Unger Has a Creative Way to Break the Fast
The fashion designer, Jewish philanthropist, and activist shares her secret.
Robyn Spizman Gerson is a New York Times best-selling author of many books, including “When Words Matter Most.” She is also a communications professional and well-known media personality, having appeared often locally on “Atlanta and Company” and nationally on NBC’s “Today” show. For more information go to www.robynspizman.com.
A creative way to celebrate the Jewish holidays and break the fast comes from nationally known fashion designer Kay Unger, who is involved in many Jewish organizations as a philanthropist and activist dedicated to making a difference.
Unger is very well known for her beautiful designs worn by many generations of women to an endless array of simchas, from bar and bat mitzvahs to weddings and more.
Unger shared her festive flair with The Atlanta Jewish Times and said, “To add an element of meaning or fun to our holiday gatherings, we have a kugel contest which is such a special part of every one of our Break Fasts. A special part of my Break Fast, which has had up to 75 people, is that often half are non-Jews because they have no conflicts with needing to be with their families, and they love attending and learning about our holidays. It is a wonderful way of sharing and teaching the traditions. We have all sorts of kugels showing up, from savory potato and onion ones to sweet raisin croissant ones!”
According to Unger, “The contest brings all ages together both in judging and tasting all the different kugels. We do a blind taste test, numbering all the different ones. Our judges deliberate carefully and choose three winners. Our participants take great pride in their kugel and work to perfect their recipes all year long. Nine out of the 10 years, my kugel has won. We do offer mine with or without the pecans, the children like it better without. Some years I add cranberries, sometimes raisins, but the classic traditional recipe is always the winner! I have been using the same original recipe since hosting my first Yom Kippur in 1970.”
And on a sweet note, Unger shared, “My 5-year-old grandson when he comes for dinner always says, ‘Glammy, can we have a Jewish dinner,’ so now we hide an apple on Rosh Hashanah like we do the matzah on Passover. It’s amazing what kids remember and how new traditions come to be enjoyed and remembered.”
Kay’s Kugel
Ingredients:
1 bundt pan
1 cup whole pecans
3 eggs
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 16 oz. package homestyle noodles
1 stick salted butter
1 lb dark brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
¼ teaspoon white sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add a touch of white sugar and a cinnamon stick to a pot of water. Add noodles and cook until al dente. Drain noodles and set aside.
Heat butter and brown sugar in a saucepan on medium heat. Butter and sugar should be melted and just starting to boil.
Pour mixture into bundt pan to coat bottom of pan. Place whole pecans on top of the sauce in the bottom of the pan.
Whisk eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract, sour cream and approximately 14 teaspoons of brown sugar together in a bowl. When the sauce has a smooth consistency, add it to the noodles. Toss until noodles are thoroughly coated.
Put noodle mixture on top of sauce with pecans in a Bundt pan. Fill the pan with noodles.
Place in the oven and cook for 1 ½ hours.
Remove from oven and let cool for a few hours. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes approximately 8-10 servings.
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