The Last Suppers

Although Saint Patrick’s Day is often deemed one of the most fun holidays of a college student’s career, I didn’t get the chance to celebrate it last year! I’m sure you’re wondering how that’s possible since I come across as so fun and exciting. Let me explain: last year I had to fly out early (like 5AM early) the following morning to interview for the company which turned out to be the one I interned for and subsequently accepted a full-time position with. Some of my friends tried to convince that it made more sense to just stay out all night and sleep it off on the plane. Based on how important that morning turned out to be, I’m pretty glad I didn’t heed their advice.

To make up for last year, and to celebrate the fact that I can now legally participate fully in this holiday that really doesn’t even pretend to stand for anything other than partying (perhaps also gold and the color green?), I wanted to do something special. I somehow stumbled upon these and thought they were the perfect St. Patty’s day treat! I was so excited in fact, that I even made a special trip to the supermarket to ensure I had the appropriate ingredients, since as we’ve learned recipes aren’t really suggestions as much as explicit instructions. I was pretty proud of myself – I even splurged the extra 62 cents to buy baking soda instead of trying to substitute with some proportion of baking powder as I’d done in previous baking endeavors. Of course, I would be lying if I said I followed the recipe exactly – I was perusing the baking aisle for what felt like forever in search of bittersweet chocolate. I found some Godiva bars but they were really expensive and I couldn’t figure out how I’d chop them up. After googling it (thank heavens for smartphones!) I came to the conclusion that I’d be fine with using some semisweet, and so – for under $20! – I was ready to make some St. Patty’s Day magic!

Can you say health nut?

It was a pretty ambitious endeavor since I needed to make the cupcake batter, the filling, and the frosting. I decided that since the filling needed to cool, I would start with that. I started heating up the cream and got the chocolate ready in another bowl. I simultaneously started mixing together the dry components of the cupcake batter because I’m all about efficiency. Once the cream heated up I combined it with the chocolate and then added in the other components, making sure to test the Bailey’s before adding it in (just to make sure it was still good of course!) Once it was a smooth consistency I put it in the fridge to cool down and set a timer for ten minutes so I would remember to stir it.

I almost just started eating it right out of the bowl, but I somehow maintained self control. You're welcome to those of you who tried them.

While my filling was cooling it seemed appropriate to start working on its surroundings so I popped open my bottle of Guinness and got started. I had opted to buy one big bottle rather than a six pack of little bottles – this gave me the opportunity to casually enjoy the rest of it after I poured the one cup required to make the cupcakes out. It really made the whole experience more pleasant. As per usual, I proved that I am > an electric mixer as I was able to create the smooth consistency that the recipe called for without the aid of one. (We had an electric mixer last year but it literally starting smoking while we were trying to make frosting one time so I’ve been a little wary of them ever since.) After doing a terrible job of evenly distributing the batter (I was a little overeager at first and so they got progressively smaller as I went on), I popped them in the oven and felt accomplished…until I realized that when since I was baking something not out of a box that I actually still had a lot more left to do.

I filled the first tray so high that I was only able to fill half of the second tray. With Robyn's help I did some readjusting which just made a big mess and incredibly uneven sizes...worth it.

Ever ambitious, I took the 17 minutes I had while the giant cupcakes baked to try to make some frosting. (It actually ended up taking 22 minutes to bake the first tray – I overfilled the little cupcake holders by 5 whole minutes! I’m not sure how minutes translate to batter per cup but I feel as though I was pretty off. Oops.) The frosting is sadly, where I hit my first snag. The recipe recommended that I combine the sugar and butter with the butter at room temperature using my electric mixer. I cut up the butter and put it in the microwave for a few seconds and tried to do my best mixer impression to no avail. As I got more and more desperate the powdered sugar seemed to keep jumping out of the bowl and landing everywhere. I decided to try to melt the butter a little more even though (1) the bowl it was all in was not microwaveable and (2) I feel like microwaving sugar is weird. Sadly, taking these risks did me no good (although I didn’t end up with any melted bowls so I guess things could have been worse). I was starting to get pretty bummed when I decided I should just go ahead and add the Bailey’s even though the recipe told me to wait. It turned out the frosting just needed a little liquid to hold it all together! After putting nearly all my muscle into it (it was, after all, my workout for the day) I ended up mixing everything together into something that could likely pass as frosting.

A little thick but still delicious.

By this time the cupcakes were out, cooled, and ready to be filled! Obviously I didn’t have any sort of device for filling them, so I turned back to the website I got the recipe from and employed Annie’s clever tactics for how to fill cupcakes when you don’t have all the fancy tools. I used a paring knife to cut a cylinder out of each cupcake, spooned a bit of pudding in the whole, chopped off the top of the cylinder, placed it back on top and ate the bite-sized remainder!

