The Best Mac & Cheese at Paws & Go

Posted on March 21, 2013 by fooducated

Paws & Go sells four different brands of mac and cheese.

That fact captures the typical college student’s desire to cook perfectly. Sure, Paws & Go sells some raw vegetables, flour, uncooked pasta, and (beautiful) cheeses but I’d be willing to bet that most of what they sell is ready to eat or microwaveable. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re busy college students. Ain’t nobody got time for sauteing.

Ain’t nobody got time for bad mac and cheese either. So Alex, Brandon, JP and I did the difficult deed of testing out each brand to find the best.

Stouffer’s v. Easy Mac

Brandon described Easy Mac as “what you eat when you’re feeling down.” I describe it as “bleh.” It tasted like calcium powder, not cheese. According to everyone in the room, I put Easy Mac at a disadvantage because, apparently, I added too much water. I will have you know: I filled it up to the fill line and not a millimeter higher.

Anyway, Stouffer’s would’ve won even if the Easy Mac wasn’t soggy noodles in a pool of flavorless yellow water. Stouffer’s was a lot cheesier and the thicker noodles were more satisfying.

Amy’s v. Gluten Free

The Gluten Free was, undoubtably, the underdog because… it’s gluten free. Gluten Free was basically forced to play defensively the entire time and it did so poorly. JP said it wasn’t the worse thing ever but it basically was. The rice noodles were hard and tasted like plastic. The cheese sauce didn’t taste like anything. Don’t eat Gluten Free. If you’re gluten free… I’m sorry.

Amy’s, on the other hand, played a strong offense and dominated. The cheese sauce tasted like cheese (which is apparently a lot to ask). The noodles were thick and not mushy.

Amy’s v. Stouffer’s

This matchup was destined to be a close one. Both Stouffer’s and Amy’s featured cheese that tasted like cheese. Both had satisfying noodle textures. Brandon and Alex both liked Stouffer’s. JP and I both liked Amy’s. It would’ve been a tie except… I write the blog posts so I get to vote twice! So the winner is: Amy’s.

I liked the flavor that the whole wheat in the noodles added. I also thought the Amy’s cheese sauce was milkier and richer.

So here’s how the March Madness Mac & Cheese Bracket played out:

The Cobb-Out Salad at Green Bean

Posted on February 5, 2013 by fooducated

Been thinking about picking up a new extracurricular activity? Why not just start a restaurant?

Oh… that’s right… because you’re not crazy. WUSTL senior Sarah Haselkorn is. In between her lacrosse practice and systems engineering homework, she runs Green Bean, a fast-casual restaurant that serves made-to-order salads and wraps in the Central West End. I’m not kidding. She started the restaurant in November of 2011.

“I’ve never slept in here but I’ve been here for 20 hours straight,” she admitted with a laugh.

Crazy. “My main job is to be the manager [by] putting out fires every day. Engineering has taught me a lot about problem solving management,” she explained when I asked what salad has to do with math and machines and all those other Engineering thingys.

“I never thought I would end up in the restaurant industry,” she continued: “this was just my first idea. Now I’ve fallen in love with the industry.” Well the industry is lucky to have Sarah and Green Bean because their salads are delicious.

The mustard vinaigrette dressing on my Cobb-Out was on point. Its slightly acidic, slightly sweet, slightly sharp flavor balanced out the rich avocado and hard-boiled egg. The char on the grilled chicken cubes added depth while the blue cheese added the right amount of salty sharpness. But my favorite element was, by far, the hazelnuts. I’ve never had hazelnuts in a cobb salad but they were a great subtle addition. The hazelnut nuttiness made the salad even more robust.

“I get to come in here every day and watch you eat food that I made,” Sarah said, her voice brimming with passion for a notion so simple and yet so satisfying.

Go to Green Bean so that Sarah can watch you eat.

Seriously though, do go. The salads are fresh, vibrant, and well composed. Go for the deliciousness. Oh and also go to show support for a crazy student who is doing something that’s crazy cool. Her drive and determination capture Wash U at our finest.

Click here if you’re interested in reading more about Sarah and how she got to where she is.

Taking Back Thanksgiving (Slowly)

Posted on November 21, 2012 by fooducated

People get territorial when it comes to Thanksgiving. Mix family tensions and dry-turkey nerves with “maybe I can cook something this year?” and you’ve got an explosion. Moms and Aunts and Grandpas (threw in this example to avoid being incredibly sexist) tend to want to do Thanksgiving the way they’ve done Thanksgiving.

A change in venue or mash potato recipe (is adding a little garlic such a big deal???) demands hours of discussions about whether or not Aunt Patty will throw a fit and if cousin David really has to bring his weird girlfriend who smells like pepperoni and who is it that keeps giving Grandma so much wine every year??

