Making shabbat meals less complex - what to eliminate?

nachlaot

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 12:34 am

Hi, we're a recently married couple and have recently started hosting. We go all out and make a festive meal because we're of the mindset that if you're going to do something, do it right. We cook together and both enjoy it, so it's not just me by myself. But it's a week-long project, doing a little every night starting with the planning and the shopping and the prepping -- with a lot on Thursday night and Friday afternoon.

It's draining to have to do this too often, and I'm trying to figure out how to scale the routine down so we can host more frequently without having to devote the bulk of our evenings for an entire week to this. But we still want our shabbat meals to be fun and festive and delicious.

Currently, a typical shabbat meal we'd serve would be:

Course 1:
- homemade challah [can make a bunch at once, so not such a big deal]
- ~2 homemade dips (e.g., tehina, hummus, roasted garlic, schug) [people generally don't eat much of them and each of these dips is extra work, but I feel like challah is missing something without the dips... the idea of buying dips is unappealing when homemade stuff is much better]

Course 1.5:
- usually 2 different 'fancy' salads (one with some sort of greens, and one other type of salad) [I suppose we could just do 1 salad, but people -- especially women -- seem to enjoy fun and fancy salads]

Course 2:
- Either fish or soup [we're not wedded to serving fish on shabbat, so we do one or the other. We'd never throw a log of gefilte fish on the table, and the fish course would be a cooked dish. The fish/soups we've been making aren't too complex, but it all adds up]

Main Course:
- A meat dish, a cooked veggie dish, and a grain dish.... or some kind of a dish (e.g., a stew) that's meat+veggie or meat+grain [we always have tons of leftover mains bc people are full by then, but it's risky to not have enough of mains]

Dessert:
- 1-2 baked sweets (cookies, pie, etc.) [people seem to love dessert no matter how full they said they were]
- fresh fruit

What would you cut back on to make the cooking easier?

amother

Peach

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 12:48 am

1) Freeze your dips. Chumus and techina freeze fine, the others may as well.

2) Make your second salad a super-easy one. Like bean salad, pasta salad, etc.

3) Reconsider your fish log aversion. They are super-easy to fancy up - pour sauce on top, olive oil and zaatar, etc.

4) Make bigger batches of your cookies/cakes and freeze.

5) Consider using no-cut fruits, like clementines and grapes.

My 2 cents Smile

climbing613

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 12:55 am

I hear you about dips. I like them too. I'd buy techina, chummus, and schug. I make the garlic. I'd customize the chummus and or techina with toppings like olive oil, spices, bruschetta etc. much less patchke. Your username seems to say you're in Israel. Abu Ghosh chummus is quite good.
I do gefilte fish. I serve on a platter in slices with garnishes. Lemon or orange slices, olives, capers or other. It's easier and people are fine with it. I don't always have a grain. I'll often do a bunch of colorful roasted vegetables. For soups and desserts, double and freeze. Tastes great. I'll do it for chicken too sometimes and just defrost and finish it off on Friday afternoon so it tastes fresh. I have one salad per meal unless it's something like coleslaw, egg salad, corn salad etc where it's much easier to throw together

oliveoil

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 1:37 am

I do not mean this rudely, but are you very inexperienced with cooking? Or particularly slow in the kitchen?

To me this is two hours max. Add an hour for shopping and an hour for cleanup. Zehu.

I'm thinking the solution might be to help you learn how to multi-task in the kitchen rather than cut down on the menu.

I recall a thread here once where someone said she doesn't cook two things at once, and she even fries her onions separately if she's making three different dishes that all need fried onions. I wonder if something like that is going on here.

tichellady

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 1:42 am

Nighttime:
Challah + roasted garlic
Soup
1 salad, 1 carb, 1 vegetable, 1 meat, , if doing a one pot dish then add another salad
Dessert, fruit ( unless dessert is a fruit crisp type thing in which case skip the fruit and add pareve ice cream)

Lunch:
Challah + 1 dip
Fish and 1 salad
1 carb, veggie and 1 meat, if doing a one pot dish then add another salad
Dessert, fruit ( unless dessert is a fruit crisp type thing in which case skip the fruit and add pareve ice cream)

Teomima

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 1:48 am

Three things: first of all, I agree with oliveoil. No offense at all. As you get more used to cooking, you should be able to find this whole process goes a lot faster. What you described should not be taking a whole week.

Secondly, and I know this won't be the popular opinion, but I'd eliminate the second course. I never make fish and when I make soup, people seem to find it so filling that I don't do any main course after; I just serve a hearty soup as the main course. But as I said, I know most people won't agree with me on this one, so keep the course if you prefer.

Finally, use a crock pot for your main course. It doesn't have to just be for chollent for lunch, I'll often toss things in Friday morning to cook up for Friday dinner. It's a lot easier than keeping track of simmering pots on the stovetop.

heidi

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 2:00 am

I'm also with Oliveoil. The menu you wrote would take me 2 hours max. But I've been doing this for many many years. You will get there.
I wouldn't serve two appetizers . Either salads or fish or soup.
No one wants a main after two appetizers plus challah.
If I had to make a choice between making fresh challah or fresh chummus challah would win every time. You're in Israel, and if your screen name is any indication, right next to Machane Yehuda. Go there. Better dips than I (or most people) can make at home.
Most importantly, try to enjoy your shabbat preparations. Don't even start thinking about it till Weds. earliest.
Put on some music. Give yourselves a 3 hour limit for cooking and whatever doesn't get done, buy. You shouldn't end up resenting shabbat . . .

