I’m not going to lie: cooking at home in a real kitchen with ample supplies, tools and an oven whose temperature gauge is spot on was incredible. Not that I don’t love my amazing apartment and roommates here on College Hill, but having a car to drive to the nearest Los Angeles farmers’ market and then bake your own bread is an undeniable pleasure that my current situation does not allow for. As a result, I took full advantage of cooking everything I possibly could from scratch while at home over winter break; from cornbread to salsa to key lime pie to lamb roast and beyond. But, now that I do not have such luxuries as a food processor and several pans of the same size in my possession (goodbye, triple layer Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Cake — you were the best thing to ever happen to me…), I have made it my mission to simplify some of the favorites I made while I was being spoiled by 80 degree Southern California weather.

While taking advantage of my kitchen at home, one of my absolute favorite dishes to make was Shrimp and Cotija Enchiladas with Chile Verde. Never having made salsa from scratch before, I decided to take the long route and do the entire dish as the recipe says, though whenever I reuse the recipe here at school, I’m sure I’ll use bottled chile verde due to my lack of food processor. I had made simple enchiladas before, a sort of Mexican-style lasagna with tortillas instead of pasta, red enchilada sauce instead of tomato sauce, and cheddar or jack cheese instead of ricotta and mozzarella. This style is a go-to favorite of mine, and I HIGHLY recommend it when cooking for a crowd (the Big Game, anyone?) because you can make a couple different enchilada lasagnas based on people’s meat versus non-meat preferences. That being said, if you want to class things up a bit, these shrimp enchiladas were light and flavorful, and could be made into a quick-prep meal should you decide to buy the bottled green stuff. [Read more →]

We all know that finding the inspiration to cook can be trying at times.  I plan so many more meals than I actually crank out, as the idea of a dish is sometimes more appealing than actually doing the work.  And let’s face the facts, sometimes it’s just easier to heat a can of soup, or make pasta (again), or even run to Nice Slice for a quick dinner.  Despite this, the therapeutic qualities of cooking your own food are undeniable and I am going to share with you some of the many places where I find inspiration to put down the ramen and get out the cutting board.

One of the first places you can begin your path to culinary obsession is, of course, television.  If the Food Network isn’t enough to get you salivating, then I think you’re on a path to hopelessness.  I can remember when my love for cooking began and I started watching the Food Network regularly, my father used to come into the living room and say, “why are you watching the food porn channel?” [Read more →]

Once upon a time, a beautiful maiden-slash-lodge-owner named Ruth Wakefield made a dire mistake.  While preparing some cookies for her guests at the Toll House Inn, she ran out of baking chocolate.  All in a tizzy, Ms. Wakefield chopped and dropped a gift from Mr. Andrew Nestle of the Nestle Chocolate Company, a semi-sweet chocolate bar.  Unfortunately for her beloved Butter Drop Do cookies, the chocolate did not melt and disperse evenly.  Fortunately for lovers of chocolate chip cookies everywhere, the broken chocolate morsels softened in the dough and a new cookie was born.  Thanks, Ms. Wakefield!  Your blunder has spread love, joy and sometimes Salmonella across the nation, and other countries wish they were as cool as us for thinking of it first.

I’m going to let you in on a (not-so-secret) secret: people like cookies. It should also go without saying that people don’t like cookie dough; they LOVE cookie dough.  In fact, one might argue that half (or more than half) of the reason for making cookies is so one can eat the raw dough.  That’s a thing, right?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  [Read more →]

For those of you students left to fend for yourselves food-wise, the following story may be familiar:  It’s eight o’clock in the evening.  You ate Pop-Tarts for breakfast and grabbed a sandwich for lunch.  You are comfortable in your sweatpants and are much too lazy to leave your apartment again before class tomorrow.  You stare longingly at an unexciting fridge, wishing Mom were around to make food magically appear on your plate.

It seems as though you have only a few options. You could order takeout (again), though the Domino’s delivery guy is starting to ask how your exams are going, so maybe you should cool it with the usual pie and Cinna Stix.  You could also eat that box of Cheez-Its sitting in your cupboard — the temptress. Or, you could embrace the wonder that is the egg and become a breakfast-for-dinner gourmand.  Though I do argue that Cheez-Its make a damn fine meal (breaking news: Parmesan & Garlic’s secret ingredient is actually crack cocaine, the evil geniuses), occasionally it is nice to have a hot, healthy, well-balanced meal in front of you. Even better, after experimenting with eggs and the endless cooking opportunities at your disposal, you will undoubtedly realize that you can make those egg-centric dishes you order at brunch spots just as easily as the guy in the kitchen—and for much less money.

[Read more →]

Upon entering college, one of the first things you as a Brown student probably learned is that food is a motivating factor for many things. Want to get people to come to a boring meeting? Free Kabob and Curry! Want these people to really like you? Meeting Street Cookies! Luckily enough, this method also works with friendship, although I’m not sure if I advocate hosting a dinner party with the sole purpose of getting people to think you’re not boring… Regardless, gathering friends (new and old) together is a great way to solidify relationships, share a few laughs, and/or get shwasty before going out.