Fooducated readers, taking back Thanksgiving is going to have to be a slow process. But eventually we will succeed. We will end the canned cranberry sauce. We will subjugate the green bean casserole. And we will, you hear me: WE WILL eliminate the saliva sucking dryness of the turkey.

In the meantime, I suggest you start slowly with one of the below recipes. They’re side dishes and desserts. Nothing so typical that you’ll be making “the dish Aunt Marjorie has made every year since before you were born” but nothing so unique that you’ll be making “one of those fancy shmancy organic dishes that the kids these days think are cool and hip.”

Sides

Bittman’s Butternut Squash Soup is quite delicious but I double the amount of garlic, onion, and bacon. I also only use Granny Smith Apples because without the tang they provide the soup is incredibly sweet.

Not to brag but the recipe I’ve posted here for Pear-Walnut Salad is also quite great for Thanksgiving. It will probably be the only meat and starch free portion of your plate.

This recipe for Sauteed Brocolini with Garlic is also on point. It’s difficult to screw up and, like the salad, will provide recluse from the meal’s heaviness.

My last side recommendation is my favorite one: roasted brussel sprouts. Why do I love it? Because it’s a convertor. People who hate brussel sprouts will love yours. Now, that might be a little too much change for Thanksgiving day. But if you’ve tested the waters and think your family is up to the challenge, make them roasted brussel spouts. Just preheat your oven to 400 degrees, clean the sprouts and cut them in half, place them cut-side down on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and throw them in the oven for 25 minutes. When you pull them out, squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkle a little bit of parmesan over them.

Desserts

Yes, this is the Apple-Cranberry Crisp I was making when I set off the fire alarm. But that wasn’t the recipe’s fault. Add some cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg in with the cranberries and apples. Also, use 2 cups of Granny Smith apples (to kill some of the sweetness) and 2 cups of a sweeter apple like Braeburn.

Or, if you want to end the night on a lighter note, make Alton Brown’s Angel Food Cake. I always use lemon juice and almond extract instead of orange extract but the rest of the recipe is great.

So there you have it, 6 dishes that will all put you one step closer to a Thanksgiving coup detat.

By the way, skip to 2:57 in the video above, she sings into a Turkey drumstick…

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie from All Over Campus

Posted on November 15, 2012 by fooducated

Cookies. Cookies. Cookies. I can’t even begin to explain how many cookies I’ve eaten recently. I won’t. I shouldn’t. It’s too ridiculous.

What’s even more ridiculous is that never before have I considered myself a cookie person. Oreos… Chips Ahoy… throughout my childhood, I’d eat them occasionally but I never pilfered anyone’s cookie jar. But lately. Lately, my cookie cravings have been insatiable.

As soon as I finish a meal, I want a cookie. After every class, I think about rewarding myself with a cookie. I walk into Holmes and then out the other side on my way to Cupples I so that I can pick up a cookie on the way.

This isn’t a hyperbole. This is my life.

The cookie obsession began with my return to campus last August and I’ve struggled with it ever since. Yes, I know, I rarely write about cookies on Fooducated. I’ve been in denial. But the first step is admitting that you have a problem. So here it goes:

Peanut butter cookies. JEM cookies. Gingersnap cookies. Chocolate truffle cookies. THEY ARE SO GOOD AND I EAT THEM ALL THE TIME.

There you have it. I’ve acknowledged my problem. Now that I’ve listed four of the many delicious cookies on campus, I have a strangely strong craving for… a cookie.

Maybe I’ll go get the above peanut butter cookie again. It was hard around the edges and soft in the middle with just the right ratio of peanut butter to chocolate. And now I’m off to take an innocent detour through Holmes.

Banana Pancake Muffins

Posted on October 16, 2012 by fooducated

Eggs. Flour. Sugar. Banana. The foundations for a great banana muffin sit on the shelves of Paws & Go. But it’s all a tease! They don’t sell baking powder or baking soda. Muffins don’t work without leavening agents! Muffins ain’t matzah.

I stood staring at the shelves, discouraged and upset.

When I was 10 (ish) I went to a Mets game and sat two rows above the dugout. For the whole first half, I kept my brown leather mitt on my left hand, ready to catch the fly ball I knew was coming my way. But it started to get sweaty in there and I wanted a drink so I slipped the mitt off. About three minutes later, a ball soared past the first baseman, bounced off the top of the dugout, and popped right over my head. I was so close.

The lack of leavening agent spawned a comparable level of disappointment. I’d spent all day dreaming about the banana muffin I’d decided to make. I’d named it. Loved it. Grown attached.

I was so close. So close but no muffin.

That’s when I spotted the pancake mix. Pancakes, I realized, have baking powder and baking soda in them to make them fluffy. Pancake mix, I realized, can replace the leavening agent and flour in a recipe. Aunt Jemima always comes to the rescue.

