Losken Kugel for my Grandma's Birthday
My favorite place to be as a child was my grandma's kitchen. A simple one-story house in Iowa that revolved around the kitchen. She had these dusty-blue countertops, linoleum floors, and a huge island that divided the kitchen in half. One side was cabinetry that held all the food and cookware and the other was a huge hutch filled with nice dishes and bottles of wine. I would plop down on the wood barstool in the kitchen and be her little helper by chopping, mixing, serving, cleaning up, or any other task needed to be completed.
My grandma loved entertaining, having a full house of family and friends over for dinners was not uncommon. We would work in the kitchen throughout the day and would have a meal ready to go in time for dinner. She and my mom would be in the kitchen prepping and cooking, while I anxiously waited on my barstool watching their every move. Once I got a little older, it was often my grandma sitting on the bar side of the island watching me cook, offering guidance and suggestions as she saw fit (she was an expert backseat driver in the kitchen).
Sonia Hickson was a badass. She was the first director of the Colt Cadets, owned and operated the family meat and grocery business Kopple's Market, was a board member of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, and held countless other titles including the world's best grandma. She always welcomed people to the table and would be the first to pass out her "top secret" meat marinade recipe. My grandfather passed away long before I was born, and while I would have liked to meet him, it gave me the chance to know my grandma as this heroine who was strong, successful, independent, well-liked, and often put others first.
She passed away almost two years ago and while it causes me a tremendous amount of pain to think about how I'll never be able to make my daily phone call to her or stop in for a visit, I know she would be proud of me.
One dish I always remember her making was lokshen kugel. I didn't grow up Jewish as my grandma converted to Catholicism before marriage, but that didn't stop her from making traditional Jewish food that she grew up with. Lokshen kugel is this weird, sweet noodle casserole that holds a special place in my heart. Just the smell of it baking brings me back to the wood barstool.
It's fairly easy to make, just a pound of egg noodles - cooked, folded into a mixture of 2 cups sour cream, 2 cups cottage cheese, 4 whisked eggs, 1 cup diced granny smith apple, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup sugar. Put the noodle mixture into a greased baking dish. Before putting it in the oven, combine 6 tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup traditional breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar and drizzle over the noodles. Bake at 350-degrees for 45-60 minutes.
Today would have been her 87th birthday, so let's all celebrate with kugel!
Happy Birthday, Gram. I miss you every day.