TAHINI SAUCE
½ cup tahini
1½ tablespoon lemon juice
water
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
Mix tahini with lemon juice and add enough water to make it the consistency of heavy cream. It should be a liquid sauce. Add cumin and season to taste with salt and pepper.
GREEN SAUCE
1 serrano chili pepper
½ cup parsley
½ cup mint
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon salt
Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor or use your immersion blender to make a smooth sauce.
SOPHIE’S MOM’S FAMOUS NOODLE KUGEL
SERVES 12
In Sophie’s family, they know that difficult news goes down better with delicious food. This classic Jewish brunch dish may seem strange if you’ve never had it, but trust Sophie, it is delicious. Whatever bombshell someone might drop on you.
16 ounces broad egg noodles
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 pound cottage cheese
1 pound sour cream
4 eggs, beaten
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup crushed cornflakes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup demerara sugar (or you can substitute light brown sugar)
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cook noodles to al dente in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, and then fold in the cooked noodles. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. In a separate bowl, mix the cornflakes, cinnamon, and sugar. Sprinkle the cornflake mixture on top of the noodle mixture. Bake for about 1 hour until the top is brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
You can also make this in muffin tins for attractive individual portions; if doing so, reduce the cooking time by about half and then start checking for doneness.
CHOCOLATE PUDDING
Adapted from the New York Times
SERVES 6
Sophie’s dad is a man of simple tastes and pleasures, and this classic chocolate pudding is nostalgia at its finest.
2¼ cups half-and-half, divided
6 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and still warm
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 4 pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bring 2 cups of the half-and-half and 3 tablespoons of the sugar to a boil in a saucepan. While the half-and-half is heating, toss the cocoa, cornstarch, and salt into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend; turn the ingredients out onto a sheet of wax paper. Place the egg, egg yolks, and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in the work bowl and process for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining ¼ cup half-and-half. Process for a few seconds. Return the dry ingredients to the bowl and pulse just until blended.
With the machine running, slowly pour in the hot half-and-half, processing to blend. The mixture will be foamy, but the bubbles will disappear when the pudding is cooked. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, for about 2 minutes, or until the pudding thickens. (The pudding should not boil.) Scrape the pudding into the processor, add the chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract, and pulse until they are evenly blended.
Pour the pudding into 6 4-ounce bowls or 1 large bowl. Chill for at least 4 hours. Serve plain or topped with heavy cream, whipped or not.
FIG TARTS WITH PISTACHIO CREAM
MAKES 6 TARTS
Sophie helps Herman expand the bakery’s offerings, and this tart is one new recipe he absolutely approves of! It’s actually really easy to make, and a showstopper for dinner parties.
FOR THE PASTRY:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons ice water
FOR THE FILLING:
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3 dozen small mission figs, stemmed and quartered
¼ cup honey
Blend all pastry ingredients except water in food processor and pulse to form coarse meal. Add in ice water until the dough comes together. Divide dough in half and wrap halves in plastic. Chill 1 hour. Divide each piece of dough into thirds and roll into rough 7-inch circles. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the filling: stir together flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of mixture onto dough rounds, leaving 1-inch border. Arrange fig pieces, cut-side up, in concentric circles. Fold in borders over figs. Transfer to greased baking sheets.
Bake until crust is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Drizzle honey over figs and bake 5 more minutes. Serve with pistachio cream.
PISTACHIO CREAM
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup pistachio paste (homemade or canned)
Whip the cream to soft peaks with the sugar. Then mix in the pistachio paste and taste for sweetness and flavor. It shouldn’t be too sweet, but should have nice pistachio flavor. Add more pistachio paste or sugar to taste.
MILK BREAD
MAKES 6 ROLLS, 1 (9X5) LOAF, OR 12 SPLIT-TOP BUNS
This recipe is being reprinted gratefully with permission from Kindred Restaurant in Davidson, North Carolina. And while you should absolutely make it yourself, especially for holidays, if you ever find yourself in the greater Charlotte area, go eat at the restaurant. Because, delicious. It’s no wonder that when Sophie needs to find the perfect thing to try to save Langer’s, she calls Stephanie for this recipe.
5⅓ cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon water
1 cup heavy cream
⅓ cup mild honey (such as wildflower or alfalfa)
3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons active dry yeast (from about 3 envelopes)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 large eggs, divided
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into pieces
nonstick vegetable oil spray
flaky sea salt (optional)
Cook ⅓ cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey, and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.
Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
If making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don’t need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 piece
s of dough side by side in each muffin cup.
If making a loaf, lightly coat a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Nestle pieces side by side to create 2 rows down length of the pan.
If making split-top buns, lightly coat two 13 x 9-inch baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a 4-inch-long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.
Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 25 to 35 minutes for rolls, 50 to 60 minutes for loaf, or 30 to 40 minutes for buns. If making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.
WALNUT CAKE WITH POPPY SEED FILLING AND HONEY-ROASTED APRICOTS
SERVES 12
For the cake competition, Sophie needs one of her tiers to nod to the history of the neighborhood. This moist walnut cake, with a bit of poppy seed filling and roasted apricot halves, pulls inspiration from Herman’s classic rugelach fillings.