Just workin' that paring knife like the pro that I am.

Sneaky filling!

You can hardly even tell they've been tampered with!

I successfully filled and frosted all of my cupcakes. I had tried each other the individual components (obviously) but the ultimate test still needed to be done – how would they taste all together?! Luckily, we had a couple of friends over after dinner but before the event where the cupcakes were making their debut. We all agreed that they were fantastic. I was so impressed with myself – probably unnecessarily so. They ended up taking me about 3 and half hours but their deliciousness definitely made it worth it.

It almost looks too good to be true, right?

...And you thought the last picture looked good! Just check out that filling!

Why not just go for real Irish car bombs?

1. These are super tasty.
2. You can eat them at your leisure – no fear of them curdling.
3. You get to drink the leftovers.
4. Chocolate.
5. It’s a three and a half hour break from whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing (i.e. writing blog posts)
6. As we’ve seen throughout the semester, food brings people together!

Last weekend a couple of my friends and I decided to start our Saint Patrick’s Day off in a fashion that’s not quite typical of a college student –we decided to go check out the Durham Farmer’s Market. It was pretty busy, but technically it was still a “winter market” since the majority of fruit products aren’t in season yet. After arriving and exploring for a bit, I realized I would be unable to capture the essence of this market through observation alone. It’s so fluid that I thought it would be best to let the market tell its own story. I went and asked the vendors with the best looking goodies (lip balms and lotions, pastries, and jams) about their involvement with the market and taped them (with their explicit permission!) so you all could learn a bit more about the farmer’s market from their perspective. Everyone was so nice and eager to talk – it made me feel like more of a “regular” and gave me an excuse to buy something from each one of them!

We started off by talking with the makers of MoonDance Soaps.  As you will see he was really pushing the soap samples. They smell like potpourri.

Next, we made our way over to Angels Nest Farms. The son of the owner, who was in charge of the pastries area, was so cruel as to open the glass door of the heated pastries section and waft the tantalizing chocolate scent in my direction. I had already had breakfast, because if I don’t eat before going somewhere my fun factor really decreases, but I decided it might be worth a second breakfast. After my first delicious bite, I knew it was.

Bonlee Grown Farms. I’m so glad my roommate invested in her banana butter. It has a baby food consistency to it that I’m strangely alright with.

Although I personally ate my big purchase (worth it), we ended up bringing home a few different jams, cakes, carrots, and yogurt among the six of us. We even explored the smaller “art market” afterwards – I felt pretty cultured.

Frankly, we could have done better in the green department.

Is it worth the potential parking difficulties? As you know, the stinkin’ Lincoln is not a fan of parking lots that don’t have rows upon rows of empty spaces which house the perfect pull-through, but there are actually enough areas to park around the market that this doesn’t pose a major issue. It was a great start to my morning and I hope to make it back out there as the weather warms up. (On second thought, since it’s already about 80 degrees, it would probably be fine if it didn’t get any warmer.) Maybe I’ll even buy something that’s actually more homegrown, since I’ve sadly never heard of a chocolate croissant farm.

Yesterday, after rudely not inviting me to join them, my friends Perry and Alex requested that I allow them to write a guest post about their taco-filled adventure. Since they make up the majority of my readership (as in, basically its entirety with the exception of those who are required to read it), I had to acquiesce. It’s largely blasphemous, it implies I’m a bad driver (okay, I almost killed us one time), and it questions whether this blog has achieved its goals, yet it’s such  a well told adventure that falls very much in line with the spirit of the blog that I couldn’t help but smile as I read it.

Please direct all questions, comments, and concerns to these two.

Enjoy!

—-

Nicole’s ambitious title suggests that her blog will be a daring culinary exploration of biblical proportions. Jesus Christ, set to be crucified, made the most of his final meal, literally creating a new covenant with mankind and establishing the Eucharist, or the Holy Communion where he gave his disciples bread, saying, “This is my body”, and gave them wine, saying, “This is my blood.”

Nicole went to Raleigh.

I mean, I loved the Pit as much as she did, but driving by NC State isn’t exactly like having dinner with the son of God. Although with Nicole driving I did spend a good time praying to Him.

As her friend, and a former pupil of Professor Harris’, I hope to inject a sense of urgency and intrepidity into this forum, befitting its lofty name. The Last Suppers should be a winged apparition, a white raven, fleeting about the unexplored culinary offerings of the Triangle. I will, however, try to follow Nicole’s practice of providing you with novel-length blog posts.

