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We've done a few very risky things here on dorm room delights: like cooking quesadillas in a steamer, to creating stuffed bell peppers without an oven, and now- a fully cooked quiche!
Although we were skeptical at first, our experiments ultimately have shown that it is possible to cook eggs in the bowl of a double boiler. The secret is to stir the eggs frequently so they can be exposed to the heat on the edges of the bowl. Our quiche is made by effectively scrambling eggs together with cheese, ham, and spinach. Once the eggs are almost completely cooked, the scramble is pressed into a firm, quiche-like shape. The quiche is cooked together and can be easily served on a plate as the perfect centerpiece of a high tea! Enjoy :)



Ingredients:
1. 1 whole egg
2. 1 piece of ham, sliced up (f)
3. Light handful of sliced spinach (f)
4. Light handful of chopped cheese
5. 1 tablespoon of heavy cream

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Directions:
1. Beat the egg with the cream and then add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Butter the measuring cup and pour in the egg mixture. 
3. Cook over the kettle, stirring every minute, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the cup.
4. After five minutes, pat the egg down and leave for another five minutes. 
5. Turn the quiche onto a plate and enjoy!

 
The theory behind no-bake oatmeal cookies is simple. Instant oats are completely cooked with a small bit of hot water, then sugar, butter, and any additional ingredients can be stirred in. The dough is shaped into balls that will harden at room temperature. 
Our recipe is an adaptation of these simple oatmeal cookies, because we added flour to the melted butter. The flour smoothed out the dough, and gave these cookies a softer, more scone-like texture. Loaded with brown sugar, walnuts, and cranberries, these are a great substitute for scones at a high tea!
Ingredients
2 packets instant oats (f)
1 tablespoon butter (f)
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar (f)
2 tablespoons dried cranberries (f)
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
Directions:
1. Mix the sugars in with the dry oats and then pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over them.
2. Mix these until the oats are cooked and all the sugars are combined. 
3. Melt the butter with the flour and then mix it into the oats. 
4. Mix in the walnuts and cranberries.
5. Scoop three scones out of the mixture and place them on a tinfoil sheet.
6. Let the "scones" sit out for a few hours (4), flipping them over half way through.
Enjoy!!
 
We at dorm room delights are always looking for creative ways to make our favorite dishes in new, kettle friendly ways. Lasagna is particularly challenging, because regular lasagna is assembled with raw noodles, cheese, and vegetables, then baked in an oven to cook the flavors together. So, how did we make a hot, gooey pasta dish with all of the elements of a lasagna? We rolled and steamed our own lasagna rolls!
To make these rolls, we cooked one lasagna noodle and then covered it with a cheese and spinach mixture. Then, we rolled up the noodle and wrapped it in aluminum foil. We steamed the roll to heat up the cheese and to finish cooking the noodle. When the roll was cooked, we doused it in marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella. This is a fantastic, balanced dish with great vegetable flavor and added garlic for spice. Another great aspect of this recipe for lasagna rolls is that they are made 1 at a time, so you can make a perfectly portioned snack. Or, simply repeat the process to cook 3 or 4 for rolls for a full dinner!
Have fun rolling up your lasagna! 
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh raw spinach (not baby)
3 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 lasagna noodle
1 tablespoon shredded mozerella
1 tsp ground garlic
1/2 cup tomato sauce



Directions:
1. Steam spinach for 3 minutes
2. Cook lasagna noodle for 7 minutes in pot of boiling water
3. Mix spinach with goat cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper
4. Layer on lasagna noodle, and roll
5. While you are rolling lasagna, heat sauce in double boiler 
6. Wrap roll in aluminum foil
7. Steam roll for 3 minutes
8. Cover with hot tomato sauce, and sprinkle with mozerella 
 
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Oh my goodness, we are amazing. Modesty is completely overrated when it comes to this new recipe. 
We knew that this parfait would be great simply because it is made with blueberries, lemon, and whipped cream. But we had no idea that the textures of our parfait would combine these flavors into a desert that is such perfection!
Most parfaits are made with berries and whipped cream or yogurt, but these generic parfaits tend to be one dimensional and boring. We spiced up our parfait with a delicious chilled cream sauce that adds a bright contrast to the thick whipped cream. In addition, the whipped cream was not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill desert topping. We made a fantastic lemon flavored whipped cream that brought out the acidity in the blueberries, and was the element that put this parfait over the top. 
This is a fantastic desert that will work well with any type of fruit. 

Ingredients:
Chilled Sweet Cream:
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsps sugar
1 egg yolks
splash vanilla extract

Fruit:
1 pack fresh blueberries (4oz)

Lemon Whipped Cream:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
juice from 3 lemon slices (about 1 tsp)
2 tbsp powdered sugar
Directions:
For the sweet cream:
1. Mix whipping cream with 1 tablespoons sugar and heat over double boiler for 5 minutes
2. While cream is heating, whisk egg yolks with remaining tbsp sugar and vanilla
3. Pour hot cream into egg mixture and whisk until combined
4. Transfer egg and cream mixture to double boiler and heat for 10 minutes
5. Pour cream through strainer and into small tupperware
6. Chill in refrigerator 4-6 hrs

For the lemon whipped cream:
1. Whisk cream, lemon juice, and powdered sugar until soft peaks form
To assemble parfait:
Layer blueberries and whipped cream in glass cup or jar. Top with sweet cream and enjoy!
 