Dinner parties do not always have to be fancy, classy, or well thought-out (although, the host that plans reaps great rewards, young grasshopper). In fact, impromptu gatherings can be even more fun than elegant soirées if the right people are involved. Food fests can be executed in a number of ways ranging from cooking-heavy to Tedeschi-themed potluck, and hosting or taking part in said festivities can be quite simple. To successfully plan a get-together, first determine the event’s purpose. Why are you gathering? How many people do you want to be involved? What time of day will this event take place? Where will this event take place? Though these may seem like obvious questions, I cannot tell you how many of my own plans have been foiled by a lack of fundamental preparation. It’s not enough to want to get together; you have to have venue and a group of consenting individuals to make sure things will actually happen. [Read more →]

It’s that time of year again—the season when it’s socially acceptable to drink cider and chai and hot chocolate (!) at least once a day.  Scarfs and boots are once again the accessories of choice, and students prefer sitting inside at a coffee shop to reading lounging outside on the Main Green.  Now is as good a time as any to start taking advantage of the plentitude of winter vegetables available, well, everywhere.  Activities revolving around pumpkins and squashes are fun and cheap ways to decorate your home and cook for the masses.  Literally every part of the pumpkin has a different use and can be taken advantage of for optimal seasonal shenanigans.

Almost as soon as pumpkins started making their way into markets, my roommates and I started decorating.  Most likely, we wanted an excuse to roast pumpkin seeds because they’re so damn delicious, so if we had to spend an afternoon carving pumpkins to make the effort worthwhile, it was a necessary step we were willing to take.  Pumpkins are relatively cheap commodities this time of year, especially the tiny ones sold exclusively for decorating.  If getting to a grocery store is difficult for you, GET UP NOW AND GO to the final farmers market on Wriston Field and take advantage of its closeness while it lasts!  They have a number of gourds and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes for your painting and eating pleasure. [Read more →]

One of the beautiful things about soup, besides the warm fuzzy feeling you get in your stomach while eating it, is the fact that it can be made from literally anything.  Not into beef? Throw in some chicken.  Sworn off animal products? First of all, I’m sorry.  But more importantly, don’t sweat it!  You can create all kinds of soup-tastic creations without any dairy or meat.  I like to think of soup as the great amalgamation between almost-forgotten vegetables, things in your pantry you bought because you thought you’d use them eventually and every spice in your cabinet.

Knowing I had a full week ahead of me consisting of paper-writing, book-reading, and other college-y things that don’t involve being social in any way, I decided to celebrate the coming Autumn with a weird farmers market concoction to commemorate this year’s fall harvest.  That, or I just bought a bunch of shit that I didn’t know what do with so I decided to make one master bowl of soup-y goodness so as not to waste money.  Hey—if Meeting Street can make a cookie of doughy leftovers that rocks the socks off of life, I don’t see why my fall bounty soup couldn’t do the same thing.  And, if I could use this experiment as a way to go crazy and make up a catchphrase that would make Emeril proud every time I plopped something else random in my pot, I say onward, ho! [Read more →]

It’s 11am on a Sunday morning, and you feel like death.  But why: perhaps too much Absolut?  Oh, who are we kidding—Karkov.  Regardless, you simultaneously feel nauseous and in dire need of a round at IHOP.  When you’re off meal plan and the hallowed Sunday Ratty Brunch can no longer take place, what’s next? Two words: banana bread.

The first thing you have to learn about living off campus and preparing meals for yourself – instead of relying on Gate pizza – is that you must always have a stocked pantry.  My roommates have asked me on numerous occasions how I always have the ingredients for dishes I prepare without having to go to the grocery store every time, and my answer is always the same: spend a lot of money buying staples in one trip so you never have to do it again.  This way, when your stomach feels like it’s going to turn inside out and your head feels like the venue for a vicious game of dodgeball, you don’t have to leave the apartment (or dorm, if you swing that way) to make a heavenly batch of pancakes, some sinfully delicious cookies, or some banana bread that will bring all the boys to the yard.  So, what does this essential first grocery trip look like? [Read more →]

It’s difficult to imagine missing the Ratty until the Ratty is no longer an option.  The name itself leaves much to be desired… Regardless, many of the students who are living off-campus decide to take the plunge and go completely sans meal plan. So what do you do when your burrito-only diet has failed you and a trip to the grocery store is a voyage of epic proportions? You have two options: one, starve, but that gets really old really fast. Or, two, cook for yourself (omGASP!). Cooking is not only amazingly therapeutic and a remarkable procrastination tool (“oh, I’ll read those 300 pages after my cake is done…” –priorities, people, it’s cake!), but it will also solidify all of your present and future friendships—fast. As soon as that random guy in your Econ section learns that you make killer Nutella Brownies, he’ll have no qualms about letting you borrow his notes, hands down.

During this lovely fall weather (and by lovely, I mean miserable), options beyond hitchhiking to the grocery store are well within reach for at least a few months. Lucky for us spoiled hippy Brown students, we have a farmers’ market right on campus once a week: yay us! [For a list of every farmers' market in the area, go here.]  Every Thursday between 11 and 2, local vendors try to pawn off their delicious produce and other edible goods on us poor and starving college kids. Now some of us know that farmers’ markets can be rather pricey, but a smart and saavy cook knows how to find deals, and great ones! To demonstrate this, I showed up at the farmers’ market with only ten dollars in my pocket (blashphemy, I know), determined to find food to feed me for not only one meal, but several meals.  Impossible, you say? Balderdash! [Read more →]