Making shabbat meals less complex - what to eliminate?

chicco

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 10:20 am

Just to add to what everyone else already suggested, the first thing I would eliminate are the things you say are leftover every week. If they aren't being eaten, why drive yourself crazy to have them there? You seem to have a lot of preconceived notions of how things "have" to be. People don't enjoy a meal just because it "had" everything. They appreciate when there is enough, it is well balanced, and it tastes good. Go back to basics, stop stressing, and appreciate that people enjoy coming to you because you care and they enjoy your company. As you get more comfortable preparing, slowly expand your repertoire.

Good luck!

amother

Blue

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 12:14 pm

Definitely salad, fish, dips together. Another easy dip is to blend olives and mayo. Everyone likes. Can add garlic if you like.
There are easy yet nice salad type dishes that don't require so much chopping. Sesame noodles, tuna with olive oil, capers etc.
I do remember feeling as you did in the first few years. It really does get so much faster and easier. Doubling and freezing definitely made a difference. Having broths to add to soups etc.
There are also so many quick and easy yet elegant desserts, like ice cream pie, layered sorbets, fruit salad, peanut chews. It's all on presentation and a drizzle of syrup on the plate and toasted coconut or crushed nuts

Raisin

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 12:26 pm

I don't even think about salad till after candle lighting. I make a simple mixed salad - lettuce, tomatoes, avocado or israeli salad. Plus dips. (I make these but should really buy the chummus and techina). Fish. Tonight we are having baked salmon, and Moroccan gefilta fish balls. Then chicken, kugel, rice, and green beans. Apple crumble for dessert and choc chip sticks. Plus bought ice cream and fruit, which I cut up on the spot - grapes, melon. (ok the choc chip sticks are just as much for my kids to snack on over shabbos).

cholent and cold cuts for lunch with any leftovers.

I also struggle with making too complicated food (as you can see.) But I made a couple of things last night, and the rest I started today at 12.

Definitely freeze dips, desserts and sides.

zaq

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 4:44 pm

oliveoil wrote:

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.

.

Bully for you. Count your blessings, and in your spare time you can come and do all of this for me. I've been cooking for well over 40 years, having started as a high school kid, not counting baking cakes and cookies in grade school, so I'm not exactly inexperienced, nor am I especially slow, but what OP describes would take me all week, too. Granted I don't use many appliances and do almost everything by hand including mixing and kneading challah dough, but IME unless I'm processing vast quantities at once, dismantling and washing the appliances takes almost as long as doing the job by hand.

thunderstorm

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 5:07 pm

OP it's all about practice makes perfect. I didn't host people until I was married a few years. By then Shabbos cooking was a routine I was used to and all I did was add to the quantity of whatever I was making.
The following dips can all be made and the total amount of time spent making it is less than 10 min.

Tomatoes Dip:
Cut 3 plum tomatoes in chunks and drop into the container you'll be storing it in. Add 2-3 frozen crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, some oil, salt to taste and a drop of sriracha sauce.
Using an immersion blender/ stick blender blend ingredients, cover container, refrigerate.

Tehina:
Pour tehini paste, some light mayo, water, lemon juice and frozen crushed garlic and some parsley flakes into the container you will store the dip in. Blend with immersion blender .

Chummus:
Same recipe as techina above just add a can of rinsed chickpeas and a bit more salt. Blend in storage container.

Jalapno Dip:
Remove seeds from 3 jalapeño peppers, cut into small pieces, 1-2 crushed frozen garlic, drop lemon juice , salt , water , 1/2 cup to 1 cup light mayo. Add frozen chopped dill optional.
Blend with immersion blender in storage container and refrigerate.

Just rinse then blender quickly between each use.
This should all take under 10 minutes to prepare.

Bake challah. once a month and freeze. You can rewarm itnim the oven erev Shabbos to refreshen.

Like others mentioned serve, challah, dips , salads and fish at the same time.

Soup or Fish are both optional.
Soups can be made months in advance just make large batches and freeze in containers until you plan on serving. They do not get a freezer taste and some taste better after freezing.

Desserts: Do a day of baking once a month and freeze enough cake, pie or cookies do you don't have to constantly make more.

