be incorporated using an electric mixer or a spatula). Alternate between adding 1/7 fractions of your melted butter and adding 1 egg yolk. Make sure to stir the butter in before adding more egg. Continue adding butter, egg, butter, egg until all of the butter and yolks are incorporated. Finally, pour the batter (which should be thin) into the greased pan and bake for 25 minutes. The batter will look very undercooked when it comes out of the oven, but let it cool until the pan returns to room temperature and then stick the whole pan in the fridge. Let the cake set for 1 hour in the fridge, and then cut and serve with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and fresh berries.
Instructions for barbecue chicken:
Buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts and BBQ marinade. Let the chicken marinate with the sauce in (a) gallon-sized plastic bag(s) - the number of bags will depend on how many people you are serving. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for up to 2 hours before grilling.
Tune of the moment: Say Hey (I Love You) by Michael Franti & Spearhead
What were we snacking on? Sparkling lemonade, cheddar bunnies, and toasted pecans....yum :)
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