Protest

I recognize that a post is well overdue. I was off this summer, and couldn't post at all this fall. Cue the explanation… To tell you the truth, I really miss blogging. But, what I miss more is eating quality food on campus at an affordable price. I started writing Big Green Gourmet as a fun experiment. I enjoyed creating exciting food out of what DDS had to offer, and finding thrifty shortcuts for cool new dishes. Unfortunately, The Class of '53 Commons new FoCo and SmartChoice WhoseChoice? meal plan have made my job extremely difficult. New FoCo has eliminated two dining halls that used to have a variety of raw ingredients, food made to order, and cooking appliances in an attempt to provide students with "more" options. While I acknowledge that the new dining hall has more complete dishes/meals prepared, I do not believe that it is successfully providing students with more options than they previously had. Additionally, I cannot sanction the waste produced by a facility that forces students to feel as though they must gorge themselves to get their money's worth. The increased expenses of dining at Dartmouth are dramatic, and as a student who will not waste food, and cannot waste money, I am appalled. Continuing my experiment has been made impossible by DDS changes. I rarely eat at FoCo because the food is poor quality, my options are limited, and I no longer have the resources to make my own dishes (without wasting a ton of food). I would like to say that I'll continue making dishes at Collis or the Hop, but I am very much bound by the new higher prices and tight restrictions of meal exchanges (worth less than I paid for them). For better or worse, DDS has changed, and I am without means of continuing my project. Consider this post a protest against our "improved" dining hall and meal plan. Until substantive changes are made to counteract these "improvements" I will not be posting. Hopefully, this isn't goodbye.


-Sam, I am.

Strawberry Summer Salad

Alright, sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've been crazy busy with school work. Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but the weather lately has been beautiful (forget this week, this week is awful) and summery. So, I wanted to do a light summery salad. As far as salads go, this one is fairly a typical, but I assure you, it's great.


You will need:

Spinach

Feta cheese

Strawberries

Craisins (optional)

Honey roasted peanuts

Dried salad noodles (anyone know what these are actually called?)

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil


You a can make this salad at Collis always, and sometimes at the Hop. You want to start by getting yourself some strawberries (from the smoothie line in Collis, or the refrigerators at the Hop). From there, gather all of the salad fixings (you'll have to get feta cheese from the sandwich line at the Hop, and a pack of craisins near the prepackaged goods) and a pack of honey roasted peanuts. Combine all of the ingredients, except for the balsamic vinegar, and shake your salad container well. Pour the vinegar on top of the salad right before you want to eat (the reason for this is that you don't want all the vinegar to be absorbed by the cheese and strawberries). Then, enjoy…

the Strawberry Summer Salad, courtesy of DDS and Sam, I am.

Fusilli Bean Salad

In light (pun intended) of the fantastic weather that we experienced over dimensions weekend (I am convinced that Thayer has a weather machine, and Dartmouth uses it solely for the purposes of making the weather over that weekend absolutely beautiful), I decided to make one of my favorite spring time dishes. Pasta salad is a staple BBQ food no matter where you go in the good old U.S. of A. But, in my family instead of a heavy, mayonnaise-y pasta salad, we keep it a little bit fresher.


You will need:

2 scoops of pasta (fusilli just happens to be the one they had)

Chick peas

Kidney beans

Corn

Balsamic vinaigrette


This one is a Collis creation that is relatively easy to make, and, it's perfect if you want pasta, but they aren't cooking it anymore (even though you can see them still cooking it for other people). Just go to the pasta line and get two cold scoops of pasta in a to-go container, then go to the salad bar and add in all of the vegetables. To finish it off, add the dressing (I like a liberal amount of dressing) and shake. Then enjoy your…


Fusilli Bean Salad, by DDS and Sam, I am.

Antipasto Salad

For this post I wanted to make a salad because I was really loving the weather and it just felt like a hearty salad kind of day. This is not really a traditional antipasto, but it is nonetheless delicious and I hope that you will appreciate it (I really enjoyed it).


You will need:

Salami

Fresh mozzarella

Olive spread

Tomatoes

Spinach

Onions

Cucumbers

Artichokes

Garlic powder

Olive oil

Vinegar


Obviously this takes a bit more to construct than a typical salad but, it's worth a little extra time to take a standard salad and make it fantastic. For this one I went to FoCo (although now that there are fewer dining options I'm beginning to feel silly for specifying). I hope you need no instruction on how to get all of your salad fixings in a bowl, but I will warn you that FoCo does not always have spinach, so you may just need to keep this one in mind and make it when the opportunity presents itself. You want to go to the sandwich line and get salami, fresh mozzarella and olive spread on a plate. I advise that you fold the salami when you put it in the salad, so that you can fork it more easily (similarly, you should cut up the mozzarella). To make the dressing simply mix the olive spread with some garlic powder, oil and vinegar. Then enjoy…

An Antipasto Salad brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.

The Eastern Burger

First week back, and already I can tell that this '53 Commons thing is going to spoil some of my recipes. So, sorry about that. I didn't really post as much as I wanted to last term, but I hope that this term will be different. To kick things off for 11S, I thought about doing a burger and decided that I also wanted to do something a little bit unusual. This is what I came up with…


You will need:

1 Hamburger

Lettuce

Tomato

Unflavored yogurt

Cucumbers

Onions

Onion rings

Cayenne pepper

Garlic powder

Cinnamon

Dark chili powder

Celery seed


This dish is a lot easier to prepare than it looks (the ingredients list is rather misleadingly long). You need to go to the grill at Foco (I refuse to call it '53 commons unless I am talking about it negatively) and get a hamburger with onions and a side of onion rings. Then, go to the salad bar and grab 5-6 cucumber slices. Finally, get yourself an unflavored yogurt. Once you have all of your ingredients you can prepare your burger. One of the things that makes the burger interesting in flavor is the spiced onion rings that go on it. To make them, simply sprinkle the above spices on the rings (only use a pinch of cinnamon, but don't be afraid of the others). Since a burger can be rather dry (especially one from '53 commons, note that I used the name negatively), I came up with a yogurt sauce to use in lieu of ketchup or mayo. Mix the onions into the yogurt. Then, cut the cucumbers into small pieces and put them in as well. Then, spread the mixture onto the bun and your burger is ready to go! As a great side, you have more spiced onion rings with your yogurt dipping sauce. Enjoy…

The Eastern Burger, courtesy of DDS and Sam, I am.

