These are a few of my favorite things.

I cook a lot in my dorm. I used to cook a lot more, but now I'm busier. Anyway, this is the best thing I've cooked in my dorm. I wish I'd taken a picture of the appetizers, the mushroom tarts were delicious! The only thing I would change about them is the color, because they were a little bland looking--ok, they looked like beige mush. Using fresh mushrooms would probably improve that, but there weren't any around.

The farmer's market really sucks in Baltimore. I don't care how many people say Waverly is awesome (and apparently it's the best in the city): it sucks. Every vendor is selling the same thing. The only good thing I can say about it, is that it has nice cheeses and good cooked foods. But don't go there expecting good quality, reasonably priced fresh produce.

On to the best dorm meal. We started with brie cheese and granny smith apples (my friend didn't like apples so she brought crackers). I thought baked brie was overkill considering how much food was to come. I will post my mom's baked brie recipe later, though, because it is delicious.

After the cheese we moved onto...

Creamy Mushroom Tarts

You will need:

• Puff pastry cups
• Olive oil
  
• 2 cups mushrooms (I used canned)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 small shallot
• Salt and pepper
  
• 1 can condensed milk (I used low fat)
• fresh dill (sprinkling on top)

Thaw pastries and bake according to directions. Cook garlic and shallot over low heat, then add mushrooms and cook until soft. Salt and pepper. Add the milk and reduce, reduce, reduce.

I think adding cheese to this would be nice, or some kind of acid... It's very, very rich. Anyway, put in cups and sprinkle with dill.

THEN THE MAIN DISH. Steak with a rosemary cabernet sauce, green beans (from farmer's market) with caramelized onions, and garlic mashed potatoes (my friend brought them, from a box).


I won't say much about the steak, because honestly it's just a steak. The sauce is just carrots and more mushrooms (half-cooked in the microwave with four cloves of whole garlic tossed in the steamer, then soaked in wine with rosemary for about half an hour), then cooked in the pan after the steak. Add more wine, reduce, and voila! Sauce! It was done just as the steak was finished resting.

So, there it is! The best dormitory meal ever. Oh, and we had Dominion for dessert. I didn't have time to bake anything AND go shopping AND cook!