Bassi Gruen shows us how to keep all those hungry stomachs full on Chol Hamoed

Job: Writer and Editor (but I don’t work on Chol Hamoed)

Lives: Beitar Illit

Family: I’m at what they call “the accordion stage.” On a regular weekday, there might be just five of us, but when my older sons are home and my married daughter comes with her family, or extended family visits, the meals expand. On Chol Hamoed I’ll invite guests, so it can easily be over twenty people.

Time of supper: On Chol Hamoed, I serve two large meals, because I don’t want to be in the kitchen the entire day. There’s a big brunch at around eleven1 a.m., and a nice hearty supper usually right after Maariv, between seven and eight.

The way I do it: My whole Pesach menu is planned in advance, in detail, together with the items I plan to delegate to my daughters. In general, I’m a creative cook, and when I’m hosting, I really patchkeh.

My big Chol Hamoed secret is a crockpot, so that we can go out together as a family, and rather than facing starving, cranky people when I get home, there’s a delicious meal all ready to eat.

I cook really nice Yom Tov food, but I believe a woman should breathe at some point, so I delegate the prep and cleanup from brunch to my teenage kids on two days of Chol Hamoed. They do it in pairs, and get up early and cook and serve beautifully.

My Yom Tov splurge:

Everything is disposable, so all I have to wash are the pots. I don’t have a Pesach dishwasher and Pesach cooking is time-consuming enough…. I make sure to get beautiful disposable tableware for the Yom Tov seudos, but yes, I did have a very shocked South African son-in-law when he first joined us for the Seder.

For health reasons:

We always have salad or cooked veg. I have one kid who is super picky. I think that’s my punishment for being smug and saying kids can get used to all healthy foods if you play it right. But everyone else eats their veggies.

If someone treated me to a meal out, I’d order:

I always want to order something exotic that I can’t make myself. As I’ve become a more adventurous cook, I find it harder to order within this criterion. Sometimes I just settle for a salad with interesting ingredients. Yes, I could make it myself, but it’s time-consuming.

My favorite spice:

For sure basil — it adds great flavor to everything. And Trader Joe’s mushroom umami spice. It packs a punch on roasted veggies or in a quark-cheese based dip. But it is NOT kosher l’Pesach.

Through the Week

Sunday: Light and Easy

It’s Motzaei Yom Tov for us, and no one wants to eat fleishig. I’ll serve something very light and easy, omelettes, or matzah brei, or matzah cereal (matzah, some sugar, with hot milk poured over it), which my kids have loved since they were little.

Monday: Fleishig Flavors

Here come two fleishig meals. Fleishig brunch either looks like cold cuts in matzah sandwiches on a picnic, or I do a real crowd favorite: French fries and pulled brisket, served with guacamole and tomato and red onion salad, and topped with garlic aioli.

Supper is a roast or chicken in the crockpot. Any piece of meat you cook low and slow for hours is going to be very tender. I throw in cubed sweet potatoes and carrots, too, for a full meal.

Tuesday: Crowd Pleaser

Schnitzel breaded in potato starch and fried, with roasted potatoes and a huge fresh salad.

Wednesday: Family Time

I’m hosting my side of the family. If I’m having one family over, I cook. But when all six families get together, everybody brings something. So tonight, we’re having a big vegetable soup, a balsamic roast, saucy chicken, scalloped potatoes, coleslaw, and either pineapple kugel or cranberry apple. Dessert is molten chocolate cakes with vanilla ice cream.

Thursday: Fresh and Simple

A fresh protein, either burgers or grilled chicken, with all the leftover sides and salads, so I can empty out the fridge to make room for Yom Tov food.

Before the Big Day

On Erev Pesach I make a big chicken salad using all the chicken I’ve cooked for soups, with cherry tomatoes, pickles, and homemade mayonnaise, and I serve it with potato salad. Then, closer to lecht tzinden, I serve fresh potato kugel.

Just Desserts

I serve dessert every night of Chol Hamoed. We either have simple grape juice and lemon ices, or chocolate soufflé, or ice cream. I do a ton of baking for Pesach, too; my family goes through frightening quantities of cakes and cookies.

Milchig Menu

I’m really lucky to have gotten a Pesach milchig toaster oven from my parents. Our brunches feature cheese-filled matzah-bourekas and matzah pizza, and for Shalosh Seudos, I serve cheesy scalloped potatoes and cheesecake.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 939)