Potato Skins

Wow, it has been a very long time, I'm sorry. Winter midterms never really end, so I've just had non-stop work. At any rate, I was really craving potato skins the other day, and to my knowledge no place in Hanover serves them. So, I decided to figure out how to make them on my own. Let's get into it…


You will need:

A baked potato

Bacon

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

Hot sauce (optional)


Let me start by saying that Homeplate is the only place that regularly has baked potatoes, so you'll probably have to go there. However, that means that you will have to use their (turkey) bacon, which does taste different from the FoClosed (real) bacon. If you don't mind going to FoClosed just to get some bacon, then by all means go get the bacon there and then the other ingredients from Homeplate. Essentially all you need to do is scoop out the inside of the potato once you've cut it in half, and then add the cheese and bacon. After that, microwave it until the cheese has melted. Then top it with sour cream and hot sauce to taste. Enjoy…


Potato Skins, from DDS and Sam, I am.

Chicken Filet with Pickled Jalapeno Slaw

Let me start by saying that I am very sorry for not posting in so long; midterms are actually trying to kill me. This idea came to me a while ago back when FoClosed was serving some kind of citrus slaw chicken sandwich. What I remember was so unpleasant about the slaw was that it lacked variety in flavor and texture- essentially it all tasted like soggy, orange flavored vegetables. I wanted to reinvent their sandwich with a slaw that would have a lot of different flavors and maintain the natural textures of the vegetables involved. You can make this dish at FoClosed, or at Homeplate if you want.


You will need:

Cabbage

Onions

Jalapenos

Broccoli

Carrots

Vinegar

Relish

Mayonnaise

Lemon

A chicken filet

A bun


I know that the list of ingredients looks daunting, but trust me this isn't very hard to do. You want to get all of your vegetables in the same small salad bowl, preferably with a relatively equal amount of each vegetable. After that, you need to prepare all of the them. Fortunately for us, the carrots are already shaved, the cabbage and onions already cut, and the jalapenos already pickled. So, essentially, all you really need to do is cut the florets (the bushy-head-parts) off of the broccoli and throw away the stems. Then you want to add the following to the bowl: 1 packet of sweet relish, two packets of mayonnaise, and about 2 of the to-go condiment containers full of vinegar. Then, toss the vegetables until all of the ingredients have mixed thoroughly. Finally, take a wedge of lemon, squeeze it over the slaw, and mix it again. At that point, all that you need to do is put it on the bun and eat your…


Chicken Filet with Pickled Jalapeno Slaw, inspired by DDS, and made by Sam, I am.

Collis "Carbonara"

Let me start by saying that this dish is a misnomer in several respects. Notably, this is not a carbonara sauce (hence the quotation marks), rather it is an alfredo sauce (the difference is that a carbonara sauce is made with egg). Moreover, there is no reason why this dish should be specifically attributed to Collis. This is actually rather difficult to make at Collis because they rarely have bacon, which you will come to see is an essential ingredient. So, the name is entirely misleading. However, I did manage to make it at Collis and it is a carbonara in that I mixed in ingredients that are typical of a carbonara. So let's get going…


You will need:

Pasta (any kind, longer noodles are ideal, but not necessary as evidenced by the above photo)

Alfredo sauce

Peas

Bacon

Mushrooms

Pepper

Parmesan cheese (a real carbonara uses pecorino, but like I said this is a misnomer)


This should be made in the same way that you would make any other Collis pasta, except that you are going to want to microwave it for an additional 2 minutes after adding the parmesan cheese and pepper to it, and that you are going to have to add the bacon to the pasta yourself after the pasta is done cooking. The reason for the extra microwaving is two-fold: a) Collis pasta is never hot for very long after they heat it up b) the vegetables almost never cook enough in the pan. Usually I don't tell you to add salt or pepper because that's typically just a matter of personal taste, but in a carbonara the black pepper is essential. I hope you enjoy your...


Collis "Carbonara" courtesy (just had to go for the alliteration) of DDS and Sam, I am.

Chicago Style Hot Dog

Let me start by apologizing for the lack of posting the past few days. Midterm crunch is keeping me busy. It's times like this (when I'm stressed, and it is freezing cold) that I start missing home a bit. So, this recipe is to bring a little bit of home to all of those who live in Chi-town. (Plus, who doesn't like hot dogs?) A little bit of a warning: the Chicago style hot dog is not the kind of dog you would regularly get (unless, of course, you're from Chicago), so you need to be open-minded and prepare yourself for a new kind of hot dog. Here we go:


You will need:

A hot dog

A bun

Onions

Sauerkraut

Relish

Mustard

A Pickle

Tomatoes


For the sake of full disclosure, an actual Chicago dog would also have sport peppers on it, but we don't have any of those, and neither jalapenos nor banana peppers are comparable in flavor. A true Chicago dog would also have celery salt and a poppy seed bun, but this is DDS so we can only expect so much, and make due with what we've got. At any rate, this dish is to be made at FoClosed. You want to go to the grill line and get a hot dog with sauerkraut and onions. Then, go to the deli line and get two slices of tomato and a pickle. Make sure that you get a pickle spear not slice, you need the crunch. Before you pay, go to where the salad dressings are kept and take two packets of relish. Then, layer your dog like this from bottom to top: bun, onions and sauerkraut, tomato slices, yellow mustard and relish, then finally, the hot dog and pickle. It's an absolutely great way to enjoy an american favorite. I hope you enjoy...