Thursday, March 15th is a momentous day. Fittingly, the Last Supper is thought to have been held on the Thursday before Good Friday. But more importantly, it marks the real beginning of the NCAA tournament, with 64 teams taking the court in just 48 hours.

A late meeting meant that at 7:30 PM I was on my way to pick up a friend to watch the games, having not yet eaten dinner. As I drove down Lasalle Street, stomach protesting, and passed the strangely conveniently located Maxx’s Adult Emporium, a crazy idea occurred to me.

I craned my neck and looked ahead, hoping beyond hope that I’d see a flash of neon green on the literal other side of the train tracks. It was too good to be true. I had tried too many times; I had been disappointed, sent home hungry, too many times. The mythical, transitory, fleeting taco truck Tortas, could not possibly be parked in that gravel parking lot when I needed it most.

But there it was.

Alex, in the passenger seat, did not understand the metaphysical—the biblical—significance of the truck’s appearance. He was not there those many lunchtimes when I set out looking for it, desperately curious to try the tacos from this mobile restaurant, only to see nothing but gravel and train tracks in its place. He was not there the countless times I drove by at odd hours, not remotely hungry, to pass it parked there defiantly, its wheels taunting me, advertising its ephemeral nature. It was never there when I needed it—not until today.

I pulled into the small lot by the train tracks, and Alex and I got out to order. I was so startled by the trucks presence, so scared it was a mirage, that I couldn’t decide what to order. Finally, I cowardly ordered in English, despite my Spanish minor, my semester inMadrid, and the entirely Spanish menu posted on the truck’s plexiglass window.

“Two pollo and two barbacoa.”

For some reason I was worried that saying “dos” would offend the latina women taking my order; I’m not sure why. At $2 each, these tacos were a steal, and came with a free choice of spicy red or less-spicy green salsa. Neither one of us sprang for the $3 gordita.

Alex and I studied the small menu as we waited for our food to be prepared. I showed off my Spanish skills by recognizing that azada should be spelled with an s, that lengua means tongue, and cabeza means head, but failed to come up with a reason for why they served tongue or head tacos.

We thanked the women for our food (in English), and drove to our friend Anne’s apartment. We gleefully unwrapped our plastic-bagged plates of food as she envied our good fortune. She had been on my previous—failed—lunchtime expeditions. She had tasted the bitter disappointment of the mythical neon green taco truck.

As I peeled back the shiny foil, I uncovered an appetizing rainbow of mexican cuisine. My three tacos lay snugly folded beside each other, lush green cilantro generously sprinkled atop them, rosy red radishes on one end and sprightly green limes on the other; a thick juicy wedge for each taco. I scraped off most of the onions, but the chicken taco I first bit into was near as good as it looked. I do wish that I had reversed my chicken-to-pork ratio, as the lone barbacoa taco was even more delicious.

I allowed Anne a bite of my dinner—chicken, of course—and she agreed that it was worth the long wait, but her jealousy was not fully assuaged. As Nicole wrote under the title of her blog, this is “a taste of second semester senior life.”

It’s not just about what’s on your foil-lined, plastic-bagged plate, it’s how you got there, how you stood outside in the warm Durham spring night, a train roaring past just ten yards away, waiting for tacos from a neon green mexican food truck across the street from a sex shop.

Spy Raleigh happened to be right next door to what has been dubbed one of the best restaurants in Raleigh. Our friend Alex, who skipped out on mixology but met us for dinner, had even gotten recommendations for The Pit from his friends who attend NC State and know the Raleigh restaurant scene pretty well. I like barbecue, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to have it, so my experience with it is somewhat limited. Although, since I went to Nashville sophomore year with Habitat for Humanity and interned with some southern boys last summer, I have learned that there are many different varieties of barbecue, all made with small but important differences. There’s Western Carolina, Eastern Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky bbq just to name a few. I think some of them have a more vinegar-y taste, some of them are sweeter, and some of them are spicier, but they’re all pretty good.

I was excited to see how The Pit’s Carolina barbecue would hold up next to our friends’ favorite, Mama Dip’s in Chapel  Hill. They love it so much that they go there (at least) once a month and have even had the opportunity to meet Mama herself! Personally, I’ve only been there twice, and since I never met Mama I didn’t have to worry about hurting her feelings if I liked The Pit better.

