Individual Noodle Kugels

In my last post, I started out the week of Hanukkah with an offering of bite sized Potato Pancakes or latkes, perfect for serving as a tray passed hors d’oeuvre. In this post, I’m ending the week of Hanukkah with another possible favorite dish of your Bubbe’s, served in individual portions.

Now it’s true that I didn’t have a Bubbe, but as a young woman, I lived in New York City. My first apartment was on the Upper West Side, just a block and a half away from the Fairway Produce Market. The store was a delight for me to browse, with big barrels of pickles and all sorts of exotic (to me, anyway) deli items. It didn’t take long before I discovered a wonderful new treat- Noodle Pudding (aka Noodle Kugel). I had grown up eating lots of my New Orleans’ grandmother’s bread pudding, and even the occasional rice pudding, but noodle pudding? This was a whole new world. It wasn’t long, though, before Noodle Kugel became a favorite treat of mine.

The good news for parties is, that Noodle Kugel can easily be made in individual portions. They can either be tray passed, or served as a selection on a “small plates” buffet (along with demi-tasse spoons) which have become so popular. All you need is a collection of porcelain ramekins or small bowls to bake the kugels in. The BIA bowls I used are available at finer kitchen supply stores, and even upscale grocery stores. For the Noodle Kugel recipe, just continue to the next page…