Iymnok

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 2:05 am

Fish, salads and dips is the first course. The gefilte fish log is tastefully arranged over a bed of lettuce with other vegetables to garnish it. It’s not just plopped on the table since the salad and dips are there too.
Don’t encourage challah consumption. One medium slice is enough for the brachos. It also fills you up too early.
Main course is a main and a side. Chicken could be cooked with potatoes or a grain for an added side. Many sides are freezer friendly.
Cholent can have the Kishinev served separately. We serve the onions and who le sweet potatoes separately too.
Dessert can include a sorbet and cakes/cookies that were made in bulk and frozen.

We do a salad bar. The kids each like a different combination of vegetables and dh and I like additions. Less work than two salads. We have pretty, small glass bowls. It gives a colorful, inviting look to the table.

amother

Denim

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 2:17 am

With two people on the kitchen things should move quicker but it could be practice is really what’s needed and maybe some better time management. ‭

I wouldn’t freeze chumus or techina. But have only tried chumus and felt it changed the texture.

I would freeze soups, cookies/cakes, and challah. I don’t remember what you said about sides but many can be double and frozen easily. That would leave with cooking fish, main, and dips. This shouldn’t take more than an hour of prep.

Do you write everything down?
I find that when we are hosting I need it all on paper. We host every week (just about). I plan it all on paper and then have another paper that just lists every food. I cross off as I go along. (I also write a shopping list based on what I’m making and what I know I have/need in the house.) This take a few mins to do and takes the whole thinking process out of it.

Tip: Holiday time - cook the things that can be frozen first, and the dishes that need to be fresh save for the day of. Write list/s according to that.

Miri7

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 2:31 am

You’ve gotten good suggestions above. I’d simplify my recipes. Start with very yummy very simple recipes for fish and mains. Learn a few and get good at them. Then while that’s cooking you can make dressings and chip for for salads etc.

When you know your simple recipes really well it makes shopping a lot easier and faster.

As you get faster you can introduce more complicated recipes one at a time.

DH and I decided we’d like to host more and stress less, so we simplified and we frequently host and love it.

amother

Lemon

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 4:05 am

Like Miri7 says, I can only host people if I simplify. If I'd feel I needed to do everything fancy and elaborate I would never host.

I agree with the advise above. Combine the challah/dips/salads. Honestly, I serve the fish immediately after hamotzi. Especially now with the late shabbos people don't want to eat much. If you serve the fish with the salads, you don't really need a dip but if you want dips you can simplify the salads or just put lettuce or fruits on the plate with the fish.

Then, mains by me is always the same: chicken, potato kugel, salad. Zehu. Takes literally 20 minutes to patchke and finished.

Desert: I like making really small pots of chocolate mousse. 5 minutes prep time. Empty one carton of parve whip and melt 300 gr baking chocolate in it in the microwave. Let cool and whip up. Divide over small cups. Freeze. Enough for at least two weeks (depending on how many guests you have). Festive and quick. Nobody refuses dessert after a long meal, but nobody really needs it either.

amother

Teal

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 4:11 am

I agree that the menu posted above should not take a whole week, especially as you have two people working on it.
My advice: first, stick to mainly the same recipes every week. That way you become more adept and faster at making them, and you also can go by a similar shopping list every week.
Techina - how do you make it? I just buy the raw techina in the small jars and add lemon and water....I think that's it but not sure since my son usually makes it...takes 5 min.
Homemade challa is a big patchke I think, quite time consuming. If you want to cut down, maybe just buy the challot - there are many delicious ones being sold.

In any case, I wouldnt classify challah and a dip as a whole course. Most people today dont want to fill up on challah. I would give a piece for hamotzei and move straight on to the salads.

I agree that 2 salads sounds about right. If you are really short on time, cut it down to one.
Fish - you can make baked salmon. Expensive for sure, but takes 5-10 min to place in oven.
Dessert - make only one baked thing. You can supplement with some nuts/cashews/sugared pecans if you have extra cash Smile

. In any case, one baked good is enough. Fresh fruit takes no prep time beyond washing (which you can do right before you serve).

Aylat

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 6:45 am

Teomima wrote:

I find this too. People get full.

salt

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 8:23 am

Do any of your guests offer to bring something?
Could you take them up on their offer - a salad, a dessert. My guests often offer to bring something, so if I know them well, or I think they sound sincere, and I trust their kashurt, I ask them to.
Much more useful than an extra box of chocolates or another bottle of wine.

I also wouldn't do so many courses. The salads can be together with the main course, then you need less salads.
Or no need for soup/fish at all - as others have said.

ra_mom

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 9:31 am

nachlaot, can you post how you break down all the preps and cooking? We may be able to teach you shortcuts that we've picked up on over the years.
For example, soup I make once in a few weeks and freeze in containers. Same for soaked cholent beans. And soup noodles. These are all things that take time and make pots dirty and I alternate so I only have to do one of the above each week instead of all every week.
Tehina I mix up in a covered container and bam, it's ready.
Chumus I make from canned chickpeas. Otherise you can cook up a bunch at once and freeze the chickpeas in weekly portions. Measure out all ingredients/spices and freeze. Then defrost and just wiz together straight in the container you'll be storing it in with an immersion hand blender which is easy to clean.
The weeks you're low on soup and are serving fish instead, the fish should be something simple like season and bake for 18 minutes. You can bake gefilte fish too if that's what you want to make that week which frees up the stove and allows for easier clean up.
Main dish should also be items that roast and basically cook themselves. If you need help with tbose please let us know.
Salads should be simple to make since you can shake up the dressing in a container during the week and just leave in the refrigerator. Then after shabbos starts, you can assemble the vegetables and drizzle the dressing.
Choose desserts that take just a few minutes to whip up and only add those to your menu.
Good luck! It really does take time learning how to prepare an entire shabbos quickly and easily. It's really daunting the first few years, I know.