The Chicago Style Hot Dog made possible by DDS and Sam, I am.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I haven't done a vegetarian dish in a long time, so this one is for the veggies. This kind of dish doesn't really constitute a meal. This is the kind of thing that I might make to share with a bunch of my friends (though it is good enough to eat a whole plate by yourself, so be careful). You might also want to just take the ingredients back to your dorm and make some for the next time you're having a floor-wide Jersey Shore viewing (does that only happen on my floor?). This dip is probably the best way to get people to eat some vegetables because spinach and artichokes are absolutely delicious (especially with cheese in a creamy dip). So, let's get into it…


You will need:

Spinach

Artichokes

Shredded cheese

Mayonnaise

Cream cheese

Garlic powder

Parmesan cheese

Water


This is probably the most difficult to construct of any of my dishes, but don't let that discourage you (I promise it's worth the effort). To make the pita "chips" that are in the photo above, you must go to Homeplate (just put the pita slices in the toaster until they are brown and crispy), but to make the dip you just need to go to any of the dining halls and check out the salad bar to see if they have both spinach and artichokes (it took a few days before I got to the right dining hall at the right time).Let's start by clarifying how much of each ingredient you will need: one full small salad bowl full of artichokes, another full of spinach and another half full of shredded cheese (feel free to approximate by using one big bowl). You will also need 3 packets of mayonnaise, 5 packets of cream cheese, one to-go condiment container full of parmesan cheese, a few pinches of garlic powder, and a large to-go soup container 1/2 filled with water. The first thing you should do is put all of the spinach and artichokes in the to-go bowl of water and microwave it for a minute and thirty seconds, then drain the excess water over the garbage. Next, put all of the cream cheese on the bottom of one of the small to go containers (not a plastic one because you can't microwave those) and microwave it for a minute. Then, combine all of the ingredients (save for some cheese) in the same container and mix them thoroughly, top it with cheese (this isn't standard for spinach and artichoke dip, but I prefer it this way, feel free to leave it out), and then microwave it for thirty seconds, or until most of the cheese on top has melted. Then, sit down and share your…


Spinach & Artichoke Dip brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.

The Avocado Club

One of the deli lines that is totally underrated is the one at Homeplate. I think that the reason it's under-appreciated is that it looks tiny. For the purposes of experimenting with food, however, the Homeplate line is one of the best places you can go. Their wide array of breads and condiments is enough to out do the potential combinations at any other dining hall, but that aside, they have an incredible selection of meats, veggies and cheeses, and, to top it all off, they will press your sandwich for you -panini style- regardless of what kind of bread you get on it. So there it is, my shameless plug for the Homeplate deli line. With that out of the way…


You will need:

A Baguette

Turkey

Fresh mozzarella

Bacon

Spinach

Tomatoes

Avocado spread


This one is insanely easy to order, just ask for the above list of ingredients, and then ask for them to press it. It's a play on a classic club sandwich with just enough variation to keep your palate interested. It's also pretty healthy as far as sandwiches go on this campus. So enjoy!


The Avocado Club, by DDS and Sam, I am.

Spicy Southwest Chicken Salad

Fortunately for us, FoClosed still has all of the same foods it did when it was FoCo. I think that if, in addition to the annoyingly small space and extraordinarily long lines that form at the single register, FoClosed offered limited food supply options, students might actually riot. Though I can appreciate that Thayer The Class of 1953 Commons is still being renovated, I have to say that the new upstairs seating is dismal and is hardly an improvement, and I hope that when FoClosed reopens we are in for some actual improvements. Griping aside, the food is all the same so you shouldn't have any trouble in making this dish


You will need:

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Corn

Onions

Cucumbers

Shredded cheese

A spicy chicken cutlet

Volcano sauce

Ranch dressing

Avocado spread


Let me just say that what is great about this salad is that it is extremely quick to make. What you will want to do first is go to the grill and ask for spicy chicken on a plate with a side of volcano sauce (it takes no time for them to make because they are pre-made and just heated up). Then, go to the salad bar and assemble your salad fixings (the ones that I have provided above are just the ones that I enjoy, but there is no reason you can't improvise), but take one of the to go condiment cups and fill it with the ranch dressing. Then head over to the deli line and ask for some avocado spread on the side. Once you've paid, simply add the avocado and chicken to the bowl, mix a fork full of volcano sauce into the dressing, and then pour it over the salad. And there you have it:


The Spicy Southwest Chicken Salad, brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.

Double Fajita Burger

Well, it's been quite some time. I wish that I could have posted more in December, but finals really slowed me down. This was partially because I was studying, and as a result my diet consisted mostly of Novack hot pockets, but also because I was writing papers instead of recipes. So, I'm very sorry for dropping off of the face of the earth for a while, I hope you can forgive me. Some of you might even be thankful. After all, it probably would have been a distraction and could have cost you a point or two on your finals. (Maybe? Eh, probably not, but I'll just keep optimistic) At any rate, as we all know, FoClosed sucks, so as my own private protest, they will not get the first post of the new year. This one comes from the Hop.


You will need:

2 patties

A bun

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Sour cream

Salsa

Guacamole

Jalapenos (I didn't even try for the tilde this time)

Cheddar or pepper jack cheese

Onions

Peppers


This dish is a double cheese burger with a Tex Mex twist, it is for the deeply carnivorous, slightly ethnic, and, of course, the very hungry. If you are not any of the above you should probably eat something else (eating it with only 1 patty is still overwhelming). The trick is to go to the hop and ask for a double cheese burger with cheddar cheese (or pepper jack) and a side of peppers and onions from the grill line. While that is going, hop over to the sandwich line (who caught that word play?). Just ask for a side of jalapenos, sour cream, salsa and guacamole. It's easy enough to figure out after that. Just put everything you can fit somewhere on the sandwich and voila…


A Double Fajita Burger, courtesy of DDS, and Sam, I am.

FoCosadilla

The other night, I was having one of those "My God, I wish the Hop was still open because I could really use a quesadilla," kind of nights (doesn't everyone have those? No? Oh well, I'm weird). So, I sought out the challenge of creating a quesadilla at FoCo. What ended up happening was way better than I expected (even though the picture makes it look bland, maybe I should invest in a really nice camera. Then again, you might find me out if you saw a student taking photos of their food during meals.)