There was an incredibly long wait, but luckily Alex had the foresight to put down our name while he was waiting for us to finish up our blueberry bourbon drinks next door, so it wasn’t quite as painful. We spent the time in the chocolate shop across the street, Videri. It’s pretty unclear how they manage to stay in business as they sell a total of 5 products at pretty expensive prices, yet there they were. Worse, we bought some chocolate. After sampling every type (I have no shame), we settled on the Dark Milk Chocolate. Why spend $8 on a chocolate bar? It’s quite simple really. It costs $5 to park in the lot I parked in but you get your $ back if you buy something from one of the shops along the strip where this chocolate shop happened to be, so it was really like paying $3 for a bar of chocolate…which is still pretty expensive. Well, technically there were two bars of chocolate so $1.50 per bar isn’t bad? Okay, I’m starting to see how they stay in business. Damn that parking lot and its sneaky attendants coaxing me into buying things. It’s like they knew how much I love chocolate.

Perry will be happy to see I haven't yet eaten this, as it's technically half his.

Regardless, after dealing with our buyer’s remorse, we headed back over to The Pit and were seated pretty promptly. Alex and Brad were feeling pretty wild and started off with some Jalapeño cornbread. The portions were enormous so we definitely could have split one among the entire table, but at least it left them with some to bring home. They brought over all sorts of breads for us to enjoy while we were waiting – cornbread, biscuits, and hush puppies to be exact. We pretty much gobbled down the basket immediately upon it touching the table. It was delicious – so far, at least in the hush puppy department, The Pit was winning.

For our entrees, people got ribs, fried chicken, turkey, or barbeque. I personally went with Carolina barbecue because it seemed appropriate. When all of our food arrived, I embarrassed myself by asking the waiter to take a picture of all of us holding up our food. I tried to explain that it was for a blog but I don’t think he believed me. Unfortunately, I can’t even put the pictures up because I think I accidentally deleted them from my camera – they’re nowhere to be found. Below is what we probably looked like:

I imagine you're wondering why we're all so pale...it's because this was taken before spring break. I'm all about attention to detail.

As you can tell by how happy we are in the picture, we really enjoyed our meals. Although they were huge portions, I’m pretty sure I ate every bite. I’ll have to bring my friends over to get their take on The Pit, because I think it will definitely give Mama a run for her money!

Is Raleigh worth checking out even though Durham and Chapel Hill are right here? Definitely take a ride out if you have the chance! There are many restaurants right by The Pit if barbecue’s not your thing. It’s a super walk-able town which makes it fun to do with friends!

I bought a LivingSocial coupon for a mixology class last August, even though I didn’t turn 21 until September. Some might call that overeager, but I just call it being prepared. Suddenly it was February and the deal was about to expire, so to Spy Raleigh we went! Raleigh is a great city that’s only a 20 minutes away, but I could count the number of times I’ve been there during my Duke career on my hands. It’s really a shame, but it got us that much more excited to go.

After finding parking (always stressful when in the stinkin’ Lincoln), Perry, Robyn, Brad, Taylor, and I found our way to the bar and took our seats. I promptly got out a pen because when one is in a learning environment one should always be prepared to takes notes – you never know when there will be a pop quiz! Perry did not agree and as a result, now does not know how to properly make a Juicy Fruit shot. (Shh, don’t tell him but it’s a shot of Three Olives Bubble vodka, a splash of cranberry juice and a splash of ginger ale – tastes exactly like Juicy Fruit bubble gum!)

Josh, our teacher, led us through the process of how to make two other drinks – a Strawbasil mojito, and some sort of blueberry and bourbon concoction. The first one was a fun take on a classic mojito; we all initially were pretty sure the basil would taste really weird, but it actually added a nice flavor that mixed pleasantly with the strawberry. As for the other drink, I really dislike blueberries and am not a big fan of bourbon, but I have to admit,  it was actually pretty good. Mixology, although not a real word according to Microsoft word, is all about the art of how ingredients fit together. Josh was talking all about pH balance, which sorts of “notes” to bring out of a drink during which season (basil is wintry, obviously) and most importantly, how the things one needs to make a seemingly fancy cocktail, can often be found right in one’s home.

Although it made me feel like I had the potential to be classy and encouraged me to go out and buy some agave, I was overall a bit disappointed with the experience. We didn’t get to make the drinks ourselves as I had hoped and expected. Josh made one in front of us while walking us through the process and then allowed us to try a premade finished product. He was offering extra to the first person to correctly answer various questions about Raleigh’s mayors and history. (What did I tell you – there’s always a pop quiz!) Sadly, none of us had studied up beforehand, so we were pretty much out of the running. I did, however, manage to snag an extra Juicy Fruit shot by being so enthusiastic about how good it tasted.

Spy Raleigh had a pretty cool ambience but since our class was at 5, we didn’t really get to see it when it was “bumpin’.” Luckily, Robyn and Taylor both won VIP invitations to go back with no cover and $3 drinks all night with as many friends as they want! While this might imply that this establishment is just desperate for customers, I think it’s a sign that Raleigh’s not quite done with us yet.

