what do you make for shabbat dinner

Hi Aleea, We do Shabbat dinner every week, so I have a pretty "set" traditional menu. To start, we have 2 challot (you are supposed to have two to make the blessings- if you want the explanation- just ask :) ) and "wine" (we use grape juice). Then, I always have a starter- either chopped liver or gefilte fish, then chicken soup with noodles and matza balls. The main dish is always some type of chicken (I have LOTS of easy, but nice enough for company recipes-so, if you want some, just ask! :) ) with a starch (rice/pasta/potatoes) and a salad and/or a green vegetable (beans/broccoli/asparagus). For dessert, I serve fruit and a special dessert. (Calories don't count on Shabbat- did you know that? :D ) Also, to make Shabbat even more special, I let the kids have a tiny bit of soda with their meal. Enjoy! Kids love rituals and Shabbat is a great one. Kelly

We also do Shabbat every week, but we're pretty understated. I make challah (I only have one and never heard of having two) from scratch--usually the weekend before and freeze it. We often have roast chicken, which is what we had when I was a kid and I think is pretty common among European Jews. But we don't always (DH -- who isn't Jewish-- does the cooking). Sometimes we have fish. Last week, we just had soup. We have salad, and some sort of second vegetable. Sometimes we have potatoes. Of course we have wine. When I was a kid, my mother always made some sort of dessert--which we never had during the week. DH and I are very careful about our weight, so we don't have dessert, nor do we have appetizers or a soup course. Those sorts of extras we do for holy days, like Rosh Hashana or Pesach. We do the blessings in Hebrew (DD can already do the blessing over the wine by heart!). And we try to be less rushed during the meal, even though we're quite tired by the time Friday rolls around. I don't think the actual meal matters. What matters is the taking time out to eat and worship together, to talk about the past week, to enjoy each other's company and to take a deep breath.

Thank you guys for replying.This will be our first Shabbat dinner so I'm pretty excited and freaked out. Kellster, I'd love easy recepies. Also, what's the whole thing about an extra challah for blessing? My family was never observant, so can you explain that part to me.Thanks again,Aleea

Hi Aleea, I am going to get my recipe binder and try to post a few after dinner. For now, I will explain the two challot: When G-d led the Jews out of Egypt, freeing them from slavery, he gave them manna to eat in the desert. Because he did not want them to have to gather the manna on the Sabbath, he gave them a double portion of manna on Fridays. That is where the tradition to make Hamotzi over two whole loaves on Friday nights comes from. Kelly

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix 8 chicken thighs (I use 4 breasts instead) ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together the orange juice, onion soup mix, soy sauce, and garlic powder; Set aside. Rinse chicken, and pat dry. Place chicken thighs into a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Pour the orange juice mixture over. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes in the preheated oven, basting every half hour. If using boneless chicken, reduce cooking time to 1 hour. Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom! Kelly

Thanks Kelly

Aleea, how did it go?