By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
For those of our readers who filled out our “Best of Everything” survey, they may recall that we didn’t have a Best Kugel category. But Goldberg’s Famous Delicatessen in Factoria Mall did, so we’re happy to announce Cynthia Shifrin’s (almost) sweet noodle apple kugel will be featured on Goldberg’s new menu.
“I’m known for my cooking, and kugel is one of the things that I do that people really love,” said Shifrin, of Mercer Island, who works as a psychotherapist when she’s not in the kitchen.
“Not only did I win, but I won hands down,” she added. “That really just made my day.”
Matthew Stahl, co-owner and operator of Goldberg’s, said Shifrin found the right blend between the noodles and everything else.
“What we were really looking for, but we didn’t state, was we were looking for a traditional kugel,” said Stahl, who had a panel taste 12 different recipes. “She met that far and above everyone else.”
Though many years ago she originally baked her kugel from a printed recipe, Shifrin once accidentally added too much of the cottage cheese and sour cream. But it stuck. In the intervening years, the recipe evolved into what generations of Jewish cooks have done with their kugels: A dab of this, a dollop of that. Even when Shifrin bakes, she said, she’s always making little adjustments that suit her taste. So when it came to entering the competition, throwing in an extra dash of spice just wouldn’t do.
“I had to write a recipe, and when I made it for the contest I was very careful to adhere to the recipe,” she said.
Her kugel contains cottage cheese, sour cream or crème fraiche, “lots of vanilla,” cinnamon and fresh apples.
“I love sweet things, but I don’t love them too sweet,” Shifrin said. “I find in so many recipes the sweetness dominates and it just takes it down.”
Stahl agreed.
“She was able to get right in between there,” he said.
Want a taste? Shifrin’s kugel will be featured for the next year, beginning at the end of February.