The resulting banana muffins are basically portable pancakes. They taste mostly like banana and a little bit like pancakes and a lot like happiness.

Click here for the recipe

The great thing about this recipe is that it begs for variations. I mixed up some more batter, omitted the banana, doubled up on the cinnamon, and added a spoonful of apple butter and it came out as equally delicious.

Dorm Room Cooking: Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizza, Paws & Go Style

Posted on September 10, 2012 by fooducated

Julia Child is the Michael Jackson of the food world but without the nose jobs, allegations, balconies and tragedies.

On her first show, “The French Chef,” which debuted in 1963, Child brought food to popular television, spawning today’s plethora of celebrity chefs. Granted, Child was not the first to televise cooking, but she was the first to gain a true following by doing so. “The French Chef” ran from 1963 to 1973, but Child did not stop there. She went on to publish more cookbooks, host numerous programs on TV and earn nominations for several Emmys.

The secret to her success? Some say it was her endearing, wobbly voice. Others credit her triumph to the passion with which she brought French cooking techniques into American homes. But Child’s appeal, in my opinion, lies in the forgiveness with which she cooked.

“Always remember: If you’re alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who’s going to know?” she’d say, encouraging her audience to take risks and make mistakes.

Because cooking in a dorm room is all about taking risks, and my use of a microwave almost always results in mistakes, I adapted Julia’s original recipe for Tranches d’aubergine a l’italienne, aka eggplant pizza.

Child’s original recipe calls for a fresh tomato sauce made with sautéed garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and dried herbs. I replaced those ingredients with the classic Prego tomato sauce. Child’s recipe suggests topping the sauce with fresh basil, mozzarella and Parmesan. I used shredded cheese and spinach leaves from the salad bar instead.

The jarred sauce and shredded cheese did create Hot-Pockets-esque flavors, but the eggplant brought them up a notch to fancy-Hot-Pockets-esque flavors. And the dish was both easy and filling, perfect for a quick weeknight dorm-room dinner.

I think I did her justice, in a Paws & Go-microwave kind of way.

Click here for the recipe

This post was first published in Student Life, Wash U’s independent newspaper.

Dorm Cooking: Fresh Ricotta Cheese

Posted on September 2, 2012 by fooducated

You can make cheese… in a dorm room… using only usual dorm room stuff and ingredients you can buy at Paws & Go. I kid you not. THIS IS CRAZINESS.

Watch Fooducated’s first video below or scroll down for instructions.

Ingredients

2 cups of whole (or 2%) milk
Juice of two lemons
Pinch of salt

Steps

Mix all of the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl
Microwave on high for three minutes
With a slotted spoon, transfer the curds to a strainer (to see how you can hand make a strainer, watch the video).
Let cheese sit for anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. The longer you let it drain, the crumblier it will be.
Devour.

Bananas Foster Milkshake

Posted on August 22, 2012 by fooducated

This milkshake will bring all of the boys to the yard. Damn right it’s better than yours.* I can teach you but I’ll have to charge.

Nah, who am I kidding? I can’t charge you anything. This is a blog. No one makes money from blogging.

Anyway, back to a much happier topic: the best milkshake I’ve ever made. And, according to Ariel, the best milkshake he’s ever had.

The milkshake was inspired by the Bananas Foster dessert at Ibby’s, which, if you’re a WashU student or St. Louis resident, you must go eat this semester. They top a huge, fudgy brownie with rum sautéed bananas and ice cream. It’s heavenly. Ignore the note on the menu that says it’s for sharing. I’ve eaten two in a row.

At first, my inspiration to make a bananas foster milkshake was crushed by THE MAN. Everyone in my house is either a woman or from Connecticut, which means no one drinks rum. And since I do not own a fake ID to use to get around THE MAN and THE MAN would probably catch me if I tried to rob a liquor store, actual rum was not an option.

Luckily, Haagen Dazs makes bananas foster ice cream. On its own, the ice cream tasted like mouthfuls of sweet rum. So I put in an equal amount of salted caramel ice cream that I made using this recipe, which toned down the sweetness and created the wonderful salty-sweet contrast I love. I put in about two cups of each ice cream. Then I added about half a cup of whole milk, a banana, and about a cup of peanut brownies.

To make the brownies, I just bought a box and followed the instructions for fudgy brownies. Ariel brilliantly suggested that we sprinkle peanuts over the top of the brownies (I knew I was keeping him around for a reason).

After being blended for about two minutes, a well-balanced, intense, and delicious milkshake formed. Not that I’m bragging or anything.

*I’m just staying true to the lyrics. Who am I to judge before tasting? You probably make a very nice milkshake as well.

