What's Cooking: Shabbos Menu
There's nothing better than being barefoot in the kitchen. Except maybe barefoot at the beach...
We have a running joke that my mom doesn't need to bother making a main course on Friday night: everyone's full after her delicious gefilte fish, dips and chicken soup. But every week, without fail, she makes a full meal that has us all licking our plates and our guests begging for recipes.
The first Shabbos I made with my husband after we got married, I went all out even though it was just the two of us. I probably didn't actually make that much but it felt like I did, because a) it was my first time cooking shabbos and b) we didn't make it past the soup course.
We didn't have any guests but we got all dressed up, just for ourselves (for the first and last time), we set the table with our brand new, freshly toiveled china, and excitedly made Kiddush and Hamotzi. I held my breath as my new husband took the first bite of the homemade challah I'd slaved over earlier and... it was a flop. I knew it had been a flop. I used the wrong kind of flour. I set it right next to the AC to rise. It hadn't risen.
"It tastes like Mandel Bread," he said, as if that was some kind of consolation. But the rest of the dips were delicious (I had learned from the best) and the soup was so good and so filling. After that, we were stuffed. We decided to take a break and move the party to the couch. Well, the break never ended and the rest of the food had to be moved from the brand new hot plate to the fridge before we put our exhausted and full selves to sleep.
These days I've learned my lesson and limit the Shabbos food when we don't have guests because who has to patience to cook food that won't be eaten or the money to throw away loads of leftovers?
In the winter I end the Friday night meal with soup and we just have fish, dips and snacks on shabbos day because it ends early and we have leftover soup on Motzei Shabbos. In the summer I make some food for shabbos day because it's so much longer.
This Week's Menu:
First Course
Homemade Challah (recipe coming soon!)
Chummus (Tribe's Roasted Garlic is the best)
Gefilte Fish with chrain
Soup
Vegetable Soup
Shabbos Day
Sushi Salad (to be served with the fish and dips)
Cornflake Chicken
Potato Wedges