Ang Pompano: I’m so happy to have my friend Beth Greenberg back in the kitchen with me today. You may remember her from our clam pie post last year.
Today she’s going to share another family favorite, her mom’s Luchen Kugel (noodle pudding), and I have a feeling you’re going to love it as much as I do.
If you’re not familiar with kugel, there are many versions, and you can serve it as an appetizer, main course, or dessert. It could even make a pretty terrific breakfast.
This version might loosely be called a Jewish take on mac and cheese. But believe me, it’s nothing like the stuff you get from a box. This is decadent in the best possible way, loaded with rich cheeses and noodles, and topped with a crunchy layer of cornflakes.
It’s the perfect dish for breaking a fast, celebrating a special occasion, or bringing to a party. One bite and you’ll understand why it’s become one of my new favorite comfort foods.
The Greenberg Family LUCHEN KUGEL
Noodle Pudding
INGREDIENTS
1 pound noodles
8 ounces cream cheese
5 large eggs, well beaten
½ cup milk
½ cup sugar, more or less, to taste
Salt, to taste
1 pint sour cream
1 stick butter
8 ounces American cheese, cubed
8 ounces cottage cheese
1 cup crushed corn flakes
DIRECTIONS
1. Cook noodles until tender; drain well and set aside.
2. Beat the eggs and add the sour cream.
3. Add the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sugar, and butter, then mix.
5. Mix the cooked noodles with the cream cheese, beaten eggs, sugar, sour cream, butter, American cheese, and cottage cheese.
6. Place the mixture in a 9 x 13-inch greased pan. Cover with the corn flakes.
6. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.
Enjoy!
From a Greenberg family recipe card
Friends, do you have a favorite comfort food? Tell me about it in the comments. And if you'd like to enter a little giveaway, leave your email address with your answer. One lucky reader will win a pre-order of the Kindle edition of Simmering Secrets, the second book in my Reluctant Food Columnist Series, coming November 3, 2026.
I'm also happy to announce that Simmering Secrets is now available for pre-order!
When celebrity chef Connie Langston announces she's moving her prestigious culinary academy from Connecticut to New York, she ignites a firestorm of controversy. Before the evening is over, she's dead.
Everyone assumes it was a tragic heart attack. Food columnist Quincy Lazzaro isn't so sure. By day, Quincy secretly writes the wildly popular Cooking with Betty food column with the help of his irrepressible octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli. But Quincy wants more than recipes and restaurant reviews. Determined to reinvent himself as an investigative journalist, he starts asking questions that make powerful people increasingly uncomfortable.
As he digs deeper into Connie's death, Quincy uncovers simmering rivalries, hidden motives, and dangerous secrets surrounding the academy's future. When a second murder proves Connie's death was anything but natural, Quincy finds himself in a race to catch a killer before someone else dies.
In the high-stakes world of fine dining, some secrets are worth killing for.
If you haven't met Quincy Lazzaro yet, you can start with the first book in the series, Diet of Death.
Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher, and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency and Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, who is a great cook and an artist, and their rescue dog, Alfie.