You will need:

A white wrap

Shredded Cheese

Grilled chicken

Onions

Peppers

Jalapenos (why can't I ever swing a tilde)


This dish may be a little annoying to make when FoCo is crowded, which is why I think it is a perfect late night snack. What you'll want to do is go to the grill line and order grilled chicken with onions and peppers. While they are working on that, head to the deli line and ask for a white wrap with shredded cheese and jalapenos, but instead of wrapping it, just tell them to fold it in half. Once you've paid for all of your items, head over to the George Foreman grill (it's the white thing next to the water and the microwave for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about). Grab a knife and cut your folded wrap in half. Then, reopen your folded halves and add your chicken, onions and peppers (in the process, try and make sure the cheese is away from the edges of the wrap because when it melts you don't want to have to clean up the grill). The grill is small so you'll have to grill each half individually. Once you have cooked your (now) quesadilla to your liking, take it off of the grill and enjoy it. This quesadilla (I find) ends up being better than those at the Hop because the George Foreman makes the wrap toasty and warm, and actually melts all of the cheese. This will not be the last FoCosadilla that I make, but for now...


Enjoy FoCosadilla #1, from DDS and Sam, I am.

BBQ Monster Melt

WOW, did this week suck for anyone else? I am thoroughly exhausted from all of my work this week. My apologies in advance that this post will be rather blunt and straightforward. But, you guys really just use me for my food ideas, so it really doesn't matter all that much. I don't really care, it's just that comments are my only way of knowing you love me for more than just what I can do for you (how much do I sound like a whiny chick right now?). Sorry, I'm just super tired. Anyway, let's get into it…


You will need:

1 Burger

4 Slices of provolone cheese

1 order of onion rings

BBQ sauce


This is really simple to do, but it's the kind of thing that the DDS guys on the grill line at the Hop might groan about. You want to order a patty melt with provolone cheese, BBQ sauce and onion rings in it. It takes a little bit longer to make than your average melt, but trust me it's worth it. The tangy flavor of the sauce and the crunchy onion rings really do wonders to an ordinary cheese burger. I'm sorry that the recipe is not elaborate and that I am not particularly eloquent today, but you should definitely give this a try. Enjoy…

The BBQ Monster Melt brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.

Chicken Fajitas

It is an exceedingly rare thing that the name of a dish can simply be a statement of what the dish is. So, I hope you will indulge me and do not boo at my lack of creativity with the name of this meal (it's a deliberate choice). One of the things that I find frustrating about the "Mexican" food at the Hop is just that: it is "Mexican." The food at the Hop is about as Mexican as Jim Yong Kim. It doesn't even qualify as tex-mex in my mind. The nachos are made with cheese sauce, the burritos are not made using tortillas, but all that aside, the meat that can be put in the tacos and taco salads is so soggy that your pants will rarely survive the meal without getting a nice, splotchy grease stain on them. This dish is not any more Mexican than any other food you can buy on campus (by virtue of the fact that it is made using the food on campus), but it at least made it down to somewhere near the border in the realm of tex-mex cuisine.


You will need:

Chicken

Onions

Peppers

3 tortillas

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

Jalapenos (again, I'm not sure why I can't swing a tilde)

Salsa


This dish may take a while to make because you have to wait on two lines. If you get to the Hop when the lines are short, however, it is a cinch to prepare. Go to the grill line and ask for grilled chicken (no sauces, no bun, no lettuce or tomato) and a side of grilled onions and peppers (the photo above has 2 chicken breasts, which I found to be way too much food, but by all means go for it if you're hungry). Then go to the sandwich line and ask for 3 tortillas, sour cream, cheese, salsa and jalapenos. Once you've paid, go over to the toaster. Make sure that it is set to medium darkness and then toast your tortillas (they are much better and slightly more authentic tasting when they are warm). After that, cut your chicken into slices. Then, make your fajitas. It's really a great meal and definitely a step up from all of the "Mexican" food DDS serves. Enjoy…

Chicken Fajitas, brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.

5 (-ish) Cheese Mac

(I hate that this picture is gross looking. I promise the dish looks way better in person and is awesome, and I mean that sincerely, not in that way a bro tries to explain why he can't find a good looking picture of that girl he hooked up with last night on Facebook) Hey guys! I hope you all had a wonderful triple-H weekend. Mine was very eventful, which is why I did not get the chance to post anything. Never fear Yessera (see guys, if you leave a comment I may even talk about you in a post, so post some comments), I did fix myself a wonderful meal that I would like to share with you all. Mac & cheese is about as common a snack in college as Keystone is common in a basement. My problem with the mac & cheese in college is that it's never delicious. Don't get me wrong, the Annie's I steal from my floormates and make at obscure times when it is not appropriate to be eating, but who cares its college, is good, and the Hop mac & cheese is alright (if you like ominously orange, luke-warm, mushy mac that has been sitting out for a while). You get the point, most mac & cheese in college does not taste as good as a home-baked mac & cheese, and it never has that wonderfully salty and browned layer of bread crumbs at the top (if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you have no idea what you're missing and you need to hit up Molly's for some mac @now- well not now, its after 1 am, but you get what I mean). So, I set out to come up with a recipe that is as close as you can get using DDS.


