So are you “carping” about your Shabbat fish (okay, maybe I deserve a “boo” for that one). Are you tired of the same old jellied gefilte fish from the jar or those frozen rolls? Try jazzing up the stuff you already use or trying something new and tasty.
You can revolutionize your gefilte fish slices by spreading tomato sauce or (not for the calorie-conscious) dipping them in egg, rolling them in breadcrumbs and frying them.
Are you tired of the traditional purple “chraine” horseradish sauce? Give your gefilte fish an Asian flair by serving it with wasabi (only use a tiny bit, because it is very hot!) or spreading sweet and sour sauce on the slices and baking them. Feel free to experiment with you gefilte fish; your family will enjoy the change!
Perhaps the problem isn’t eating gefilte fish, but that you are missing the flavor of fresh fish. Try making your own gefilte fish. It isn’t as difficult as you might imagine, especially if you buy fish already ground (or you can have your friendly fish salesperson grind it for you). For every pound of ground fish, add two eggs, 1/3 cup of matzo meal or bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Roll the fish mixture into balls, drop them into simmering water, and let them cook for half an hour. You might want to throw some carrot slices to cook in the water for a garnish after the fish is finished.
The reason that gefilte fish was invented in the first place was to avoid separating the bones from fish, which is not permitted on Shabbat. However, it is not permitted only to separate what you don’t want what you do want (i.e. taking out the bones). It is alright to put a piece of fish in your mouth and to extract the bones with your fingers. However, in the interests of good table manners as well as Jewish law, boneless or gefilte fish on Shabbat has been the choice for the vast majority. Nevertheless, I have had guests polish off pieces of salmon elegantly and in an impeccably kosher way.