Have you made any exciting concoctions since your class? I mean, you’re basically a mixologist now, right? Well, my most recent specialty is a rum & coke – you take some coke, and add some rum to it. Voila! (Josh was right – everything you need for the perfect cocktail is probably already in your cabinet!)

I just got back from my first cruise ever and I. AM. SO. FULL. There was food everywhere, constantly. I pretty much ate my way from one end of the boat to the other, and because I miss my roommate who gets an extra day of vacation and is not coming back until later today, I’ll tell you about it via a post in her style.

I tried to go for food that was a little more exotic both on the ship and off it primarily because food is a really important part of the culture of a new place, but additionally because it was included in our price so I had no qualms about potentially not liking it. Below, are my top five unique food experiences:

5. Cold soup things – Each night one of the dinner appetizer choices was a cold soup, which is sort of a weird concept. I guess it’s the same thing as Gazpacho but with different fruit. One night there was mango, one night there was avocado, and one night there was strawberry. They would chop up the a little bit of fruit in the center and then pour the thick-ish soup all around it. It was a pretty nice presentation. I tried the avocado one and surprised myself by really liking it. As you should know, I’m not a particularly big fan of most fruit, so I didn’t indulge in the others, but they got a stamp of approval from my friends who tried them (and believe me, my friends were not shy about trying things. One night somebody ordered 4 appetizers, 2 main courses, and 1 dessert. I haven’t decided if I’m embarrassed or impressed yet.)

4. Conch Fritters – According to several people’s parents, these were a must-have at our first destination, Key West. I didn’t even know that conch shells had meat in them – I was pretty sure they were just for listening to the ocean and attempting to maintain order in Lord of the Flies. Turns out they’re also really tasty! They were kind of chewy, but Sloppy Joe’s , the famous hot spot we ate them at, did a fantastic job of preparing and flavoring them. Definitely try them out if you’re ever in the Keys! (Do it before you head down Duval Street though, because you’ll probably be too “full” to appreciate them if you wait!)

The key to the Keys is trying out these!

Also, for those who have been distracted by how to say the word “conch” this whole time (as we were when we were ordering them) according to the youtube guy it’s like this:

You know you’re curious.

3. Alligator Fritters – I’d like to think Alligator is exotic but I suppose they sell it at the North Carolina State Fair, so it’s at least sometimes accessible here. I hadn’t ever had it before though so when I saw it on the dinner menu I knew I needed to test it out. They looked pretty much exactly like the conch fritters (I guess fritters have a distinctive look) and honestly tasted fairly similar too (fried has sort of a general delicious taste.) These had a little kick to them though which I really liked! Even if they’re not all that exotic in look or taste, it is worth it to try them just so you could say you ate gator.

2. Ackee – It’s Jamaica’s national fruit which I sampled during my time there. It looks a bit like (and tastes a bit like) scrambled eggs and according to our tour guide, Keshanne (“just think of key chain and you’ll never forget me!”), is usually served with cod. The most exciting thing about Ackee that I just learned is that it’s not sold in the US because it’s poisonous until it’s ripe! How’s that for exotic?

I can't guarantee it since I didn't take the picture, but Google is pretty sure that this is Ackee and not just eggs being sneaky.

1. Frog Legs – Honestly? Tasted like chicken.

So, does cruise food live up to all the hype? “Exotic” food aside, I had lobster, crab cakes, salmon, bacon mac n cheese, pizza whenever I pleased, and one day, there was even an entire chocolate buffet. Take that in for a second – literally an entire buffet filled with chocolate anything-you-could-think-of (even sushi!) With all of that in mind (and in my tummy!) I’d say that I understand where people are coming from when they worry about gaining 10 pounds on a cruise.

It’s the ultimate debate – Loyo vs. Tutti Frutti. Convenience vs. Variety. Self-Serve vs. Counter Service. I had high hopes – I was going to really get to the heart of the issue, but then I read this post and everything changed. I couldn’t possibly write a post about fro-yo without having tried all that the fair city of Durham has to offer. Lauren wrote about her experience at a place called Blend – how had I lived here for four years and never even heard of this place? I felt like I was missing out so kept looking for excuses to go test it out for myself. Unfortunately, I had a very limited window of opportunity, as Spring Break was just around the corner and I wanted to write my post before I left. Although that last part didn’t quite happen (oops), my roommate and I did manage to make the trek to a new part of Durham to see whether this new place would manage to stand out as a contender or just “blend” in with the competition. (Okay, I admit – that joke was pretty forced.)