Beer Can Chicken

Posted on June 27, 2012 by fooducated

What’s better than a chicken? A drunk chicken. A chicken so shwasted* that its breasts are as juicy as its thighs.

How do you get a chicken so shwasted? Stick a can of beer up its butt. Seriously.

Open a can of beer, empty half of it (how exactly you empty it is totally up to you- Fooducated does not endorse underage drinking but does endorse 18-year-olds fighting in wars**), and then shove it up the chicken’s rear end.

Make a dry rub by mixing together however much of any of the following: dry mustard, dried oregano, celery seed, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, dried tarragon, brown sugar, and dried thyme. When I write, “however much” I don’t really mean however much. Don’t put too much of anything. But you really can do very little to mess the dry rub up.

Rub the dry rub all over the chicken. Then put it on the grill (standing up), close the lid, and let the chicken do it’s thing for about an hour and a half. The grill should stay at about 325 degrees and there should be no heat directly under the chicken. Here’s a pic of my chicken chilling on the grill:

While the chicken slowly roasts, the beer adds moisture from the inside out. I messed up the timing a bit and didn’t realize the chicken was done until a meat thermometer read 185 degrees (20 degrees too high). I thought I had doomed us to a dry-chicken dinner, a fate most disconcerting. But the meat was surprisingly moist. The beer worked!

The leftovers will have quite the headache tomorrow morning.

*http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shwasted&defid=2687643

**This is a joke. Fooducated only endorses drunk chickens. It endorses nothing else. Especially not wars.

Why Shake Shack Will Always Reign Supreme

Posted on June 4, 2012 by fooducated

I decided to start my day with some controversy. So I posted the following poll on the Fooducated Facebook page*:

As you can see, the poll wasn’t decisive; Shake Shack and In & Out tied. The poll also wasn’t very divisive. No one threw a comment tantrum and angrily typed: “YOU’RE MOM IS THE WORST BURGER.” But I think that’s evidence of Fooducated’s lackluster following (step it up Facebook fans!), not of lack of controversy.

The In & Out versus Shake Shack battle has been fierce ever since Shake Shack entered the ring the in 2004. All across America, people who are probably wearing nothing but underwear are sitting behind computers and logging into chatrooms just to defend one of the two. Apparently, those people are not also Fooducated Facebook fans.

From the post title, you can probably guess which burger chain I like better. But here’s a little secret: like most of those people sitting behind computers in their underwear, I’ve only actually tried one of the two. I’m defending Shake Shack for no legitimate reason other than that I’m from New York.

I guess I’ll have to go to Cali one day to try In & Out, in the name of Fooducation of course. Meanwhile, I can only make the argument that Shake Shack will always reign supreme through the testimony of other bloggers, like J. Kenji Lopez-Alt over at Serious Eats.

Kenji, who flew in a burger from Cali and controlled for the delay by buying a Shake Shack burger the night before, writes that “Shake Shack has the ‘beefiest’ tasting beef…” That sentence alone is enough for me. While In & Out uses standard, boring ground chuck, Shake Shack uses a Pat LaFrida blend that includes brisket and short rib. Two cuts of beef will always beat one.

The Daily Meal, has also declared Shake Shack the winner.

And Brandon, a friend from LA and long-time In & Out devotee, predictably, gave In & Out the trophy but he said that Shake Shack burgers are “comparable” (if you control for bias, that basically means Shake Shack reigns supreme).

*If you haven’t liked Fooducated on Facebook, please do by clicking the link in the right sidebar to the right.

Aji Sauce

Posted on May 22, 2012 by fooducated

I like making Ariel cry. He cried a little bit (on the inside) when I refused to be around his mustache. He also cried out of pride when I learned how to play Naruto. But I have yet to illicit tears through spiciness. And my goal in life is to make something spicy enough to traumatize his taste buds. Worthy goal, I know.

Inspired by yesterday’s Columbian dish, I decided to make my own version of Aji, a Columbian hot sauce. There are some recipes online but none packed the heat needed to break Ariel’s spiciness spirit.

Click here for the recipe. It’s super simple (so simple that the recipe only has one step) and it will take you less than five minutes to make a batch that can be used for multiple meals (because you only need a tiny spoonful to pack a powerful punch).

I poured it on a hefty piece of ciabatta, added ranch dressing, Virginia ham, cheddar, and tomatoes.

I watched with anticipation as he took his first bite… and his second bite…and the third bite. He saw me staring and said: “this sandwich is really big.”

Really big? Really big?? His mouth was supposed to be on fire but all he noticed was that it was really big. Ariel didn’t shed a single tear. Instead he later said: “you’re the best girlfriend.” Doofus. I was trying to kill you.

Someone get me a ghost pepper.

