<p>SWEET POTATO BOURBON NOODLE KUGEL
Serves 10-12</p>
<p>INGREDIENTS
Casserole
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1.5 lbs)
4 tablespoons bourbon
one 1-lb package wide egg noodles
6 eggs
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ lb full-fat cottage cheese – I used half whole-milk ricotta and half 4 % cottage cheese
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to salt water for noodles
Topping
2 cups corn flakes
1 cup whole shelled pecan halves, coarsely chopped
¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick)
¼ cup brown sugar
Special Equipment
Food processor or blender
9x13-inch baking dish
Aluminum foil
Gallon-sized Ziploc bag
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 400°F.</p>
<p>Wrap sweet potatoes individually in foil and roast in the oven until soft and completely cooked through, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Peel skin off sweet potatoes using your hands (and a table knife, if it helps), then puree with the bourbon in a blender or food processor until completely smooth. This should yield about 3 cups of puree. If you yield more than 3 cups, set the excess aside for another use or discard. (If you want, you can do this ahead and refrigerate the puree for up to 2 days.)
Lower oven to 350°F.</p>
<p>In a pot of heavily salted water, cook the egg noodles al dente (about 5 minutes, or 2 minutes less than the package directions say). Pour into a colander to drain, running cold water over the noodles until they are cool to stop the cooking. Drain thoroughly.</p>
<p>In a very large bowl, beat eggs, then add brown sugar and beat just until combined. Add cottage cheese, melted butter, and the sweet potato puree, then mix with a rubber spatula until combined. Finally, add salt and the cooked noodles, and mix with a spatula until combined.</p>
<p>Pour noodle mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes (if noodles start to brown during this time, cover your baking dish with foil).
While kugel is baking, prepare the pecan topping: First, put the cornflakes in a Ziploc bag and crush with your hands. The cornflakes should be in small pieces, but not dust. Next, brown the butter in a medium saucepan. When butter is brown, turn off your heat and add sugar, chopped pecans and crushed cornflakes and stir with a spatula until just combined.
After it has baked for the full 50 minutes, remove kugel from the oven and sprinkle pecan mixture on top in an even layer. Bake, uncovered, for another 30 minutes, or until set. If pecans start to brown before kugel is set, cover with foil.
Serve immediately.</p>