Recipes
Growing up in Northern New Jersey, food was a love language both among my family and my friends. So many memories were made in the kitchen or at the dinning room table over shared dishes. Most of the recipes were passed down from generation to generation, handwritten, and usually missing steps or ingredients. When one was shared with you outside the family circle, you knew you were in.
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Here are a couple recipes that I have permission to share that inspired some of the content in So Cooked, and the fun stories behind them.
I don't know where this suped-up boxed Duncan Hines chocolate cake recipe came from, but I can tell you it was a favorite dessert in my house growing up (and a bit of a secret). Turns out my mother-in-law in California has a similar recipe, except she tops hers with a super-secret birthday icing. That recipe was one of my wedding gifts.
When my grandma lived on Long Island there was a caterer who would make a to-die-for matzo kugel. It was all anyone could talk about. My grandmother somehow convinced the caterer to share her recipe, promising to keep it a secret. The next time Passover rolled around, all of Long Island was making it.
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 package of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
1 package of instant chocolate pudding
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream
6 oz chocolate chips
How to make:
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
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Place the first six ingredients in a bowl; beat at low speed until moistened, then at medium speed until creamy
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Fold in chocolate chips
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Grease bundt pan and pour in batter
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Bake for 50 - 55 minutes, test with toothpick and cool
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Dust with powdered sugar
Matzo Farfel Kugel
Ingredients:
1 lb Matzo Farfel (wet in hot water and drain)
7 eggs beaten
3 sticks of melted butter/margarine
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 large cans of sliced peaches (drain and reserve 2 cups of juice)
3/4 cup sugar
How to make:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees
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Beat eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar and peach juice
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Add melted butter
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Mix all through farfel
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Using 3qt rectangular pan (use disposable) pour half of the farfel mixture, then arrange drained peaches, then layer the remaining farfel mixture
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Bake for 1 hour