Day One of the Vegetarian Challenge

Posted on January 30, 2012 by fooducated

Kenji, my favorite food blogger over at seriouseats.com (my homepage), has recently started a 30-day vegan challenge. While reading his hilarious posts I realized that it would be interesting to experience being a vegan on campus. Then I realized that there is no way I’m doing that. I need milk in my coffee, eggs at brunch, and cheese on almost everything.

But slightly less intense is being a vegetarian. And way less intense is doing it for 6 days. Why 6 days and not a week? Good question. Because Sunday is the Superbowl and I only know three things about watching this year’s Superbowl: (1) go Giants! (2) Tom Brady is gorgeous (he is playing right?) and (3) there has to be meat. A Superbowl experience without meat is like Holmes Lounge without Arthur. Just plain wrong.

On days that are not the Superbowl or Thanksgiving, I think vegetarianism is a great thing. I’m extremely impressed by anyone with a strong commitment to what they believe in. Many, many years ago one of my best friends, Zoe announced that she was going to be a vegetarian. I told her she wouldn’t last a month. Despite my constant teasing (when we went to Subway together I’d order double meat and then point out that the same number of animals were being killed – mean, I know), she still is one today.

Studies have found that most vegetarians have a lower BMI, cholesterol, and blood pressure than non-vegetarians.

Now, I’m not saying I’m going to like this experiment. I love meat. I love succulent veal chops, prosciutto wrapped chicken, medium-rare steaks, and anything wrapped in bacon. But for the sake of being Fooducated, I’m willing to give them up for 6 days. However, be warned, don’t expect me to be pleasant about it. Meatless me might be really grumpy.

Here’s how today went:

For breakfast I had Raisin Bran and Cracklin’ Oat Bran cereal from Shuncks. So far so good.

Then for lunch I went with the Thai Style Sweet and Sour Vegetables with Tofu and with Fried Rice and the Spring Roll from WashU Wok. That is when the experiment went bad.

First of all, I’ve never had to exert such mental effort while ordering. Since I usually just look at a dish name and think “no” or “yum,” thinking “is there meat in it?” was just a bit too much. This was amplified by the fish sauce labeled vegetarian. I freaked out because I realized that I hadn’t even thought of meat in sauces. It is going to be a long 6 days.

I dipped the spring roll in the vegetarian fish sauce and then bit into it’s crunchy exterior. Nice. Solidly delicious.

However, the fried rice was hard and I could only taste soy sauce. Even more disappointing was the tofu. It had a strange crust that was hard and chewy. And the inside was weirdly soft. I have only had tofu once before so I can’t tell you what went wrong. All I know is that JP and Katie both assured me that not all tofu has such a strange texture.

I have to admit, my experience was also tainted by my bias against fruit in savory dishes. Chutneys make me uncomfortable. I realize that many amazing chefs make delicious savory foods that utilize fruits. In fact, Bobby Flay is one of my favorites and he does it all the time. That being said, the pineapple flavor on the vegetables and tofu really did not work for me. I ditched the meal and went with a Yogurt Parfait With Fresh Fruit instead.

This was comfort in a cup. The tangy yogurt and truly fresh fruit was so delcious and refreshing. It also included just the right amount of not-too-sweet granola. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. My only complaint is that I was hungry again a mere two hours later.

So for dinner I dug into something a little heftier: Tofu Stir Fry with (new) Spicy Hoisin Sauce and Lo Mein Noodles from BD. I added some sesame seeds and soy sauce on top.

Tofu doesn’t always have the texture it had at lunch! This tofu had the texture of the egg used in sushi. Still, tofu is not my thing. It’s really just a cube that tastes like whatever the sauce it’s in tastes like.

Luckily, the new Spicy Hoisin Sauce is great! It’s got a little bit of sweetness but is no where near the levels of sugar in the Teriyaki Sauce. It wasn’t spicy enough for me but I like my spicy at tear inducing levels so that’s not really a good measure. The Lo Mein noodles were comfortingly thick and the vegetables were all fresh and vibrant. I enjoyed this more than I usually enjoy the stir fry.

Plus I’m starting to get used to the vegetarian thought process. The only dumb moment was when I shoved a bunch of cheddar goldfish crackers in my mouth and thought, “oh no are these vegetarian?!” They are… I think. I sure hope there isn’t any real fish in those.

Can Buffalo Sauce Be Bad? (Yes. Absolutely.)

Posted on January 29, 2012 by fooducated

Tonight’s experience was not a good one. It started out with the observation that campus Buffalo Sauce is great and might be great on everything. To test this, I enlisted the help of Fooducated readers with the following poll:

But 30 minutes in, Fruit, Nut, and Chicken Salad Sandwich was already a clear leader. I panicked. I secretly hoped, when I made the poll, that Pork Pot Stickers would win. I love the Pork Pot Stickers and would be happy to eat them in a boat! And I would eat them with a goat! And I will eat them in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. I’d absolutely eat them with Buffalo Sauce. So I tried to vote (again) for the pork pot stickers.

