Idiot's guide to kosher food?

[elektra]

My brother is bringing his girlfriend out to California today to meet our family. She grew up in Israel, went to an all-Jewish prep school in New York, so I'm guessing there is a good chance she might not eat non-kosher stuff.
My plan is to just go out for our meal on Sunday morning, but I think they may join us for dinner tomorrow night. I had planned on doing my usual go-to crockpot meal of chicken with masala simmer sauce from Trader Joe's, and serving their boil-in-the-bag Indian sides.

I'm thinking there is enough to choose from so that she can at least eat a few things without feeling awkward about it. I also think it would be a bit awkward if I did some kind of full-on kosher traditional Jewish meal like matzo balls or something, KWIM?
I basically want to have plenty of stuff that would be ok for her to eat without going too crazy. I just want to be considerate but not make her feel bad that I planned anything around her. (And I also am not a good cook anyway, so I am wanting something easy!)

Isn't it that you cannot serve beef with cheese/dairy? And no pork? What else?

[HIU8]

no mixing milk and meat of any kind---no glass of milk with your chicken, no cheeseburgers, no pork, no food made with milk served with any meat (mashed potatoes etc...). Also, no shellfish. There is more, but those are the basic basics.

If she is strictly kosher she probably won't eat the crockpot meal at all. What are the indian sides? Are they vegetarian. She would probably eat those if they were vegetarian. I would imagine she is used to finding things she can/will eat when out/away. I would just make sure you have a vegetarian option separate from the chicken. I have many strictly kosher family and friends and they either eat at kosher restaurants only, or eat vegetarian or dairy only when out.

[Nechums]

Are you and your brother Jewish? If not, I highly doubt the girl is strict about kosher food. If she was, she would also be strict about only dating Jews. If your brother is Jewish, but not observant, then there's what to talk about. It could be that she's strict about certain kosher laws, but not others. I would stay away from pork and shellfish. I would also stay away from any combination of meat or chicken and milk products. This is just to be safe. Again, chances are if she's not dating a Jew or not dating an observant Jew, then she's probably pretty lax on eating strictly kosher. Hope this helps!

ETA: I just noticed you said "tomorrow night". That's Friday night in which case, I highly doubt she's observant in the least bit. If she were observant, then she wouldn't be going out on Friday night because of the Sabbath.

[HIU8]

Didn't catch the friday night thing. This sinus infection has me in a fog. I agree with Nechums.

[elektra]

Thanks for the advice. :)
My guess is that she probably is fine with non-kosher stuff. I have never met her in person. The thing is, I didn't want to assume since I have some Jewish friends who don't think twice about whether or not something is kosher, but then have only dated other Jews. And then I have Jewish friends who don't seem to be all that religious at all, but still don't eat pork.
And then with her growing up in Israel, and going to all-Jewish schools, I thought maybe different rules might apply, as I think all of my close Jewish friends were born in the US.
I'm probably overthinking it. Maybe I'll have time to just ask my brother if they have any food preferences or avoidances in general. It's just that I of course waited til the last minute to figure out the food and shopping and may not get a chance to talk to them.
My brother and I are not Jewish, BTW.

[alirebco]

I would just ask your brother if she keeps kosher out of the house and if she has any other food preferences/dietary restrictions/allergies.