I'm bored of Shabbos food

shnitzel

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 7:36 pm

I need inspiration Idea

Shabbos cooking is starting to bore me. If I cook things that are really out of the box people don't like them but I am running out of variations of the typical. Exploding anger

Not enough people post in the Shabbos thread and it is often the same old kugel, cholent, roasted chicken and potatoes and I have become so uncreative that all of those things were on my menu plan for this week!

I need help.

DrMom

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 7:47 pm

shnitzel wrote:

I need inspiration Idea

Shabbos cooking is starting to bore me. If I cook things that are really out of the box people don't like them but I am running out of variations of the typical. Exploding anger

1. Perhaps you can experiment with side dishes and require everyone to taste it. That way they'll have their reliable favorites on hand, but you get them to try something new. If you hit upon something they like, you can enter it into your menu rotation.

2. What about other roasted vegetables instead of potatoes? Roasted beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, butternut squash.

shnitzel

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 8:03 pm

I'm less stuck on vegetables than other food. Probably because they aren't a huge part of Jewish cuisine so all roasted veggies are slightly exotic but there are only so many vegetables out there and I inevitably get bored. I recently discovered roasted red onions but they are so amazing that I am making them every week. I love veggies.

We are all great about tasting things, it is more cooking things that are popular so that guests eats them and we don't end up with leftovers that need to be thrown out.

My main issue is main courses. The past few months have been steady cholent and schnitzel which everyone likes but make me feel stifled. I need to liven them up somehow.

pesek zman

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 8:13 pm

I almost never make 'traditional' Shabbos food. This Shabbos is a rarity or me (red lentil soup, chicken and rice pot, roasted sage sweet potatoes, salad, blueberry zucchini bread) in that entree (chicken on the bone) is fairly traditional. More often its not so: chili, shepherds pie, beef stew, chicken Marsala, Salisbury steak, goulash, etc etc. I try to make interested and different soups too and very rarely serve chicken soup. I'm glad my Husband doesn't mind/prefer this way, because while it may be more work to cook creatively, it allows me to use ingredients of the season and try new flavors

DrMom

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 8:39 pm

shnitzel wrote:

My main issue is main courses. The past few months have been steady cholent and schnitzel which everyone likes but make me feel stifled. I need to liven them up somehow.

But there are dozens and dozens of things to cook besides cholent and schnizel! Seriously, open any cookbook or look online (allrecipes.com is a good site).

You don't even have to venture into adventurous waters to deviate far from schnizel-and-cholent territory.

How about this? I made it a few weeks ago and it went fast:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/c.....laze/

oliveoil

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 9:04 pm

YOu can make kebabs, very quick and easy.

Instead of chollent, try buying a nice piece of meat (I used 2nd cut brisket), put it in the crock pot with loads of onions. Serve shredded over rice. (we add bbq sauce to the meat before serving).

wraps are also great for shabbos day.

tzfatisha

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 11:25 pm

in summer I like cold food for lunch
loads of fresh salads, roasted salads... fried fish (made with oat coating)
cold cuts, cold chicken, cold meats, parve quiches, sushi, etc quinoa,
all very light stuff and much easier on the stomach than cholent..
beef stew in wine is good for fri night... or use guinness and put potatoes on the top.. and voila irish stew...
can u get goat meat? or mutton... both very good for cholent..as they need slow cooking...
what about a dairy meal ?
lasagne is good...either for fri night or shabbat day.. (depending on how u hold about warming things up) u can make it either dairy or if you have to have meat use parve cheese... or make it with eggplant as a musakah
fish stew?
have fun.

Isramom8

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 11:26 pm

Davka this week, after all the traditional Pesach cooking, I was in a creative mood. I looked up new recipes so that I could do something different with my regular ingredients. I made a layered white and sweet potato casserole with beaten eggs and maple syrup among other spices, and eggplant boats stuffed with eggplant chunks, red peppers, bread crumbs and more.

Then I found out that my in-laws are coming. I should have stuck with my traditional fare. As it is, MIL has already told DH how exactly how I should cook the broccoli... (yes, it's bug-free).

eschaya

Thu, Apr 11 2013, 11:34 pm

We do lots of things on the grill. BBQ for Shabbos!
What about warm steak salad, or grilled chicken salad, or chinese chicken over sesame noodles?
If you still want traditional but with a twist, what about something like the KBD entertains pine nut crusted shnitzel with lemon aeoli (something like that)?
Or do a theme meal (ie, chinese/oriental food). And there is no need for kugels... do something with rice or sweet potatoes for starch and then lots of salad (coleslaw, broccoli salad, avocado, snap peas, beets, etc) and vegis (green beans, butternut squash, zucchini).
Maybe don't plan a menu... just go to your supermarket and buy whatever protiens and fruits and vegis strike your fancy. Then when you get home, base your meal off what you've bought.
have fun!