You will need:

Pasta

Alfredo sauce

Provolone cheese

Cheddar cheese (white and yellow, sliced and shredded, respectively)

Swiss cheese

Parmesan cheese

Feta cheese

Croutons


As you can see from the ingredients list and from the title, the dish has 5 (-ish) cheeses in it. I say (-ish) because I'm not entirely sure what is in alfredo sauce, but it seems creamy enough that it might conceivably have cheese in it. (It may shock you to learn that I am not a chef. I have no culinary experience; as a matter of fact, I can barely prepare ramen noodles, which is why my dishes don't actually require much cooking as much as they require adding, mixing reheating and of course eating) From the list of ingredients, you have probably guessed that you have to make this dish at Collis. What you want to do is grab a few plates, and by a few a really mean 4- seriously, you'll need them- and get on the (long) line for pasta. Then, ask for 2 scoops of pasta with alfredo sauce. While they are making that, go to the deli counter and get a slice of cheddar, provolone and swiss cheese. Then, head to the salad bar and get handful of croutons, approximately a fist-full of shredded cheese and a fist-full of feta cheese (if they have it… they don't always... it's not essential for the dish… moving on). After that, go get your pasta and some parmesan cheese (don't put it in the pasta, get one of the to-go condiment containers from the top of the salad bar). Once you have assembled your ingredients, head over to the microwave area. You need to first mix the shredded cheese and feta into the pasta and sauce. Then, rip the sliced cheese and mix it in as well. Do NOT add croutons or parmesan cheese. Put the pasta mixture into the microwave for 2 minutes (or until most of the cheese has melted), you are going to want to make sure you have all of your plates under the mixture to support it, because it is going to get hot and soggy (that sounds gross, but I didn't know how else to put it). While everything is microwaving, crush the croutons into crumbs with your hands and mix it with the parmesan cheese. Once most of the cheese has melted, remove your food and sprinkle the crumb-parmesan mixture onto the top of the mac. Then, put it back in for another 15 - 20 seconds. I was thinking about maybe throwing some meat into the mix (like a hamburger mac), but I haven't done a vegetarian item recently and I want to keep them (the vegetarians) happy. If you want to turn it into a mac with meat, then by all means go for it, it can't be bad. Seriously, there is NO way this dish could be bad (self-call, but it's true).


Dig in to the 5 (-ish) Cheese Mac by DDS and Sam, I am.

The Brovertones' Special

I am not going to take credit for coming up with this dish. I was told to try it by a friend who is in the Brovertones (hence the title). Hopefully this will encourage you guys to start posting ideas (or post something, dear God it's been too many posts without comments). I am very receptive to suggestions and I want to hear what you guys have to say. That being said, I think this is perhaps the most delicious dish that has hit the blog yet, but please be warned: this is not for the weak of heart (actually though, if you have a cardiovascular condition: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. this dish is not for you).


You will need:

Chicken tenders

Two slices of bread

Cheese

2 eggs


This is another one of those wonderful dishes where you will not have to do anything beyond ordering (unless, you want to add some hot sauce to the sandwich, which is not a bad idea if you have the tongue for it). All you've got to do is hit up The Hop and ask for a tender melt with 2 over easy eggs in it. Trust me, you want the eggs over easy, the runny yolks make for the absolute perfect "sauce." The only other advice that I have is simply to tell them not to cut the sandwich for you; you will lose egg yolk and they will get agitated by the mess. Try not to get addicted to…


The Brovertones' Special, brought to you by (the Brovertones,) DDS and Sam, I am.

Sweet & Sour Salad With Chicken

Good God it has been a while. I'm sorry for not posting in so long, but mid-term crunch is not treating me so well. I'm at that point where my eyes have begun to hurt from reading so much. I promise that though I haven't been posting I have been creating treats for you guys (assuming you exist- that's my not so subtle way of encouraging you to comment). I'm actually so food obsessed that I have been eagerly awaiting dinner tonight because I have such a good idea (I think… we'll see, it may shock you to learn that many of the things I try do not work at all and don't make it to the blog. Read: my DBA is suffering for you). So, don't doubt that I am thinking of you and your rumbly tummies. Today's recipe is another one of those "salads" that is only marginally healthy, but it will nonetheless keep you eating your veggies!


You will need:

Lettuce

Corn

Tomatoes

Onions

Cucumbers

(Any other salad fixings that you love)

Soy sauce

Sweet & sour sauce

Vinegar

Chicken nuggets


Obviously you need to go to FoCo to make this salad. The construction of the salad should not be a difficult task. If it is, I would recommend getting immediate help. Do not put any dressing on the salad and do not put the nuggets in it before you pay (unless you like spending extra cash unnecessarily). The only truly meticulous part of this recipe is making the dressing. You need to get one of those to-go condiment containers and put 2 squirts of vinegar and 1 squirt of soy sauce in it. Then, mix in 1 packet of sweet & sour sauce. Once you have mixed it thoroughly pour it over your salad. If you like a heavily dressed salad, then I would recommend you double the recipe for the dressing, but make sure you keep it proportional. It is also worth noting that unless your salad contains a minimal number of vegetables, you will have extra nuggets (maybe find a friend and split the order of nuggets to save money) I hope you enjoy the…


Sweet & Sour Salad With Chicken, courtesy of DDS and Sam, I am.

Sweet & Savory Tender Wrap

Courtyard has a lot of incredibly good options that often go overlooked because they are similar to other items that somehow are more popular. One of the things that I have never understood is why the Tender Wrap is less popular than the Tender Queso, and why it is that when choosing between them, people always seem to go with the Queso. I think that a lot of it has to do with the amount of cheese in a Queso and how savory it is in comparison to the Wrap. This dish pays homage to the Tender Wrap and is going to forever change how people feel about it.

You will need:

2 Chicken tenders

1 wrap (white or wheat)

Honey mustard

3 Strips of bacon

Lettuce

Tomato

Shredded Cheese

The simplest way to make this wrap is to order a "Honey mustard Tender Wrap with Bacon and extra cheese." One of the best parts about this recipe is that you don't need to do anything beyond order, pay and eat it. The extra cheese and bacon enhance (cheese and bacon will enhance the flavor of almost anything really so it's kind of a no brainer) the savoriness of the wrap using their own flavors and by bringing out the savoriness of the golden chicken tenders. The honey mustard gives the wrap a little sweetness to help cut some of the fat (don't be grossed out, you know it's true) from the dish, and compliments the natural sweetness of the tomato inside of the wrap. Really all you need is that and an appetite and your ready for a…

Sweet & Savory Tender Wrap courtesy of DDS and Sam, I am.