Unfortunately, the poll was smarter than I am and wouldn’t let me vote twice. I began to pray that people would start voting for the other options. But that didn’t happen either. Out of 30 votes, 22 went to the Fruit, Nut, and Chicken Salad Sandwich. My next tactic was to pray that they’d run out of the mix before I could order. I even said quite loudly, “mmmm fruit, nut, and chicken salad sandwich.” But the girl in front of me either didn’t hear me or decided not to listen to the person talking to herself. I began to dread the apples, nuts, chicken, cumin mayo, whole wheat bread, and buffalo sauce that were about to hit my taste buds all at the same time.

Above is the sandwich with enough sauce that it wouldn’t overpower the other flavors (that seemed like the only fair way to do it).

My first bite was far from pleasant. But I went for a second bite (just to be sure) and realized that it was great! Brandon pointed out that it tasted like “chicken curry” and that was pretty spot on. It was a pleasant surprise but not exactly the result I was looking for. The mission was to find something gross.

So I decided to do what I knew I should’ve done from the beginning. I put it on frozen yogurt. Multiple people suggested it but I said I couldn’t because it’s not listed on the menu. That was a lame excuse that I only knew to use because I’m the product of a lawyer and a law profesor so I nitpick at words.

It was the worst thing that ever happened to my mouth. The combination of sweet and tangy chocolate and vanilla yogurt and the heat of the Buffalo Sauce was disgusting.

Then, JP, for some strange reason, decided he wanted to try it as well. Maybe it was the pretty facial expressions I was making.

He started with enthusiasm, even licking the spoon clean. Then hesitation (see picture number 3) and then flat out freaking out. “Oh…oh…OH IT GETS BAD AT THE END,” he screamed. “It tasted like Satan was in residence in my mouth,” he just told me.

Lesson learned: fro-yo and Buffalo Sauce should not happen. Aren’t you happy we got Fooducated?

Mama Don’t Need No Grill: Making Grilled Cheese In Your Dorm Room

Posted on January 27, 2012 by fooducated

What isn’t good about grilled cheese? We all have those times when nothing will make us happy other than perfectly melted American cheese between two slices of crispy toast. (If you’re craving is too strong to read through the discovery process below then CLICK HERE and scroll to it).

The cravings are particularly strong on late nights when the last thing I want to do is head over to BD, order one at the grill, and wait for what feels like forever.

So armed with an iron, ironing board, and many test subjects (my always hungry floormates) I spent the last two hours determined to develop a method for making the perfect grilled cheese in a dorm room. All of the ingredients used can be found at Paws & Go or BD!

Grilled Cheese #1

I began with the classic grilled cheese. Two slices of white bread and two slices of American cheese.

I wrapped it in aluminum (to protect my iron and board from melted cheese), folding the edges over like I would wrap a sandwich for lunch. Then I ironed the package for two minutes on both sides.

It had the right meltage but lacked the quintessential crisp on the side that the aluminum edges were folded over onto.

I suspected that the crisp was missing for two reasons: (1) I hadn’t added butter and (2) the iron didn’t have enough contact with the bread because of the thick layer of foil.

Grilled Cheese #2

So for the next try I added Parkay – Paws & Go doesn’t sell real butter- to the outside of both slices of bread.

And I folded the foil “wing-style,” leaving those pieces sticking out so that there was a thing layer of foil on both sides.

Voila! Crispy on the outside and wonderfully soft cheese on the inside.

Grilled Cheese #3

I decided to change it up and add some fancy to my grilled cheese. From the Paws & Go salad bar JP and I filled a small box with spinach, mixed greens, mushrooms, olives, bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Then, from BD, JP and I, because of Judy’s (the nice cashier at Paws & Go) suggestion, got some buffalo sauce and chili pepper sauce.

The first fancy grilled cheese had spinach and tomatoes on it. It got good reviews. According to Jordana it “tastes like pizza.” The spinach was difficult to cut with a plastic knife so some of it, unfortunately, fell out but it was still delectable.

Grilled Cheese #4

This is the JP melt. His suggestion was mushrooms, bell peppers, and chili sauce and it got rave reviews. “On a scale of one to cheesetastic this is an eleven,” JP mumbled with his mouth full of cheese.

The bell peppers and chili sauce played off of each other well. The crunch from the bell peppers added interest and the chili sauce gave the sandwich a nice underlying heat. Everyone agreed that it was the best one yet and none of the sandwiches that followed seemed to get the same response.

Grilled Cheese #5

The next one was filled with buffalo sauce, onions, and mixed greens.