We got in the stinkin’ Lincoln for an adventure through Durham. Google maps made some questionable directions decisions and we ended up at what has to be the worst intersection in the city, if not the state (if not the world). You have to cut across four lanes of traffic, there’s a railroad on the other side of the road and there are no traffic lights! I guess I should have specified that I wanted to avoid life-threatening situations when charting the course to Blend – my bad, Google maps. Death-defying stunts aside, we made it  unscathed at precisely 6:52PM. Blend closes at 7, so we got there in the nick of time…except that we didn’t. We went inside and excitedly eyed the machines, only to find out that we couldn’t get any fro-yo. Why? Because “it’s usually like, dead…so we just like, started cleaning up. You can get some coffee if you want though?” Uhhhh, what? It’s probably “dead” because when people come you don’t have the ability to serve them what they want and offer them options that are not at all appropriate substitutes. Do better, Blend employee. You single-handedly destroyed my potential post; well, I suppose you just delayed it. Ah, a dream deferred…

We left, sad and hungry. On our drive back (we rerouted to avoid the scary intersection – the stinkin’ Lincoln was not prepared to go through that nonsense twice), we found ourselves on Main Street. We remembered a wonderful restaurant we’d been to one time when Toast (another good one!) was overflowing with people, and specifically that it had a glass case filled with desserts we wanted to try. Beyú Caffe was exactly what we needed. Their food and philosophy helped to turn what was almost a tragic, dessert-less evening (heaven forbid!) into something delicious. I parked across the street (although I was so far from the curb it was frankly almost the same side of the street) and we went right to the glass case filled with treats. I wanted to try all of them, but we settled on an Oreo Cheesecake. They served us right away and accommodated our somewhat strange request to eat the cake in the chairs you’re supposed to sit in when waiting for a table. The five minutes we spent devouring that cake made all of the bad feelings from earlier “blend” into the background. (I know, I should stop trying to make that work.)

I wasn't kidding when I said devoured. I could hardly stop myself from chowing down to snap a picture!

So, is Blend out for good? Will there ever be a fro-yo post? I’ve heard it said that one shouldn’t cut off her nose to spite her face. I’m not going to deprive myself of a new and potentially delicious treat because of an employee who was just trying to get home a little earlier, so the dream of a fro-yo post lives on!

My roommate and I fashion ourselves domestic. We make nearly all of our meals at home (granted, most of them are frozen), and I am consistently proud of how good they taste. (I’ve been know to exclaim “We are so good at dinner!” midway through every meal we have.) Baking, however, is my true “expertise.” I’ve been the go-to dessert maker for holidays and family gatherings since I could remember. I’ve made everything from brownies, cookies, cakes, and fudge, to more complicated things like banana and pumpkin breads, and the delicious “Death by Chocolate.”

Sorry for enticing you with this picture since I'm not actually going to tell you how to make it.

Now that your mouths are watering and I’ve hopefully earned your trust as a baker – I can send you some recommendations from various family members that will only be slightly biased in my favor if you still need convincing – I assume you will find yourselves as shocked as I did when Lindsay and I had several recent baking attempts go terribly awry! You might be wondering “how could this have possibly happened?” It all started one ambitious afternoon…

Several months ago, for my birthday, my mom had bought a book titled “One Dough, 100 Cookies,” the implication being either that it would be easier and cheaper for me to have the same basic ingredients lying around while still allowing me variety, or that I’m not competent enough to maneuver my way around too many different recipes. Either way, Lindsay and I immediately picked out the cookie we wanted to bake, and then got right to baking it…four months later. I happened to be looking for a way to put off doing work. Living in an apartment complete with a kitchen offers one many opportunities to do so, and I try my best to take full advantage. We went for the cookies that had Nutella in them, because when one has an excuse to purchase Nutella, one does not pass it up. Unfortunately, I forgot the vanilla. I had also halved the sugar and used oil in lieu of butter – a technique my aunt often employs. She’s relatively new to the baking world (she has nothing on my 21 years of experience) but she is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to cookies, so I rarely hesitate to take her advice, especially when it comes to making cookies healthier without sacrificing any noticeable amount of taste. All of these modifications combined however, led to a somewhat bitter cookie. Luckily, we were able to compensate by adding unreasonable amounts of Nutella to each cookie, but we were pretty disappointed with our overall performance. Back to the drawing board, as they say.