Work your monthly schedule that one week is challah week , one week is cake and cookie week and one week soup week etc.

A main dish and two veggie sides should take up to an hour to prep.

To me the most time consuming part is the washing of the pots and pans, and cleanup.

fmt4

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 5:19 pm

oliveoil wrote:

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.

I remember my first year of marriage it would take me all day to make meals for just the two of us. Now ten people takes me two hours. It really takes time.

tichellady

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 5:58 pm

zaq wrote:

Lol. I agree. The cooking doesn’t take me so long but shopping and cleaning up and putting everything away all adds up to way more than 2 hours. If you work a full day and are also trying to make weekday dinners and pack lunch every night, and not starting with a clean organized kitchen, extra room in your freezer or fridge, it can be hard to throw together a fancy shabbos meal in a few hours.

etky

Sat, Jun 16 2018, 5:43 pm

tichellady wrote:

Yup. Like Zaq, I've also been cooking for decades and although I have gotten quicker over time and learned how to streamline the process, it still takes me a while to make Shabbat, even when it's only family.
Much depends on the actual items that I prepare. I have 'low maintenance' Shabbatot that are much quicker to prepare and, on the other hand, Shabbatot when I make more time consuming recipes that require two or three steps and of course, more pots and pans to wash too. I find washing the utensils and cleaning up in between even more physically taxing than the cooking and it certainly adds significantly to the prep time.
Then there are Shabbatot for which I rely heavily on what I take from the freezer and, conversely, Shabbatot (like this one) when I made everything fresh and from scratch.
Also, some posters should note that OP did not say she actually cooks the entire week for Shabbat, but rather she factored in the planning and shopping too.
I don't think I have ever in my life made Shabbat - including menu planning, shopping, cooking, baking and cleaning up in two hours. Maybe if I had a sous-chef, with his/her own dedicated sink and work station.....

amother

Fuchsia

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 1:59 am

I just want to point out, if OP is indeed in Israel, especially if she's in Nachlaot, it's very likely she doesn't have a second fridge or freezer, and quite possible that the one she does have is rather small. I still use the one my dh bought back when he was single and it's miniscule. There's only so much I can cook and freeze, or even refrigerate, in advance. I keep getting advice from my MIL and friends abroad to make things in advance and they just don't get how impracticable that is in many Israeli homes.

etky

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 3:20 am

amother wrote:

This.
Also pointing out that if indeed OP is in Israel then she doesn't have a Sunday during which to cook or bake in large batches for the freezer. Time management is different here too.

SuperWify

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 4:38 am

OP try this schedule:

Make challah once a month and divide and freeze. Rebake (wrap in foil) before serving and it will taste fresh. Bake a few types of cookies and divide and freeze.

Wednesday: plan menu and shop.

Thursday: cook for 2-3 hours max (like many posters said- practice makes perfect). Make EASY dishes- you got good advice upthread.

Friday: cleanup and last minute prep

amother

Purple

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 4:59 am

SuperWify wrote:

If she has freezer space, potato kugel and chicken soup freeze very nicely too. I find that potato kugel (as well as all other types of kugels) can last a long while in the freezer and still taste delicious, as long as it is preheated properly in the oven before putting on the hotplate.

Raisin

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 7:13 am

etky wrote:

This.
Also pointing out that if indeed OP is in Israel then she doesn't have a Sunday during which to cook or bake in large batches for the freezer. Time management is different here too.

If she has limited freezer space, dips, kugels and desserts are pretty space efficient. even in a small house an extra freezer is a great investment and not expensive. It can be kept in a kids bedroom even.

On the plus side if she lives in Israel she doesn't need to fill up her freezer with meat and chicken and milk like I do...

amother

Purple

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 8:12 am

I make these two really simple dips:

Tomato Dip
3 tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
half cup oil
salt
sprinkle of white or black pepper

Blend tomatoes and garlic for few minutes and then add rest of ingredients by hand. (It comes nicer texture doing that way then blending all ing together). I also sometimes add a bit of mayo to give a thicker texture.

Carrot & Pickle Dip (Sounds interesting, but goes down very well with challah and fish):
1 carrot
1 pickle
1 garlic
1 cup mayo

Blend together.

I usually do half of both recipes since don't have such a large crowd.