CAP: Tomato & Mozzarella

This is another one of those recipes that you will appreciate because it is a penny pincher, which is good if you are freaking out because your DBA is down to 3 digits (5 if you include the change, but I don't know why you would because you can't really buy anything with the $.14). One of the staples at Homeplate is the panini. The line that forms in front of the panini counter is shocking and so intimidating that most people avoid eating at Homeplate. What is scarier than the line, though, is the price of a panini. There is no reason why a panini should cost more than a sandwich. We glorify the panini because it is pressed and toasty, and has a foreign sounding name (here I am merely playing devil's advocate, a panini is actually better than a sandwich for all of those reasons) At any rate, this Cheap-Ass-Panini is bomb.

You will need:

2 slices of your favorite kind of bread (pick one that toasts well)

Tomatoes

Mozzarella cheese

Basil

This is another one of those dishes that doesn't require much work until after you pay because if you combine the ingredients too early you will end up over paying. The first thing you want to do is skip the panini line (seriously, you're only getting bread) and ask for two toasted slices of your preferential bread (you don't really have much of a choice: it's wheat or "french," which means white). Then you want to head over to the fridge that stores all of the yogurt and stuff and grab yourself one (or two if you want) of the prepackaged mozzarella and tomato salads. That is all you're paying for (and it costs a whole lot less than a panini). If you head over to where the condiments are kept you can finish the rest of the recipe, which is very simple. Put the mozzarella salad(s) in between the two slices of bread (I would recommend ripping up the basil leaf it comes with and dispersing it throughout the panini) and then toast it (open faced so that the cheese melts more). The only way in which this is different from an actual panini is that it is not going to be as compact, but it's a small price to pay (note the awesome play on words). Then...

Dig into your CAP brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.

Frozen Breakfast 2

I hope that the title has gotten you as excited about this dish as I have gotten about the whole concept of a frozen breakfast. Let me once again reiterate that this idea is very much a misnomer because you should not be eating this for breakfast, but rather for dessert. I don't have very much more exposition for you because I have already given you some daily notes in my previous post so, I hope that you will forgive the brevity of my introduction to this dish. Here we go…

You will need:

A cup of the maple flavored fro-yo

1 prepackaged container of Kellogg's Apple Jacks

1 granny smith apple

Cinnamon

Once you have assembled your ingredients, the sundae itself is fairly easy to make. You should mix the cinnamon into the fro-yo so that you end up with an consistent flavor. I recommend that you then mix in the Apple Jacks so that you will have some of then in every bite. In terms of the way you should incorporate the apple, what is displayed in the picture is NOT how you should be cutting the apple. (This is one of those simon-says instances in which you should do as a I say and not as I do.) Rather than cutting the apple into wedges as I have (for the sake of full disclosure I did it just for the photographic image) you want to dice (cut into roughly .5 inch cubes) the apple (or cube it, depending on how large you want the pieces to be, cubing is larger), and mix it in as well so that you have it throughout. The ideal bite will have apple, fro-yo and one or two Apple Jacks. I would expect more frozen breakfasts if I were you, but for now there are only two...

So enjoy them. By DDS and Sam, I am.

The Big Green Hummus Wrap

I am sorry that I did not get to post yesterday, but if I can manage it, I'll be posting two recipes today to compensate. When I went on the website for The Dartmouth today, I chuckled lightly at one reader of The DDS Detective, who asked if the writer of that column and the writer of this blog were in fact the same person. I'll admit that I did not know The DDS Detective existed until a friend pointed it out to me, but I have since read it, and it is an exceptional column, and I recommend that all of my readers (though I'm not sure how many of you there are) check it out. The DDS Detective comes up with great ideas and has a mission that I agree whole heartedly with. That being said, let me now say that I do not write for The D, but that does not mean that this blog is somehow competitive with it. Please, read us both (I think the D would agree with me on this one). Now let's get into today's recipe:

You will need:

A spinach wrap

Smoked turkey

Cucumbers

Hummus

Olives

Olive spread

The preparation for this recipe is extremely easy because you (as a reader) actually have to do nothing but go order it from the deli at FoCo. I only have a few pieces of wisdom to impart. With regard to the hummus I have two recommendations: a) get the roasted garlic and not the red pepper hummus and b) ask for extra (sometimes they will charge you extra, sometimes they won't, but it doesn't really matter, the extra hummus just makes it more filling). A frequent patron of the deli will know that 2 varieties of turkey are available at the counter. Personally, I prefer the smoked turkey, but I see no reason why the other kind would corrupt the recipe. The only final thing that I would add is that the deli may sometimes add olive oil to your hummus wraps/sandwiches. I would preempt this by simply requesting no added oil, it makes it exceedingly difficult to eat and stay clean, and is generally an unhealthy addition. Other than that…

Happy eating! - With (food) love, DDS and Sam, I am.

Creamy Thai Chicken Pasta

I am sick of eating at FoCo and Courtyard (the Hop for you '14s who don't know), not because the food is bad, just because, if you haven't noticed from my posts, those are the only places I've been eating. Thus, I have gone to Collis for this creation. One of the things that Collis does absolutely right is that it allows all students to improvise their own dishes and to eat new combinations of food, which is a mission I personally take to heart. I hope that you don't operate with the misconception that Collis is always crowded because it is always packed. Rather, Collis is always packed because it is small. Do not be intimidated, the lines are usually shorter than those at FoCo or the Courtyard. With that said…

You will need:

Chicken

Thai peanut sauce

Corn

Edamame

Mushrooms

Broccoli

Any kind of pasta

Alfredo sauce

The first thing that needs to be made clear is that before you attempt to make this dish you need to look up when Collis will be serving pasta and stir fry at the same time. To start, go to the salad bar and gather all of the aforementioned vegetables. Once you reach the front of the pasta line, you want to ask for 1 and a half scoops of pasta and (duh) the alfredo sauce. While that's being cooked, hop over to the stir fry line and ask for a side of chicken with peanut sauce. Once the two are done, pay (duh x 2) and get ready to mix. You want to get as much peanut sauce as possible to mix with the alfredo sauce when you add your side of chicken. If the color of the alfredo isn't ever so slightly altered by the peanut sauce then you don't have enough; go get more. Then you're ready to eat…

Note: (hah, I bet you got used to the routine epithet, but sadly for you I have more to say) You want to get your pasta on a plate. The reason for that is simple: your vegetables may not cook entirely on the pasta line. If you like your vegetables semi-raw more power to you. But, for the rest of the normal population, you will need a plate to continue heating your food in the microwave (because you can't heat flimsy plastic containers in the microwave, duh x 3). And from here…

Well, you know the drill… - Sam, I am.