I forgot to flip it and the picture to the left shows the tragic result. But I thought it would be easy to fix. I wrapped it up again and ironed the other side. (Also, “Happy Hanukkah” apparently).

Unfortunately, that didn’t really work. The top piece of bread fell apart. However, the flavors were good and if it had stayed together I think this grilled cheese would’ve been one of the winners.

Grilled Cheese #6

The last grilled cheese was a smush up of everything I had left over, including the olives that I’d completely forgot about.

Elysa said the sauce (both buffalo and chili) was a little overpowering. Also, it was so packed that it didn’t stay together as well as the others did.

Nutella Melt

The last sandwich wasn’t a grilled cheese. Because of Nate’s suggestion, I spread Nutella on two slices of bread and ironed that. It was great!

There was a little bit of cheese on my ironing board (sorry Mom) but none on my iron. Each sandwich also only took about 5 minutes- 1 to assemble and 2 minutes on each size. Thanks to JP, Nate, Elysa, Katie, Jordana, Alex, Amrita and Taylor for helping me with this mission!

Click here for the recipe

Chicken Noodle Soup from Paws & Go

Posted on January 26, 2012 by fooducated

Jewish mothers swear that chicken noodle soup will help with a cold. Arthur, on PBS, eats it when he gets the chicken pox. And, apparently, it’s good with a soda on the side.*

But while I doubt that soda actually complements soup, I doubted even more that chicken noodle soup can make you feel better. Like always, I was wrong and the Jewish mothers are on point.

Studies done since the early 1990s have found that chicken soup can break up congestion. By inhibiting the white blood cells that cause inflammation, chicken soup can ease sore throats as well. Chicken also has an amino acid similar to medicine used to treat bronchitis, onions are a natural anti-histamine, and carrots have vitamin A, which helps strengthen the immune system’s response.

All in all, if you’re feeling sick (which, judging by the constant sniffling and coughing, half of my floor is) then stop by Cherry Tree or Paws & Go for a bowl tonight.

The Chicken Noodle Soup on campus isn’t close to being their best soup but it’s pretty good. The noodles aren’t overwhelmingly eggy (though they are a bit too soft), the broth has a nice thick texture, and the seasoning used gives it a lot of hearty, homemade flavor. The carrots are too soft and flavorless and the chicken is dry (but I have yet to eat chicken noodle soup in which it isn’t). Still, it’s a nice meal and I’m already feeling a little better.

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFav9P54JUA

**Also, while researching possible health benefits I stumbled across this parenting thread about a baby that SMELLS LIKE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP. The mother only seems mildly concerned, which I thought was strange (since I’d be freaking out) until I read some of the other threads. One mother says her baby smells like vinegar, another writes that her “lo” – parent slang for “Little One” – smells like vanilla cupcakes. Another says her’s smells like garlic. This thread raises a lot of questions for me. Why do these babies smell like food? How can I make sure my future children smell like burritos? And do we all become people who post comments on threads using abbreviations about what our babies smell like once we pop the things out?

How to Order A Carvery Wrap At Holmes

Posted on January 18, 2012 by fooducated

Yes, Arthur and Rob are really nice guys. And they work incredibly hard. But when the line gets long, the wrap gurus behind the counter at Holmes do get a bit snippy (understandably). Their fast questions and the growing number of people standing behind you can quickly become intimidating, even to the seasoned Holmes visitor. So here are a few tips for ordering what I consider the best lunch on campus:

1. Time your visit well. Try to come 20 minutes after the hour or 10 minutes before the hour, when everyone is in class. Also get there before 2pm. The unlit, cleaned cavery cutting board on Tuesday was the most tragic thing I’ve seen in a while.

2. Be prepared. Think about what you want on your wrap while you’re waiting. Rehearse saying it to Arthur if needed.

3. Say “I’d like a carvery wrap please.” This is what Arthur wants to hear.

4. Go for the top wrap. The tomato, whole wheat, spinach and garlic wraps all taste exactly the same. Okay this rule isn’t written in stone. If your taste buds are pickier than mine then go ahead and insist that Arthur opens that package lying underneath all of the already opened wraps. But don’t blame me when he gives you that slightly disappointed look through his purple spectacles.

5. Ask for the cheese you’d like (if you followed step 2 then you already know what you’re going to say) in a clear voice.

6. Do the same for the vegetables.

7. When Arthur asks you about the sauce don’t say: “What types of sauces do you have?” That is the Holmes faux pas. They have a million sauces and don’t have the time to list them all. If you want a sauce then chances are they have it so just ask. If they don’t have it or you don’t know what you want then try the house sauce, ranch, spicy mayo, fire sauce, or bbq sauce or any combination of those. They’ve all served me well.

8. Make sure you ask them to grill it before they cut the wrap. Grilling is an absolute must. It perfects the wrap experience.

