Hungarian Noodle Pudding - 3/12/11

My cousin Gary - actually my husband's cousin-in-law, if there is such a thing - was over on Facebook reminiscing about "Aunt Jeanne's Noodle Pudding" - Aunt Jeanne being his wife Sheryl's aunt, and my mother in law, a fabulous cook and, as I've explained over on the blog post, Noodles on the Brain, a very nice person.  I love her dearly.

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Gary and Sheryl - Cinco de Julio celebration at my house

This is Mom's recipe for noodle pudding, which is different than how I make noodle pudding, which might have to do with the fact that I'm not Hungarian.  Lucky for me, when I married her oldest son, my cooking horizons were widened 180 degrees.

HUNGARIAN NOODLE PUDDING

1 lb. broad noodles

3 eggs, beaten

pitted prunes mashed with sugar

crushed walnuts mixed with cinnamon and sugar

¼ lb. butter

Boil noodles according to package directions.  Drain; add butter and beaten eggs, a drop of salt and a little sugar.

Butter a baking dish or spray with Pam.  Then put a layer of noodles in the pan, then a layer of prunes, another layer of noodles, a layer of walnuts mixed with the cinnamon and sugar, and top with a layer of noodles.

If there are any mashed prunes left, put some dabs of it on top, or top with extra nut mixture.

Bake in a 350 degree oven about 45 minutes to an hour.

Mom in the kitchen - one of my favorite pictures of her

I realize the recipe does not give precise amounts on the prune and walnuts, but this is one of those times you can use your imagination.  Try using a whole package of prunes (I think the food police came along and renamed them "dried plums") to start.  It should be enough.  As to the walnuts, add those to taste.  Some people love a lot of nuts in their food and baking while others (like me and my boys) are willing to go "WW" - without walnuts.  I like to use a little more sugar than Mom does, but that's because I'm Russian, and we like to put sugar in everything.

Whether you are Hungarian or Russian ... wherever your ancestors hailed from - you will enjoy this.  So start mashing those prunes and crushing those walnuts.

Cook like there's nobody watching, and eat like it's heaven on earth.