CAB Pudding

One of the worst things about DDS is that everything is SO expensive. Most people survive on daily specials because they are the cheapest way to assuage hunger. I'm sure that there are people who are already shocked by how much their balance has dropped in just a week and a half, I am certainly among those people. This dish is for all of you- my fairly frugal friends (as well as anyone looking for a good dessert) Let's explain the title then, the full name of this dish is Cheap-Ass-Bread-Pudding. This is the absolute cheapest way I have found to have dessert and it is more than satisfying. I sincerely hope you guys appreciate it as much as I did upon conceiving it:

You will need:

2 slices of white bread

Cinnamon

Milk

Caramel

This is perhaps the easiest dish yet, so I will try and keep this brief (which is hard, prolixity is my middle name). In order to get your bread just skip the whole sandwich line at FoCo. I'm not kidding, literally bypass every person waiting in line and go up to the counter (you are only getting two slices of bread, you don't need to waste your time on the line and I don't think that anyone will really care). Then, go get a container of milk (you only need one of the small rectangular ones). That's it, (not for the recipe, but) that's all you will be paying for. I'm not entirely sure how much the milk will run you, but the bread is something like $ .40 per slice (I know, right?). The rest of the recipe is simple. Put obscene amounts of cinnamon on both slices of bread, stack them, then pour a little less than 1/2 of the container of milk on top of the bread (you can put more on if you like your bread pudding soggier), microwave it for about a minute, add caramel (it's by the fro-yo) and poof…

CAB Pudding from DDS and Sam, I am.

The Chicken & The Egg Taco Salad

Let me start by saying that this dish may only loosely be called a salad, because in reality there is very little that is healthy about this salad (unless you don't eat the taco shell and get it without rice or beans, but why on Earth would you ever do that?). One of the big problems that I have with food on this campus is that no matter what you get, it will never be truly spicy. No, even a buffalo chicken sandwich with volcano sauce will not satisfy this heat-seeking tongue. But, I understand that this is not the case for the general student body and so I make a concerted effort to provide you with recipes from which you may easily omit any of the spicy items that you can't handle. What is even rarer on this campus is finding something that is both fresh and spicy (read: fresh as in watery and crunchy in the re-fresh-ing sense). Typically speaking spicy food requires slimy hots or dry pepper flakes. So my goal in creating this meal was to come up with something filling and delicious that had unique flavors and some fresh spice (what you get when you mix a member of Three Six Mafia with one of the Spice Girls). This "salad," is one of the most delicious things that I have eaten on campus and I hope very much that you enjoy it.

You will need:

2 eggs

Beans

Rice

Shredded cheese

Buffalo chicken

Sour cream

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Onions

Olives

Carrots

Jalapenos (I don't know why I can't type a tilde into this field)

Fried tortilla bowl

Buffalo sauce

Vinegar

Clearly, this is the heftiest list of ingredients to date (although that really isn't saying much considering how long I've been posting). For this recipe, I'm going to recommend that you go to Courtyard @ The Hop. The only thing that is unfortunate about this plate is that (depending upon when you try to make it) it may take you a while because you have to wait on 2 different lines. If the lines are accommodating then I would recommend getting the salad first so that the eggs are HOT when you add them to the salad but, usually the line for the grill is longer and you probably don't want to hold on to your salad for that long just waiting. So, just do whatever you want in terms of the order that you get the items in. What you need to be sure of when you order the eggs is that you order them OVER EASY. I'm not sure if I can stress that enough, part of the beauty of this "salad" is that the egg yolks are runny and mix with the different dressings. In terms of the taco salad, you want to order a taco salad with buffalo chicken (instead of regular chicken), rice, beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, onions, olives, sour cream, buffalo sauce and the vinegar. I do NOT recommend getting guacamole or salsa on this salad because it makes it very liquid-y and we are not making a soup. The egg also does not mix very well with the salsa, and so it is inadvisable to get them both. Once you have all of your ingredients you want to toss the salad lightly. When I say lightly I mean that you want to toss it so that the different layers mix and the sauces become distributed through out the salad, I do not mean that you should stir your salad until no ingredient is distinguishable from the other. Then, you want to place your two eggs on top of the salad. At that point you should cut the eggs up to break the yokes over the top of the salad and then…

Feast upon The Chicken & The Egg Taco Salad brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.

Frozen Breakfast

Let me start off my apologizing for this photo. I'm quite sorry that the above sundae is melty, but it really wasn't my fault: if you haven't yet, you soon will learn that no matter what time you get to FoCo for dinner (save for a 4:30 early bird special) the lines will be long (especially when there is only one cashier and there are some 'shmen who don't know that they have to weigh their salad, etc.) and the fro-yo will be slightly less than fro. At any rate, I promise that despite its appearance, it is absolutely delicious. Moving on… despite the name of this treat, I do not recommend that you eat it at breakfast time, as to me this is more of a dessert (but hey, that's totally up to you). I feel as though you readers (you are reading aren't you?) might find this suggestion slightly unoriginal because any one who has ever been to a fro-yo establishment will have had the opportunity to eat something similar (if not identical). However, while I maintain that it is one of my goals to encourage you to try new things, I am also a great fan of recreating food favorites using DDS ingredients. It shouldn't take you very long to realize that this Frozen Breakfast is for those with a sweet tooth (hence my recommendation that it serve as a dessert as opposed to a breakfast). The concept is simple really: a bowl of frozen cereal. So let's get into it:

You will need:

1 cup of vanilla frozen yogurt

1 prepackaged bowl of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes

1 slightly speckled banana

My recommendation is that you purchase all of the items separately because if you construct the dish before you pay, you'll end up overpaying. DDS has you pay for fro-yo by weight, but they will also have you pay for your cereal and your banana so there is no sense in adding weight to your fro-yo just to pay extra for a heavier cup. There aren't very many measurements that you have to worry about for this one; to play a savory chef, its all made to taste. Put as much fro-yo in your sundae cup as you want (I don't recommend cones with toppings like this), just mix in some Frosted Flakes and slices of banana every now and then. The combination of flavors isn't particularly complex (it's essentially just three sweet things), but it is a fantastic dessert. If you are feeling particularly daring, you can try adding just a tiny bit of caramel (note the second 'A', I can't stand the notion that people actually say CAR-MEL, if you do it, cut it out.) or try a different flavor fro-yo. I'm sure that this is not the last Frozen Breakfast that I will be making, but for now…

This is the only Frozen Breakfast provided by DDS and Sam, I am.