1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons maple syrup
½ cup milk
8 ounces walnuts, lightly toasted
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 vanilla bean
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned poppy seed filling
honey-roasted apricots (recipe follows)
vanilla buttercream frosting (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the canola oil, maple syrup, and milk, and set aside.
Place the toasted walnuts in a food processor and grind until they are the size of bread crumbs. Be careful not to grind them into a paste!
Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them and the pod to the bowl of the stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the mixture on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Once all the eggs are added, beat for another minute. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low, and add the ground walnuts. Mix to combine.
With the mixer running on low, add ⅓ of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined and then add ½ of the milk mixture. Repeat with another ⅓ of the flour, then with the rest of the milk mixture, ending with the last of the flour mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake until done, about 25 to 30 minutes. The baked surface will spring back slightly when touched in the center, the sides will begin to contract from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely before removing from the pan.
To assemble, spread the poppy seed filling thinly over the bottom layer of the cake. Pipe a ½-inch ring of frosting around the edge of the cake, on top of the poppy seed. Place this in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes, so that the piped frosting is firm. You just want to be able to put the apricots in and top the cake without everything squirting out the sides.
Arrange enough apricot halves inside the ring of frosting to cover the poppy seed filling in one layer, and then put the top cake layer on. Frost the rest of the cake.
HONEY-ROASTED APRICOTS
1 pound fresh apricots, halved and pitted
1 tablespoon honey (warmed slightly so that it is liquid)
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place apricots cut-side up on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with honey. Roast 30 minutes and let cool completely.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
½ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Mix 4 cups sugar and butter in large mixing bowl. Add milk and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer till smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add remaining sugar 1 cup at a time, beating for about 2 minutes after each addition, until the icing is thick enough for your purposes. You may not need all the sugar. Use and store icing at room temperature. It can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. This may make more frosting than you need for this cake, but better too much than too little!
SPINACH AND CHEESE BREAKFAST STRATA
SERVES 6 TO 8
Bubbles makes this breakfast casserole whenever she needs to feed a crowd first thing in the morning. You make it the night before and then just pop it in the oven when you wake.
1½ cups finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt, divided
½ teaspoon black pepper, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed of all excess liquid, and chopped
8 cups French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about ½ pound)
6 ounces (2 cups) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
2 ounces (1 cup) finely grated Parmesan
9 large eggs
2¾ cups milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Sauté onion in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg, and continue cooking for 1 minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat, and set aside.
Spread ⅓ of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other ceramic baking dish. Top with ⅓ of bread cubes, ⅓ of spinach mixture, and ⅓ of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach, and cheese.
Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day.
The next day, let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
MARK’S BANANA BREAD
MAKES 1 (9X5) LOAF
Mark has some secret skills in the baking arena, but it is this simple and homey banana bread, full of nuts and chocolate chips, that is the gift he brings to Sophie for their first date. It’s the perfect thing to eat in bed with your beloved!
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (Mark lets his go brown and speckled, and pops them in the freezer as is. If yours are frozen, thaw on the countertop, snip one end off with kitchen scissors, and let the banana and liquid slide out into a colander to drain the liquid. If you try to peel them, you will have a mess!)
1¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
ADD-INS:
½ cup toasted nuts of your choice, chopped if large
½ cup chocolate chips or chunks
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Cre
am softened butter and sugar with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs until smooth. Add mashed bananas to eggs, blending quickly, then add the mixture into the butter and sugar and stir together.
Sift flour, salt, and baking soda, and fold into wet mixture. Fold in any add-ins. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake 45 to 55 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool on a rack.
Bring to the one you love.
Discussion Questions
Sophie is bound and determined to have her dream wedding, even though she knows it goes beyond the scope of her means and requires that she hide the expenses from her fiancé. What do you think about someone who is that committed to a type of event that she will put herself in financial straits in order to make it happen?
Sophie is very determined to keep herself hidden away after her public embarrassment. Would you have handled it the same way? What is the most publicly embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
Bubbles gives Sophie a safe place to land when her life falls apart. Why do you think Sophie chooses to move in with her instead of with her parents? Who would you move in with in a similar scenario?
Sophie adores the movies of the 1930s and 1940s. How can you see those movies influencing her life, good or bad? What do you think it says about her that she is so much more drawn to those old films than to contemporary movies?
Do you think that Sophie should be giving out wedding advice for money? Do you like or agree with the advice she gives? If you needed a second source of income, what sort of advice website would you launch?
WeddingGirl.com brings Jake into Sophie’s life. Why do you think she is drawn to him? Were you excited for her or concerned that he was going to be trouble? Have you ever met someone randomly online and ended up knowing them in real life?
Cake Goddess’s arrival in the neighborhood means trouble for the already-troubled Langer’s and puts Sophie in the awkward position of wanting to help the failing business, without really being committed to it for the long run. Mark calls her out on getting Herman’s hopes up. Do you agree with his side of things, or do you think it was right for Herman and Sophie to fight for the business?
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