Cooking and dorm life can mix
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| Sesame pasta salad with chicken and peppers make the grade in dorm cooking. (MCT News Service) |
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There’s more to the college experience than fascinating lectures, frat parties and pricey textbooks. There’s all that ramen, for one thing.
Mom and Dad may have paid for a dorm meal plan, but dining hall hours don’t always jibe with student schedules, or tastes for that matter. Many students find themselves on the wrong side of campus, or still in class, when the cafeteria closes. Late-night study sessions require refueling. And a pizza-based diet gets old – and fattening – quickly.
So here are some fresh cooking ideas that will be equally at home at the big U or in harried non-college households, too.
A well-stocked dorm closet allows students to turn their produce finds into Caprese salads, bruschetta and similar simple fare without so much as a microwave oven. (Tip: don’t store the laundry detergent near the cooking supplies or your Caprese salad will taste like Tide.)
Microwave biscuits
Makes 12
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, or your favorite herb or dried spice
In a bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda and salt. Stir in sour cream. Mix just until a soft dough forms, but don’t overmix.
Pat dough into 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into rounds. Place on a microwave baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with thyme. Microwave at high power for about 1 1/2 minutes or until done. Let rest for 3 to 4 minutes.
Split into halves and serve with sliced ham and cheese, sausage patties or eggs.
– Gigi Gaggero, Kids Culinary Adventures
Breakfast in a mug
Serves 1
You will need to adjust the timing to your microwave oven’s specifics. Unlike most microwaved eggs, these come out fluffy and light.
2-3 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon milk or water
1 or 2 eggs
Salt, pepper to taste
Shredded cheese
Place the butter in a 12-ounce microwave-safe mug or small bowl. Microwave on high for 20 to 40 seconds, or until melted and sizzling.
Add the milk, eggs, salt and pepper, and whisk with a fork. If you’re using one egg, microwave it on high about 35-45 seconds, or until it just begins to set, stopping halfway through to give it a quick stir with a fork. For two eggs, it may take 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove eggs from microwave when they are still soft and moist in the center. Sprinkle with cheese and let sit for a minute or two to set.
– Adapted from “Dorm Room Recipes” (Quick Study Cooking)
Asian-inspired salad
This salad, from the new “Student Cookbook: Great Grub for the Hungry and the Broke,” is infinitely adaptable. Vary the vegetables, pasta type and dressing to suit your tastes.
Chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
Thin egg noodles, fusilli or other pasta, cooked and drained
1 bunch fresh chives, chopped
Assorted vegetables, such as red peppers, carrots and snow peas, thinly sliced
1 small bunch watercress or arugula, stemmed
Sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry skillet
Sesame or bang bang dressing (recipes below)
Toss the chicken, cooked pasta, chives, vegetables and watercress with the dressing of your choice. Serve hot or cold, garnished with toasted sesame seeds and chives.
Sesame dressing
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Whisk the dressing ingredients together, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Bang bang dressing
5 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
3 tablespoons hot water
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cold water
Stir the peanut butter and hot water together until the mixture becomes smooth, or as smooth as crunchy peanut butter can become. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well. The mixture should be just thin enough to spoon over the chicken and pasta. If necessary, add another tablespoon of hot water.
– Adapted from “The Student Cookbook,” Linda Collister and Ross Dobson, (Ryland, Peters and Small, 2009)
Greek lemon soup
Serves 8
8 cups chicken stock
Salt and white pepper
1/3 cup Italian pastina, orzo or other tiny pasta
2 eggs
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley or chives
In a rice cooker, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the pastina and simmer until tender.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs together. Add the lemon juice, beating constantly.
Add a ladleful of the soup to the egg mixture and beat well. Then pour this back into the pan slowly, still beating constantly. Switch the rice cooker to the warm setting and cook the soup gently, stirring all the time, until it thickens. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley or chives.
– Michelle Stern, www.whatscooking.info
Greek salad
Serves 4
4 cups romaine lettuce, torn
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, oregano and salt. Gradually add the oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle oil mixture over salad; toss well.
– Michelle Stern, www.whatscooking.info
