Creamy Matzo-Apple Kugel

i'm still kicking myself for not cooking anything last week, but i was swamped with work. slightly better this week, but i forced myself to cook despite the workload (and i'm glad i did). i wasn't sure what to make, then i saw easter recipes on the food network website and thought oh wait, it's passover too, and passover is jewish and i know a jewish dish, kugel!

i've only ever had (and made) a noodle kugel, so this matzo-based one (with fruit!) was completely new to me. the recipe is here.

first up, the apples.



the recipe called for mcintosh apples but the store didn't have any. sure, they had about 8 different varieties, but oh no, not mcintoshes. thanks to my good friend google, i discovered you could substitute gala apples, which they had. i wasn't sure how large mcintosh apples were so i got 5 galas (which i think should be ok because a reviewer on the recipe page said she used 5 apples).

i didn't realize until i got home that this recipe would involve peeling apples. umm, yeah, so i'm 32 and i don't really know how to peel one. my parents always did any necessary peeling while growing up, and i developed an allergy for raw apples during puberty (omg yes i just said puberty in a food blog post) so didn't really ever deal with them since. anyways, thanks to @mztizzle for cluing me in to a vegetable peeler! (otherwise i may have sliced off a finger, klutz that i am.) sorry for the super-yellowish in this picture but i'm not knowledgeable enough about photoshop to fix. (the auto options really whack out the colors.)



btw, let me tell you, it's easier to peel vertically vs. horizontally. i thought i could make those long spiral peels, but nope! i'd be lucky if i could get more than an inch going horizontally.

sauteing the apples:



thanks to wiki, i now know why it said "NOT FOR PASSOVER" on the matzo box. (but it's ok since i'm a goy. apologies if you're jewish and want to come over to eat some. not like i know anyone who'd take me up on that offer, but i digress.)



before soaking and crumbling:



after soaking and mixing with the beaten eggs:



the cooked apples and raisins:



in the kitchenaid, the sour cream and cream cheese mixture (i used extra cream cheese because i lurvs it), topped with the matzo and egg mixture, then sugar and cinnamon. i didn't add salt because i used salted butter instead of unsalted.



i forgot to add the apples and raisins until i started mixing, but it all came together just fine. (thank goodness for the kitchenaid, or my arm would be dead).



ready for the oven!

---

and here it is out of the oven! mmm, it smells great!



off to take a shower while it cools, then i'll give it a shot. i can't wait!

---------

ok, it's cooled down enough for me to try it. yum! it's pretty good! it tastes just like an apple pie but it's dry. you know what would make it great? cool whip. err, cool hwip. must stop by the store tomorrow. oh and also, if i ever make this again, i'mma double the amount of raisins. not enough for my taste.



---------

oops! just did some research and discovered that cool whip is not ok for passover because it contains corn syrup, which is chametz. well, since i f'd it up already by using non-passover matzo, i figure the harm's already done!

ah, forgot to mention i didn't put any nuts in because i normally don't like cooked nuts, but now that i'm eating it, i think it would benefit from the extra texture that the sliced almonds would provide.