The Amherst Student asked us to write another article this week! So, we decided to come up with a new recipe that is specifically tailored to Amherst students, one in which every ingredient can be foraged from our dining hall! 
Just fill up a tupperware with these delicious items, and you can make your own fantastic breakfast bars. They are perfect for those days when you are too tired to run to the dining hall for breakfast before a 9:00 am lecture. 
We hope you relish that extra hour of sleep!
Feel free to customize this with any ingredients that you happen to have on hand, for example- we threw in some chopped walnuts that were left over from our walnut fudge. 
Ingredients:
2/3 cup granola (f)
1/3 cup corn flakes (f)
1/4 cup dried raisins/cranberries (f)
1/4 cup walnuts  (optional)
4 teaspoons butter (f)
4 tablespoons peanut butter (f)
1 tablespoon sugar (f)
Directions:
 1. Mix granola, corn flakes, dried fruit, and chopped walnuts in small bowl
2.  Melt butter in bowl of double boiler
3. Add peanut butter and sugar to melted butter, stir over heat until smooth
4. Mix liquid with dry ingredients until just combined
5. Press firmly into a square Tupperware lined with aluminum foil
6. Refrigerate overnight
7. Separate hardened granola from aluminum foil and cut into bars
Enjoy!

 
Hot chocolate can be made with powder and hot water. But we all know that watery hot cocoa is nothing compared to rich, thick, hot chocolate made with warm milk.
We've been meaning to create a perfect hot chocolate recipe for a while. This recipe would use melted chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder, and we would add condensed milk (a common ingredient in recipes like vietnamese iced coffee and cookie dough truffles) However, we were only motivated to actually write the post after making s'mores bars. Our extra marshmallows were begging to be dumped into a mug of steaming hot cocoa!
The cup of our kettle double boiler is only 1 cup big, so it is impossible to heat up a full mug of coco using the steam. The solution to this predicament was actually rather simple.  We made a concentrated chocolate mixture and heated it to its maximum temperature, then we poured it into a mug half full of plain milk. The cold milk diluted the hot chocolate to the perfect level of richness and brought it down to the ideal temperature for immediate enjoyment! 
Ingredients:
  • A small handfull of Chocolate Chips
  • 1 teaspoon Condensed Milk
  • Small splash of vanilla (optional)
  • 1 1/4 C of Milk

Instructions:
1. Pour 1/2 C of milk into a mug and set it aside.
2. Combine the chocolate chips, condensed milk, vanilla, and a tablespoon of milk in a double boiler and heat until all ingredients combine.
3. Add milk in small increments, stirring completely between each addition. 4. When the full 3/4 C of milk has been added to the chocolate and mixture is too hot to touch, pour the hot milk into the sitting milk in the  mug. 
5. Your resulting mixture will be a nice temperature for drinking, so sprinkle in a few marshmallows and enjoy! 
 
There is something incredible about the magical combination of melted marshmallows, chocolate, and crunch graham crackers. S'mores are classic campfire treat, but many have tried (and failed) to make a comprable indoor version. The gooey perfection that is so vital to a s'more cannot be achieved by simply pouring melted chocolate over a few marshmallows that have been sprinkled on a graham cracker. 
So, how did we make an awesome no-bake, no-fire s'more with our limited equipment? How did we at dorm room delights accomplish what so many others have failed to do? The secret is a combination of 4 layers: a graham cracker base, a chewy chocolate/marshmallow layer, a gooey melted marshmallow layer, and a hard melted chocolate layer topped with crushed graham cracker and marshmallows. The variety of textures mimics an authentic s'more, because the marshmallow/chocolate layer hints of freshly melted chocolate and elevates the entire s'mores bar.
Although the bowl of the double boiler needs to be washed for each layer, the time spent washing equipment is just the right about of time for the freshly poured hot layer cool. All in all, this is an awesome recipe that uses common ingredients on our blog (graham crackers from our no-bake cheesecake, semisweet chocolate chips from all of our various chocolate recipes, and marshmallows- which go perfectly with our fantastic hot chocolate!)
Ingredients:
  • 3/4 C Marshmallows
  • 3/4 C Chocolate Chips
  • 1 Graham Cracker
Instructions:
1. Lay the graham cracker down in tinfoil and fold the foil into a square.
2. In the double boiler, melt 1/4 C of marshmallows.
3. Add 1/4 C of the chocolate chips to the melted marshmallows and continue double boiling until the mixture is combined and has an almost fudgey consistency.
4. Press this mixture onto the graham cracker and let it sit. 
5. Melt the rest of the marshmallows and pour them over the chocolate-marshmallow mixture.
5. Melt the rest of the chocolate and do the same. 
6. Sprinkle some whole marshmallows and crumbled graham crackers over the bar and let it cool in the fridge. 
7. Cut and enjoy!
 
