Sheldon said:
Kugels (potato or noodle) are often made with schmaltz, instead of
butter... same for k'nishes, blintzes, kasha varnishkas, etc... depends
whether it's a meat or dairy meal, of just personal preference.
When my grandmother made noodle kugel, she always used cottage
cheese...so no schmaltz. And as strange as this may be, I never
remember her making potato kugel.
Knishes always had meat in them... she made the kind with the potato
outside and meat inside. She fried them...probably in schmaltz🙂🙂
My fathers mother ( who did not keep Kosher) made the kind that were
dough based and coiled, then baked. They looked like an "S" with some
coils of filled dough at the top and bottom of the S.
The blintzes were always dairy because of the eggs in the blintz
batter...and kasha or kasha varnishkas were always with a meat meal
or chicken soup.
You're right..a lot of it was personal preference and some of it was
based on where they were from. Different "regions" had their own ways
of cooking.
My mother's mother was from the Kiev area and she raised me...my
father's mother was from somewhere nearer to the Polish border..or
what was the Polish border at that time.
Both Grandmothers had their own way of cooking...and made a lot of
different things...but it was all good!
Debra