If you serve only challah, dips, and cholent for lunch

amother

Burntblack ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:18 am

amother Peony wrote:

In my circles it's the norm to serve just cholent as the main. And I haven't met anyone who doesn't eat cholent.

I'm happy this is the way it is, because otherwise I would never be able to have guests.

I had guests Shabbos morn and this is what I served:
challah
dips
egg
liver
salad
cold cuts
cholent

And this is considered a perfectly respectable menu in my parts. Even if I would omitted the liver it would have fine as well.

Do you leave the challah, dips, etc on the table when the cholent comes out? That woukd make this workable for me and make total sense in my world, even if it's not what I'm used to. Someone doesn't eat the chulent? Deli sandwich, or more challah and dips.

amother

↑ Dandelion

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:19 am

LovesHashem wrote:

Wow. Are we really forcing people to eat now?

Listen if someone is picky and has a huge list of things they won't eat, I hear. But having only one dish basically (cholent) is so wrong and socially off. Would you invite someone for a weekday dinner and just serve chicken with no side dishes or anything?

.Dips ARE side dishes. Unless they're all nothing more than flavored mayonnaise junk, which I don't consider food. If I served dips they'd be things like hummus, guacamole, chatzilim of one sort or another, iow something with nutritional value.

↑ Amarante ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:19 am

amother Peony wrote:

Not to quibble but you are serving more than just cholent as you are serving cold cuts and salad. I don't know when you serve the egg or how you serve it - egg salad?

And I am assuming that if you serve cold cuts, you have some kind of bread with the cold cuts.

I interpreted OP as there being literally nothing on the table but cholent and the portion was skimpy because the expectation was that you filled up on the challah and dips but they were not available at that point.

↑ LovesHashem ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:19 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

No tomatoes, but that is a LOOOT of food. Nobody we have ever been guests at have served so much food.
Not everyone does fish. Some fo dips. Some do no first coursr. Nothing wrong. Different strokes for different folks.
And so many basari choices, thats also a personal preference. Not everyone does that.

I think its fine to serve one main dish. But you have to have enough of it to go around.

Fine. Have one main. But serve sides! I've been places for shabbos where I went hungry because I don't like cholent and there was just challah and dips and then cholent and that was it.

Now I make sure to inform the hosts that I don't like cholent.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:20 am

amother Peony wrote:

You literally said “just cholent” and then listed 4 other things. So that’s not just cholent!

amother

↑ Peony ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:20 am

Amarante wrote:

I usually serve the cold cuts and salad before the cholent comes out. So there is just cholent on its own afterwards.

But, as I said this is the norm here - and I'm happy about that since it would be too hard for me to have guests if I needed to make more variety.

↑ LovesHashem ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:21 am

amother Dandelion wrote:

Usually there's not enough of dips to take more than a spoonful or two per person. Two spoonfuls of Quacemole and two of eggplant plus bread is not what I'd call a meal. I'm nursing and pregnant. I need some real food!

amother

↑ Burntblack ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:21 am

amother Dandelion wrote:

This only works if they and the challah are still on the table for the main.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:23 am

Amarante wrote:

You interpreted me perfectly. First, challah and some dips. Then a bowl of cholent and nothing else.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:30 am

amother Peony wrote:

I serve all that before the cholent.

I said literally only challah, dips, and cholent.

You said:
egg
liver
salad
cold cuts

All in addition to challah, dips, and cholent!

That is a lot of options and not at all what I’m talking about in this thread.

Iymnok

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:31 am

We often have salad (salad bar style to kee each kid happy) then cholent. (2, one gluten free)
I could easily add gefilte fish, liver, salad toppings, deli roll and kishke. If I always do that, we will always have too much leftovers.

↑ Amarante

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:32 am

amother Peony wrote:

If that is the norm where you are, that is the norm. But it doesn't appear to be the norm where OP lives.

Also - without going too far into the weeds - I think most people would assume that if there was cold cuts of some kind along with the other food you mentioned like eggs and liver (did you mean chopped liver) - that this food comprises most of what the meal would be.

If I am served guacamole or hummus with bread I assume it is an appetizer and prelude to the main course. If I am serve guacamole and hummus WITH cold cuts; chopped liver and eggs (egg salad? deviled eggs?) I would assume that it going to be most of the food and I would take portions according to that to be full.

Honestly I would find it a bit odd and anticlimactic to then have ONLY cholent brought out after all of that food. But I also think that many people - for whatever reason - take small portions of cholent because it is so heavy and not really to their tastes.

amother

Gray

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:37 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

My typical shabbos lunch with guests is challah, dips, salmon, gefilte, eggplant salad, cauliflower salad, hearts of palm salad, a lettuce salad, a charcuterie board which is filled with shnitzel, meat, grilled chicken, deli and sometimes lachmajine or Moroccan cigars, and of course Chulent. When we don’t have guests I skip the meat and maybe one salad.
Always. And I’m still always scared that I don’t have enough
I agree with OP

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:38 am

amother Peony wrote:

Again, you listed a lot of things! It had plenty of variety!

amother

Plum ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:44 am

I live in Israel and have never seen just cholent for the main course.

That said, I think dips are a total waste. They exist for people to have challah and dips so they'll fill up and not eat too much meat. But since we have enough meat (and salad and rice and kugel and roast vegetables and chicken and cholent), I don't really do dips. We have lots of repeat company, so I think it works out fine.

↑ LovesHashem ↓

Sun, May 07 2023, 10:58 am

amother Plum wrote:

I do dips because I enjoy them, not because I want to skimp on main dishes. I do salatim as well and Herring and sometimes salmon.