PinkFridge

Fri, Apr 12 2013, 5:59 am

This is going to sound strange, but do you eat simply during the week? I remember once reading somewhere someone saying she was getting a head start on Shabbos by prepping Wed. and she had some of the chicken or whatever for supper that night and put the rest away. IMO, wrong order. Have Shabbos food for leftovers. Or even have the chicken from soup for a supper if it would go to waste.
I'm not saying this is you. I really understand the feeling of wanting chiddush, Shabbos seeming rote. But I wonder if this is a factor for some people.

MMCH

Fri, Apr 12 2013, 6:07 am

I agree with pink fridge!!!
eat simply during the week and make exciting things for shabbos! also, I dont know how many people you are feeding, but I found that the less I served at the meal, but had variety each week, the more exciting the food was.
for ex- I grew up eating the EXACT same shabbos meal every week, my dh then said to me, ill be eating potato kugel for the rest of my life at this rate (ha friday night, shabbos, and leftovers on sunday!)
soo I started to make one kugel every week and I change it up, potato, broccoli, cauli, apple, and I swtich it every week.
same with chicken. I try to find different but easy recipes

Rutabaga

Fri, Apr 12 2013, 6:32 am

We don't make traditional shabbos food in our house. I never make chicken soup or cholent. I make kugel occasionally, but not usually potato kugel. We prefer rice, potato, or pasta dishes as a starchy side.

Tonight we will be having:

Split pea soup
filet steaks
roasted mini potatoes and shallots
popcorn cauliflower

Tomorrow we will be having:

Avicas (Sephardi bean soup) made in the crockpot
honey mustard chicken
"stuffing" kugel (savory challah kugel made with sauteed veggies)
brussel sprouts

Next week I'm thinking about making chicken marsala with garlic mashed potatoes...

mosma

Fri, Apr 12 2013, 7:00 am

superdanni wrote:

I know this is off topic, but can I have the recipe for the sweet potatoes, the zucchini bread, and the chicken and rice? they sound yummy.

questioner

Fri, Apr 12 2013, 7:43 am

I like to make in advance and freeze so that I only make some things each week. A lot of these ideas sound good but need to be made fresh. What (slightly - we're not that adventurous!) different foods that can be frozen in advance?

PinkFridge

Fri, Apr 12 2013, 7:44 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Shnitzel, I'm just posting this again because I want to stress that I didn't mean to attack you and hope you didn't take any offense. Again, I really identify with wanting chiddush and something new. I tried an onion kugel this week just for the fun of it and am not sure what chicken I'm making, though il familia will not let me get away with too much. If your budget allows, maybe you can make the regular (or just a little bit less so the natives will be hungry and sample Tongue Out

) along with a generous sample of something different. Let us know what works!

nyer1

Fri, Apr 12 2013, 8:34 am

I too get sick of the same old shabbos food, and I think my husband likes the variety that I do, because he grew up in a house where shabbos was pretty much the same every week... then again, I do like going to my MIL for shabbos where I can expect the same yummy dishes each time!

but in my house... I rely a lot on different salads ... asian cabbage salad, black bean corn salad, deli salads, cucumber salad, caesar salad, moroccan carrot salad, sweet potato salad etc etc etc!!!!

also, chicken soup is a rarity... I usually do butternut squash, split pea, veggie, cream of cauliflower, lentil soup, etc etc etc!

chicken --- I almost never do plain roasted or shnitzel anymore.... this week, I did salsa chicken... I bought a mango salsa that has cilantro in it and it is super yummy... I poured it on the chicken bottoms, covered it and baked it. for my cutlets, I shmeared them in lite mayo and mixed in oregano, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. has a little kick and it is definitely different than regular shnitzel or grilled chicken.

I also do a moroccan gefilte fish that has tomato sauce and veggies.

we do enjoy kugels tho...carrot, broccoli, apple, potato.... those are staples in my house, but with all of the different salads, we don't feel like we are eating the same thing each week.

for salad inspiration, check out the cook book "salad time"... it is AMAZING!