Cut to several weeks later – we had recovered from our initial failure and were hungry enough to try again. We had some chocolate chips and M&Ms lying around and decided it was time to prove we could come out of the kitchen victorious. We went back to our handy, dandy book, and decided to keep things simple. We would just make the basic dough, add M&Ms and Chocolate chips, and voila – something delicious would happen. Learning from past mistakes, I added the vanilla straight away. I was pretty sure that my aunt’s advice was still valid though, so I again tried to make the cookies a bit healthier. (We are, after all, going on a cruise for spring break which is right around the corner.) My favorite part of baking is testing the dough out before putting it in the oven. It is 100% worth the risk of salmonella. I got myself excited, took a bite, and had to double check that I hadn’t just accidentally scooped directly from our bag of flour instead of the mixing bowl. They were terrible and not sweet at all. Maybe, we reasoned, it does need all of the sugar and we added another ¾ of a cup. Still gross. Okay, maybe the consistency’s wrong. We added some butter. I guess a little more couldn’t hurt…We ended up adding more butter and sugar than the original recipe required – making the cookies even unhealthier than intended – before we realized that this “basic cookie recipe” was no sugar cookie recipe, as we had expected. It tasted a bit off because (aside from the fact that the proportions were now terribly unbalanced) they were a shortbread-ish recipe, and not intended to be made without the additional ingredients required for any of the 100 cookie varieties. We half-heartedly baked part of the dough, and begrudgingly ate it over the course of the next few days, because we’re good sports like that, but we were ready to retire “One dough, 100 Cookies,” at least for a little while.

100 cookies? More like 100 heartbreaks.

Next time we wanted to bake, we didn’t trust ourselves to our own devices and bought pre-made dough. It’s not even possible to screw this up, right? Wrong. We decided to slice the dough instead of roll it into balls because we didn’t want to get our hands all greasy, and only had a few minutes before Jeopardy! started. We ended up with cookie slivers. They were impossibly thin, although definitely the most delicious cookie we’d made to date. (Sad, but true.)

We had just about given up when Sunday night came along. We wanted dessert but were unable to go out and buy something because it was cold and snowy outside, and as you might imagine, the stinkin’ Lincoln is not a big fan of snow. Lindsay tentatively suggested we make cookies. Dare we? I wondered, but then I thought of how much I would love a delicious cookie and knew that we must. We found the recipe on the side of our bag of Target brand (Market Pantry) sugar. Double Chocolate Chip.

Target: once again solving all of my life's toughest problems.

We meticulously measured, poured, and mixed, following the recipe to the T. Halving the sugar and cutting out the butter were no longer an option – I was willing to sacrifice health for perfection. We didn’t have an electric mixer – would we make it?! I mixed and mixed with all of my might, and Lindsay put in a few good stirs as well.

Electric mixers have got nothin' on me.

I tried the dough and could hardly stop myself from diving in again; this was what baking should feel like. We preheated the oven and were ready to ball up our cookies and put them in. We went to scoop them out of the bowl and…what? They had a consistency like frosting – they got all over our hands and were too sticky to be rolled into balls. WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO OFFEND YOU BAKING GODS? Luckily, I knew that if this delicious goo failed to cook, I would definitely eat it out of the bowl over the course of the next several days, but we decided to try to cook them anyway. I used what I thought was an innovative spooning method and eventually filled a cookie tray with ball-like blobs.

Questionable.

And then, suddenly, was the moment of truth. We paced the kitchen in trepidation for the length of the grueling cook time. We pulled them out and were surprised to find they had formed into somewhat round-shaped cookies!!!

Mmm, they look like cookies!

Since we know that looks aren’t everything, it was time for the taste test. Ooey, gooey, and delicious. Thank you, Target, for enabling me to feel like a winner again – it just goes to show you, just because the third try’s not the charm doesn’t mean the fourth one won’t be.

Don't you want a bite?

What have we learned? Baking is more of a science and less of an art than I had previously hoped.

My parents offer me the same sage and moderately offensive advice whenever I’m home on a break: “You’d better never stop running.” While I know (or at least I hope) they’re joking, they’re probably right. Without running, I would probably (definitely) be obese. I really do like running and was on Cross Country and Track teams throughout middle and high school. I thought I was over running on a team by college, but I surprised myself by joining the club team here. The Roadrunners (now called “Duke Club Running,” how boring) are an incredibly talented group of runners. I was literally the slowest person on the team – okay, I’m not the fastest runner in the world, but in all my years on Track and XC I was never the absolute slowest. That’s why when I heard about the Krispy Kreme Challenge, I knew I’d finally have my chance to shine.

The Challenge: 2.25 miles there + 12 donuts + 2.25 miles back; < 1 hour, no throwing up

I know. I KNOW. Finally – I could definitely out-eat all of these serious runners; I’ve pretty much been training for a race like this my whole life. (My parents felt a weird balance of pride and disgust.) My preparation consisted of doing nothing, except for running as I normally would. The first time I did it (that’s my subtle way of telling you I did this twice) I ran the first two miles with a guy dressed as a taco, because why would you not if you had the opportunity? The race went exactly as planned. I got destroyed in the running section by my Roadrunner counterparts, so they had about a 5 min head start on eating the donuts. We all somehow found each other in the mass of people and ate together. People had all different strategies – flattening the donuts, rolling them into balls, going for two at once, but not me – the thought of touching the donuts that much with my sweaty hands just did not seem appetizing and I wanted to enjoy my breakfast, so I just ate them normally.

