More from Rabbi Avi Finegold. Cross-posted at jcarrot.org.

For many of you, having guests at a Shabbat meal means often juggling various dietary restrictions preferences that guests may bring to the table. Michael Pollan makes the interesting point that the French consider it improper to impose your diet onto your host, and yet how many of you can recall meals in which you were left with virtually nothing to eat as a result of your kashrut/vege- pesce- ovo- lacto- tarianism/ or any possible allergies. Peter Berley’s The Flexitarian Table may hopefully solve at least some of the issues.

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Let me just get it out there — I hate my crockpot. In college, I had a lovely stainless steel number made by Rival. It had two simple settings — low and high. “Low” would predictably cook a cholent between Friday afternoon and Saturday lunch; no thinking required.

The slow-cooker we own now is an impressive six quarts, but Hamilton Beach, in its infinite wisdom, has added a third setting to its models — Keep Warm — which has thrown off the delicate balance of my Shabbat cuisine. “Keep Warm” is not hot enough to cook anything; put raw meat in and hours later, still tough and inedible. And “Low”? Well, it’s just too hot to leave on for umpteen hours until Shabbat lunch: the water boils off and the meat gets hard and crusty.

Has anyone cracked the code of the three-setting crock pot? Any tips for Shabbat cholent, corned beef, chili, etc.?

So, say I want to serve warm rice at lunch on Shabbat. How do I do it without a) having chewy, dried-out rice or b) mushy, formless rice? Suggestions most welcome.

Spurred by an episode of Michael Lomonaco’s “Epicurious” show about “American Rustic” cuisine, I tried two new recipes this past Shabbat, both of which worked out pretty well (assuming my gracious guests weren’t lying). One of the greatest culinary challenges I encounter on a regular basis is serving food at its peak readiness during Shabbat (especially lunch); so, from now on, I’m going to try to add Shabbat-related tips where appropriate.

The first recipe (featured on that episode) was Madeira-Glazed Shallots. This is an intriguing side vegetable, full of sweet oniony flavor, but mellowed by the addition of savory chicken broth.

ADJUSTMENTS
I split each whole shallot into two, which shallots lend themselves to naturally. I used Fleishmann’s pareve stick margarine instead of butter, and Kedem New York Port instead of Madeira. I’m told that kosher Madeira exists, but I didn’t bother to look for it; and despite what I’ve heard about Kedem’s Port, the flavor it imparted was quite pleasant. After simmering for over an hour, I was disappointed with the unthickness of the liquid (it was supposed to be a glaze, after all), so I added one teaspoon of corn starch mixed with one teaspoon of cold water.

SHABBAT ACCOMODATIONS
I prepared the shallots on Thursday night, and left it in the fridge overnight. Erev Shabbos, I put the shallots on our warming tray (high setting), and by dinner, they were perfectly warmed and ready to serve.

The second recipe (from the Epicurious website but not that episode), was Potato Portobello Gratin (photo). Though the preparation took some effort and extra time, this dish was consumed quickly and thoroughly. I like the suggestion from the recipe reviews to add cheese between the layers — definitely something I’d try for a milchig/vegetarian meal.

ADJUSTMENTS
I followed the recipe pretty closely, except for halving it (full recipe makes 10 servings). Also, the recipe calls for a 13×9x2-inch glass baking dish; I used my large oval Corningware baking dish, which is shorter and deeper.

SHABBAT ACCOMODATIONS
Did everything but the baking on Thursday, refrigerated overnight, then baked as specified late Friday afternoon. Covered it with foil before putting on the warming tray just before lighting candles.