The common clothes iron is the college student’s secret weapon for cooking on campus.
Chef BJ Whitmore shared this tip and many others with students on Monday, Nov. 14 during the “Beyond Ramen and Pizza Rolls” cooking class.
Whitmore taught students that grilled cheese sandwiches can be made in a matter of minutes by turning an iron to the cotton or linen setting, wrapping the bread in heavy duty aluminum foil and then pressing the iron to the foil.
Freshman Kara Nonnemacher was impressed with the idea of cooking with an iron.
“The iron trick was phenomenal,” Nonnemacher said. “We learned a lot of useful tips for dorm room cooking; nothing fancy, but basic skills that will enable anyone to be a chef.”
Other tips from the cooking class included penny pinching at the grocery store, proper cutting technique and cooking a variety of foods using common dorm room appliances.
“Chef gave me some new ideas to steal as a fellow chef,” said freshman Joseph Gray.
Microwave chicken teriyaki, spicy slow cooker black bean soup and no-bake peanut butter bars were a few of the recipes Whitmore gave students.
“I liked how the cooking was simple,” said junior Mario Garcia. “You don’t need to use complex ingredients to make a good meal.”
Freshman Jose Martinez also liked the idea of using ingredients that are easily accessible to cook.
“I think it is amazing how you can use little ketchup packets and sugar packets to make the sauce for chicken teriyaki,” Martinez said.
Chef BJ hopes to offer more cooking classes for students in the spring.
“I always say one of the benefits of working at the Cafe is you learn how to make more than Ramen before you leave,” Whitmore said. “Why limit it to just the people who work at the Cafe?”