The first six went down easy; I would venture as far as to say almost pleasantly. Seven through ten were a little tougher, and eleven and twelve were just…not…fun. I didn’t let it get me down though – I was the first Roadrunner to head back. The worst part is the glazed sugar that inevitably ends up on your hands and lips. Whenever you lick your lips it’s gross, and whenever you use your hands to try to wipe your lips, it’s grosser.

Sadly, even with my head start on the way back because of my superior eating ability, the other Roadrunners still caught up to me, but I did successfully complete the challenge. Even more importantly, when Runner’s World magazine ran a story about the KKC, I’m the only one who made it in the picture.

Check me out - blue shirt in the middle along the left-most column. I'm basically famous.

I guess my parents can rest easy – I’m forever immortalized in a running magazine, for heaven’s sake! (The fact that it was for a race whose focus is eating is just a delicious detail!)

2400 calories – worth it? Do it.

Brunch is a college student’s best friend (or perhaps just the best thing to do with one’s best friend – a small, but important difference). Why, you ask? It gives you the excuse to sleep in, eat a lot (yea I’m eating all of this. It’s my breakfast AND lunch), an excuse to eat bacon, and save some $ (two meals for the price of one!) – all things which are of the utmost importance. Brunch is so easy, you can even have some people over and do it yourself (my roommate and I have been pushing for Mimaffle Fridays – mimosas + waffles, duh – since the start of the year, but it weirdly hasn’t come to fruition yet.) If you’re not feeling particularly ambitious, however, there are some fantastic brunch places right here in Durham. Below are my top-five.

1. Foster’s  – Foster’s offers a friendly environment and delicious food. It’s pretty popular on the weekends though, so be prepared to wait in line if you don’t get there early. It’s the perfect place to go in the fall or spring (or even right now since we’ve been having a fake winter) so you can sit outside! I usually go for the egg, cheese, and bacon biscuit.
2. Parker and Otis  – I’ve only been to Parker and Otis once – it seemed like the natural way to cancel out the five mile workout my friend and I had just done – but am definitely hoping to go back in the very near future. Parker and Otis has a really fun ambience (similar to Foster’s) and the restaurant itself doubles as a general store! You could find some weird knick-knacks or some interesting wine while waiting for your food to come out. I got eggs and bacon with a cheesy biscuit. (Noticing a trend?)
   

   The biscuit looks sort of sickly with its spots in this picture, but I promise it's just cheese there to add a little something extra to the meal (and your cholesterol)

3. Elmo’s  – As a freshman, Elmo’s was the best respite from our dining plan a girl could ask for. It’s also always very busy, but it’s been an Easter brunch staple for my friends and me three years running. They give incredibly generous portions and the food is always delicious. I usually debate between pancakes and, you guessed it, some combination of eggs, cheese, a biscuit, and bacon – this time, in the form of an omelet.
4. Mad Hatter’s – I got treated to a Mad Hatter’s brunch in exchange for dropping my friend off at the airport. I personally think it was our shared meal before she left for her grad school interview that ultimately led to her acceptance, but I could be wrong. (It would be a first, but I suppose it’s possible.) Like Parker and Otis and Foster’s, Mad Hatter’s has a counter where you order and your food gets brought out to you. I went for a breakfast burrito (you already know about my love of all things salsa related, so this decision shouldn’t come as a shock.) and I loved it!
   

   So much delicious.

5. Nosh – Sophomore year I worried that Nosh’s “eclectic foodstuffs” were a bit too eclectic for me, but I’ve since expanded my palette and have come to love the place, especially considering its convenient location. Clearly the counter-ordering business model is a successful one, because they’ve employed it as well. They have fun board games you can play while you wait (you could learn about outdated Duke trends in Dukeopoly) and my egg, cheese, and bacon biscuit was fantastic and filling!

I know what you’re wondering, and I’ve been thinking about my answer the whole time I’ve been writing this. Be prepared to be disappointed.

We get it. You like eggs, cheese, bacon, and biscuits, you health nut. Which place has the best one? Sorry to be “that girl,” but I honestly don’t have a favorite. They’re all truly fantastic, so you really can’t go wrong. I did just get back from Foster’s though, so my totally biased endorsement currently is definitely in its favor.