Recipe #958667: Artichoke Crab Dip

This dip was an amazing hit at my family's Thanksgiving dinner. I have a huge family, nearly 30 people around the holiday buffet, and this dip is not only a crowd pleaser, but it makes enough to feed a hungry army.

Tip: Buy canned artichokes. They're just as good, and way easier to use than steaming fresh ones yourself.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/steamed-artichoke-crab-dip-recipe/index.html

Times change, but people don't.

So, I've been home for over a week for Thanksgiving break, and unfortunately, tomorrow brings this much needed rest to an end. Turkey was eaten, hours and hours of sleep were acquired, but one of my favorite things to do when I come home for a break from school is to see my friends from home. We're all homebodies, girls who love being with our families, sitting in our respective beds and watching re-runs of Sex and the City. But we always make sure we see each other, even just once. it's inevitable that we'll end up sitting at Alyssa's house, me, Alyssa, Eve, Diana and Hannah, eating, catching up and just relaxing. We did just that on Wednesday night, with three hours on Alyssa's couch eating malted milk balls, a classic since we were in grade school, and catching up. There's never any doubt that we'll pick up right where we left off months before, and we've been doing this routine for almost 17 years. We've all gone through changes: boyfriends, breakups, school mishaps, family illnesses, anger, jealousy, relationship strain and even spans of time without talking. But nothing has changed. We're all the same little girls we were when we first became friends, the same girls who called gatherings 'play dates.' I leave my bed, my cozy, amazing bed, for very few things over Thanksgiving break. But seeing my friends, seeing them the same way we've always seen each other, is the first thing I do.

Weekends are for ordering in.

Though I love cooking, I am known to order in when laziness kicks in. It's classic college: the topic of dinner is brought up in a group of friends on a Saturday night, and everyone looks around, not wanting to admit they would rather spend $8 on a crappy, delicious sandwich than cook dinner. And obviously, no one ever objects. The possibilities are endless, not just in the sandwich category, but in the campus food category in general. Web sites have even been created to make this act of laziness even easier. Eatcu.com should really be bookmarked on my computer. The Web site offers coupons daily, and every campus food restaurant is on here, waiting for hungry students to place their orders. My friends are no different than any other group of friends. We always order in on weekend. We had a moment of weakness tonight and ordered from Pita Pit tonight.

Can Thursday be considered a weekend?

Mexican fiesta

I helped cook a Mexican dinner with my friends tonight. It was de-licious. Avocado relish (thank you, Bobby Flay), fajitas, seven layer taco dip and, oh yes, margaritas. Lots of margaritas.

You win some, you lose some.

Some days are McDonald's days. You know it's not good for you. You know there are plenty of other things that don't put you at risk for a stroke at age 30. But you also know that sometimes, there can be nothing better than a large container of McDonald's beautiful, greasy, disgustingly amazing fries and the biggest, most syrupy Diet Coke in the world. The best Diet Coke in the world.

I had one of those days today. Don't worry, it wasn't alone. My roommate, Rachel and I decided after class today that it was a McDonald's day. We had just taken our business law test (our majors are advertising and journalism, mind you) and felt that a quick fix to the dismal, life shattering feeling we were experiencing was McDonald's. Diet Coke and fries for me, vanilla sundae and fries for her. It was fattening, it was greasy, it was embarrassing... and it was pure bliss. We even brought fries and ice cream home to another one of our roommates, Felicia. She had just taken the business law test, too.

Our business law grades go up in a week or so. I see another McDonald's day in our future.

Are there multiplication tables in the New York Times?

My journalism professor gave my class math problems to do today. Math problems. Involving numbers, division, percentages, area, diameter. I was embarrassed at first that it took me a good portion of the class period to find a percentage using ratios. Just using those terms alone strains the left side of my brain. I was only embarrassed, though, until a girl came up to me after class and said, "Did you think that was as hard as I did? Who knew that we would need to know this?" This relieved me... and scared me. Who knew that we would need to know math for journalism? Clearly not me. I always assumed that as long as I perfected my writing and creativity skills, I would be set for job hunting in the communications world. I don't plan to write about math and numbers... ever. But should everyone know basic math skills, despite their professions? When I'm creating writing samples to send out with my resume to media companies, should I also be reviewing the pythagorean theorem? The next thing I know there will be long division sections of the Leo Burnett application.

For all you writers that are laughing and saying how easy all of this seems, try doing this problem in 20 seconds with no calculator. That's all the time our teacher gave us:

If the restaurant pays the waitress $8 an hour and her boss decides to raise her hourly wage 5% each month, how much will she be earning per hour 4 months from now?

Go.

Recipe #43521: Caesar dressing

Yes, I am well aware that Caesar dressing is "bad" for you. But if you eat this version, you won't be able to focus on anything but the amazing flavor. Ina Garten is a culinary genius. The dressing was the main goal of my adventure, while the sandwich was only an after thought. An amazingly delicious after thought. I made this over the weekend with my roommates in the new Black and Decker blender I bought myself at Target. Blenders do have other functions besides making margaritas...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/caesar-club-sandwich-recipe/index.html

Those who can't cook... should still cook.

I believe it’s a myth that college students don’t cook. Ever. Yes, there are those select frat boys who believe that pizza and beer are food groups, and there are those girls who somehow think that a Diet Coke and brown rice is a meal. Though I do enjoy my fair share of pizza and beer… and Diet Coke, I also love cooking. I love cooking more than the average college student, and I would go so far as to say that I love cooking more than the average human being. The Food Network is the first channel I switch on when I sit down at the TV after class, and I consider garlic to be its own food group. But, hey, I’m in college. I have class, formals, sorority events, friends, a boyfriend, hangovers, yet somehow I still find time to cook. I’m not great… yet. But I plan to be. Maybe I don’t have access to the best ingredients at our discount grocery stores in rural Illinois, and I’m embarrassed to say that I have used a recipe or two when my creativity falls short. But I love it. And when you find something you love, you can’t help but do it as often as you can. So, to all you fellow college students out there who think you can’t cook…maybe you can’t. But you can still try.

Every so often, I will post recipes that I invented, found, made by accident, borrowed or stole. Wish me luck…