Gobblemeuup

You are going to learn very quickly that I don't have a talent for naming my dishes. But, I suppose that is something you'll have to forgive me for. If you have a suggested name that I like, I'll quickly adopt it. This name is kind of clever right... because it is a play on gobbledygook, turkeys, and eating food in general… no? Well, I tried. At this point, we might as well get down to business- I'm not entirely sure how this dish came to me, but I was feeling a little bit homesick and it got me thinking about leftovers. From there, I think I generally associated the food that DDS serves with leftovers because, mostly that's what they serve. Do you think that the garbanzo beans at the salad bar are fresh every day? No. That's why some days they're missing, but there happens to be a soup that has them in it. My intention is not to gross you out, it's simply to establish a way of thinking about the food on campus; a lot of it can be treated just like leftovers. In that spirit, this dish is loosely based on what my family does with Thanksgiving leftovers. When we have extra cranberry sauce, we use it as a jam and eat it on bagels with cream cheese, or we put it on a turkey and cheese sandwich with some carrots and onions for crunch and, a bit of horseradish to give it a little heat. This sandwich combines these concepts. I know what you are thinking, "You are absolutely out of your mind if you think I'm going to eat any sandwich like that," but I ask you to suspend your disbelief and give it a try. After all, trying new things is all part of the Dartmouth spirit. Plus, the worst that could happen is that you might not like one of your meals from DDS and I'm sure that would be an absolutely novel experience for you. So here we go:

You will need:

Turkey

Provolone cheese

Bread (your favorite kind, unless that means a non-sandwich bread, in which case, try again.)

Spicy mustard

Carrots

Onions

Cream cheese

Cranberry sauce spread

A microwave

For this one I'm just going to recommend outright that you go to FoCo. It will be a lot harder to assemble all of the necessary materials if you don't. What you want to order is a "New England Gobbler," but you are going to make a few substitutions and additions. You do not want whatever kind of cheese they give you (or maybe you do, but I have found that the provolone works nicely). You also do not want honey mustard, instead you will request spicy mustard (occasionally they don't have, so you may be forced to get regular yellow and add some hot sauce later- not a tragedy). You want to also request that they put carrots (or carots, as I have noticed DDS tends to spell it) and onions on it. Do not have them toast your sandwich. Once they have accommodated you, you want to go over to the cooler where the salad dressings are held and take out 2 small packets (what are those little round things called?) of cream cheese. You should put one on each side of your sandwich (wherever the sandwich naturally opens to is where you should put it, don't bother getting messy trying to put it on the bread itself) you should flatten it out so that it is evenly spread across the sandwich. There is no need to be precise in this process because the cream cheese is about to lose its form. Take your sandwich and put it in the microwave for about 1 and a half minutes, or until the cream cheese is hot and a little less solid. Then…

Enjoy your new sandwich from DDS and Sam, I am.

Animal Fries

For the inaugural post we have a west coast treat. Those of you who gave up on Southern California to come to Dartmouth (an odd trade I might add) are probably missing In-N-Out, and those of you who have never seen an In-N-Out don't know what you're missing. But, I'm about to change all of that. That's right, I have managed to create Animal (Style) Fries here at Dartmouth. Granted, my recipe will seem amateur as In-N-Out Burger has had quite some time to perfect their recipe (and it is perfect), nonetheless, I think that I have invented a recipe similar enough to get you salivating. It's easy enough to make, so long as you don't mind some occasional groans from the DDS workers who have to give you a little bit more than your standard order of fries. Without further ado, brevity is not my forte, here is the recipe:

You will need:

Fries

Cheese sauce

Grilled onions

Thousand Island dressing

It seems intuitive enough that all the recipe calls for is a mixing of these items, but there are several ways to ensure that all goes right in the process. It is best if you just ask for an order of cheese fries with grilled onions. Sometimes you may get all three items (fries, cheese sauce and onions) together, while other times, the disgruntled DDS worker may give you fries, a small cup of cheese sauce and a side of grilled onions (which counterintuitively ends up being a lot more work for them, and more advantageous for you, but manages to satiate their desire to make you suffer for your non-standard order). Either way, Animal Fries are all about proportion. You do not want an overwhelming amount of cheese sauce (we are not making a fondue), but you may well get it depending upon how zealous the DDS cook was with the cheese dispenser. The way to compensate is in the dressing and the onions. Your cheese to dressing ratio should be about 2:1, that is to say that you want about 2/3 of the total sauce to be cheese and 1/3 of the total sauce to be dressing. The cheese should be poured over the fries first, followed by the dressing (which is readily available near the salad bar). When I say that you want grilled onions, I do not mean that you want caramelized onions, I mean simply what I say: grilled onions. The onions are meant to add another texture and flavor to the fries. It is therefore a good idea if the onions are still somewhat crunchy, but have some of the sweetness and savoriness of a caramelized onion. You don't want a raw onion, nor do you want a caramelized one, you need a middle ground, hence, (can we say it again for reinforcement?) grilled onions. It doesn't really matter when the onions are added to the plate in relation to the other ingredients, all that matters is that they become a part of the mix. Ideally, you should have some onion in every bite. I have found that the easiest place to make them is FoCo, but of course, feel free to try elsewhere. You will probably need a fork (and a very healthy cardiovascular system) to eat them.

Voila! Animal Fries courtesy of DDS and Sam, I am.