Guess what? Spring is coming! It was 60 degrees and sunny today, and the snow is just starting to melt off the quad.
We've decided to celebrate the weather with a spring-themed recipe: Vietnamese Spring Rolls. 
Unlike deep fried chinese spring rolls, vietnamese spring rolls are served cold and made with a clear rice paper wrapper. (The rice wrappers can be purchased in packs of 100 for around 5$, and come pre-cooked. Just soak in water and they are ready to roll.) As their name suggests, spring rolls are light and crisp: a perfect savory snack for a spring afternoon. 
Spring rolls are generally made with some combination of lettuce, carrots, rice noodles, and chicken/shrimp/tofu. We chose to use make vegetarian spring rolls with tofu, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, and wonton crisps from the salad bar. We paired our spring rolls with our Thai peanut sauce (yes, we mixed ethnic regions), and they tasted fantastic! The peanut sauce added an element of richness to the light vegetables, and the mixture of sweet and savory flavors is always delicious. 
Ingredients (Makes 4 spring rolls)
4 rice paper wrappers*
handful carrots(f)
1/4 cup cucumber(f)
4-5 tofu cubes(f)
A few leaves lettuce(f)
1/4 cup wonton crisps(f)
Directions
1. Slice carrots and cucumbers. Cut tofu into small chunks. Rip lettuce into pieces. 
2. Fill large bowl half way with a mixture of boiling and cool water. Final temp should be warm, but not steaming. 
2. Dip rice paper into water so that half of circle is submerged spin to wet completely. Rice paper should be translucent and stretchy.
3. Put damp rice paper on plate and place a piece of lettuce lengthwise down center of wrapper. Add a few pieces each of: tofu, cucumber, carrots, and wonton crisps, also directed lengthwise.
5. Cover with another piece of lettuce
6. Fold rice paper like a burrito: fold up base width-wise over end of lettuce roll, and then bring one side of paper up lengthwise over the center lettuce. Roll the paper so that it covers the filling. Finally, fold remaining side of paper over the exposed end. 
7. Cut in half and serve with peanut sauce
 
We just had our first snow storm of 2012! The lovely blanket of snow looks great from the common room window, but it much less pleasant when it is dumping on your head as you walk to the dining hall. To save ourselves from the snowstorm, we decided to make a recipe that is hearty enough to be a full meal. Stuffed bell peppers.
Although peppers are traditionally stuffed with meat, tomato sauce, and cheese and then baked in an oven, we found a way to make our peppers completely dorm-room friendly. These peppers are blanched in boiling water, and then stuffed with couscous, cheese, pasta sauce, and walnuts. The peppers are a great serving vessel, and provide a great textural contrast to the couscous filling. 
All in all, these peppers will contribute to a perfectly balanced meal with vegetables from the pepepr, carbs from the couscous, and protein from the nuts/cheese. If you eat them with a few cooked veggies or peanut sauce and noodles, you will have no reason to trek out to the dining hall tonight. Stay warm!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup couscous 
1 regular bell pepper
1/4 cup shredded cheese (f), plus extra for topping
A few raw onion strips (f)
Handful walnuts
Directions:
1. Place bell pepper in bowl, submerge with boiling water, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. While bell pepper is cooking, chop onions and walnuts
3. Remove bell pepper from bowl and dump out water. 
4. Place couscous in bowl and add 1/3 cup boiling water. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. 
5. While couscous is cooking, heat up pasta sauce in a double boiler
6. When couscous is done, mix in sauce, cheese, onions , and walnuts
7. Spoon mixture into dry bell pepper, layer in extra pasta sauce and cheese.
8. Top with cheese and freshly ground pepper.
 
This is a recipe that we’ve been meaning to try for quite some time. It is a perfect dorm room recipe, because it only needs a mini-fridge and two ingredients: whipped cream and chocolate wafer cookies.        The cookies are layered with whipped cream to form a roll, which is then covered with more whipped cream. The log is placed in a fridge overnight, and when it comes out, it has become a delicious chocolate and vanilla cake. The wafer cookies absorb moisture from the whipped cream and puff up into thick, cake-like layers. This is seriously something that you have to see to believe.
Next time you are out buying snacks, you should grab a box of ‘Famous Chocolate Wafers’, some whipping cream, and try this recipe out for yourself. It will blow your mind and your taste buds!
Ingredients: 
10 wafer cookies
1 cup whipped cream (we made our own using 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 tbsp powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Directions:
1.     Spread about 1 tbsp whipped cream over each chocolate cookie
2.     Assemble cookies into a stack
3.     Turn stack on its side and completely cover with whipped cream
4.     Refrigerate overnight
5.     Cut diagonally into slices to show off chocolate layers