9. While your wrap is grilling hand your card over to the person at the cash register to pay.

10. Now all you have to do is wait until Robert describes a wrap that sounds like yours, claim it, and bite into a delicious piece of heaven.

Which Brunch Eggs Are Better?

Posted on December 10, 2011 by fooducated

The weekend brunch has a made-t0-order eggs station and buffet eggs so this morning’s project was figuring out which one is better.

First of all, please add salt to both. You don’t need to pour on the Dead Sea but salt is not the devil. Nutrition’s war on salt is a shame. It adds flavor and, if used in moderation, your blood pressure won’t skyrocket.

I packed spinach, ham, scallions, and diced tomatoes into my bowl and checked off “scrambled eggs” on the ordering slip. I started doing this after I realized that every time I ordered the eggs as a omelet the center was gooey and undercooked. When scrambled, they do a pretty good job. All of the vegetable additions makes the eggs interesting and filling. They were, however, a little dry.

The buffet eggs, on the other hand, were far too milky. They are most certainly the best, least dry buffet eggs I’ve ever had but in Janice’s words, “they are still buffet eggs.”

On Taylor’s genius suggestion I combined the two sets of scrambled eggs. Dry vegetable eggs + wet boring eggs = success. Although a still a little too milky, the combination of the two eggs was by far the best. Here’s a picture:

French Toast From BD Brunch

Posted on December 3, 2011 by fooducated

Although expensive, brunch at BD is great for multiple reasons. You can get granola, fruit, made-to-order eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, french toast, pizza, muffins and more all at the same time. Unfortunately, they don’t want you sharing so doing so will result in a very full and probably miserable stomach. If you control and pace yourself, however, brunch with friends is the perfect way to start your weekend.

This morning I ate more than just french toast but it was the above golden delicious slices that starred.

French toast, according to Wikipedia, has very little to do with the country of all things cream and butter. The theory is that the name comes from John French, a chef in Albany, NY, who named it after himself on his menu (odd and inexplicable fact: it’s also the name of a school uniforms company). Typically, day-old bread is dipped in an egg-dairy bater and then cooked on both sides.

Here they do things a little differently. The dirty secret of the delicious french toast: they’ve been deep fried. (Don’t worry Mama, I only ate one of the slices in the picture above so my arteries are still fine).

Deep frying the slices of bread is a technique similar to the Hong Kong style of preparing French Toast in which stacks of bread are deep fried together. BD uses thick slices of bread and the result is a perfectly, uniformly crisp outside with a soft, lovely and not-to-sweet inside. It’s honestly very good and a guilty pleasure.

These are different from the French Toast Sticks that BD sometimes serves. The sticks are always much too hard and greasy so I recommend only going for the French Toast when you see that they are heavenly squares of deep fried goodness.

New England Clam Chowder from Paws & Go

Posted on December 2, 2011 by fooducated

How do you make soup look interesting in a picture? Dramatic shadows.

I like this soup so much that I used one of those tasting cups even though I knew full well that I was going to buy it.

New England Clam Chowder manages to remind me simultaneously of summer on the Cape and winters skiing in Vermont. Any food that can do that is a winner. Do not get this confused with Manhattan Clam Chowder! It is sometimes the soup special here but clam chowder is one of the few foods that Manhattan does not do better.

The WashU soup makers did my soup lover justice. The New England Clam Chowder here has just the right balance of clam to potato and is packed with flavor. Unlike most mass produced soups, the potato was not overcooked so it adds texture rather than melt into mush. The clams also maintained the right chewy texture.

Although the basics are great, it’s what WashU adds to it that makes me swoon. They’ve put in bacon, which only the best New England Clam Chowders have, and it gives the chowder the depth and smokiness that it is often missing. The most unique and wonderful edition, however, is the cayenne pepper. The heat from the pepper compliments the creaminess well, bringing the entire thing to a new level.

It’s also not as fattening here as it usually is. They’ve substituted the typical heavy cream with whole milk so the 12 oz I had for lunch only contained about 32 calories from fat.

Dinosaurs like clam chowder too.

Holiday Cheer in a Cup

Posted on November 30, 2011 by fooducated

I’ve been here for 97 days, met tons of great people, made wonderful friends, learned interesting things, ate delicious food, and marveled at our beautiful campus. Still, today was the first time I said, “I love this school!”

I blurted this out with great excitement at the sight of the new hot chocolate bar in Paws & Go. I mean, how cute is that?!!

The hot chocolate is probably made with milk because it’s rich, warm and comforting in the best way possible. You also get to choose from a series of toppings (I recommend adding all of them), including peppermint flakes, sprinkles, cinnamon, and marshmallows.

Stop by to warm up your insides and add holiday to your day.