Due to popular demand, here is my famous Christmas Cracker recipe, also known as “Christmas in a Bite”! This tasty treat is quick and simple to prepare, combing all the wonderful flavors of a Christmas dinner into one. It’s a perfect festive appetizer for your holiday parties (or a great vehicle for your leftovers…)!

Need:

• One long French baguette, sliced into inch-thick rounds
• Cranberry sauce (canned or homemade)
• Stuffing (I used an instant mix but you can get fancy with homemade)
• Brie cheese, sliced

Preparation:

1. Arrange the bread slices on a cookie sheet, and toast them in an oven set at 400 degrees until golden
2. Generously spread cranberry sauce onto each round
3. Top with stuffing and add a slice to brie to each
4. Serve immediately~ Enjoy! Merry Christmas everyone!

Welcome to Europe, where the simple act of eating may cost you an arm and a leg: and that is before calculating the exchange rate! With the euro demolishing the dollar and both economies in major slumps, it can be difficult for students to navigate the shops when deciding how to eat on a budget while saving their hard-earned cash for travels.

Fear not- my roommates here in Ireland and I have the solution! Here is a culmination of our favorite recipes that we have made thus far during our abroad experience. We are firm believers that food is the best way to bring people together- there is nothing that compares to good conversation with good friends over a plate of something delicious. Meals need not be fancy and expensive to be delectable. All you need are a few ingredients, some friends with appetites, a bottle of (cheap) wine, and a little love to create the perfect dinner party. 

Chicken Parmesan

One of our favorite meals, this is a simple dinner party dish that can be made in large or small quantities! Goes great with garlic bread and a side salad.

Need:

2 chicken breasts (more depending on party size- we usually do one breast per two diners)

Bread crumbs

1 Egg, cracked and mixed on a large plate

Bottle of marinara sauce

Spaghetti

Cheese! Parmesan is preferable

Preparations:

1. Pound out chicken breasts until they are flattened 2. Dip them in the egg, coating both sides evenly 3. Take the breast and dip in bread crumbs, evenly coating each side 4. Quickly fry the breast in a hot pan until breadcrumbs seem to adhere, lightly browning 5. Pour some sauce in a large, oven-safe pan and place each breast in the pan. Cover with the rest of the sauce 6. Top with cheese and put in the oven, baking it at 250 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through 7. Prepare spaghetti according to package 8. Top pasta with cooked chicken and sauce and ENJOY!

Bruschetta

This Italian classic makes the perfect appetizer!

1. Chop tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella up into small pieces 2. Mince the garlic 3. Stir all ingredients together with a generous dollop of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle in some salt and pepper (or Italian seasoning if you have it!) to taste 4. Slice the baguette (we like French bread or sourdough) and lightly butter or brush with olive oil 5. Toast bread in the oven until browned 6. Spoon the mixture on top of the bread and serve!

Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the cheapest foods to buy here in Ireland. We chose the small salad type to prepare one of the greatest comfort foods.

1. Wash the potatoes thoroughly 2. Chop into large chunks and drop into a boiling pot of water 3. Boil until a fork stuck through one piece comes out smoothly 4. Drain water from the pot 5. Mash! Mix in whatever you like: we usually do minced garlic, salt, butter, and milk. Other ideas include bacon pieces, chives, green onion, and cheese. 

Enchiladas

Missing San Diego and the amazing Mexican food it offers, we whip these up when we are in need of a dose of fiesta from home. We usually serve these with Spanish rice and sliced avocados on the side. Some grocery stores sell kits! If on sale, these make a good deal. But if not, just buy the ingredients separately- can be much cheaper!

Need:

Package of tortillas

Mexican/fajita/taco seasoning

Chicken or beef or cheese (to fill)

Cheese (for the top)

Some type of enchilada sauce

Bell pepper

Onion

Avocado

Preparations:

1. Cook the meat well (For shredded chicken, boil chicken breasts until no longer pink. Drain water and shred the chicken using forks) 2. Chop up the vegetables 3. Roll tortillas up with meat, cheese, and veggies inside according to preference 4. Lay filled tortillas on a pan and cover with enchilada sauce and cheese 5. Bake at 250 degrees Celsius for about 5 minutes or until tortillas slightly brown and cheese melts 6. Fiesta!

Other great tips:

-Sauté your favorite vegetables in a pan with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and add to pasta or cous cous or eat on their own

-Whip up a salad with all the leftover vegetables in the fridge. Add hard boiled eggs or cold chicken for protein

-Whatever you do, take time to enjoy your food! Sitting down with a good book or good friends are my favorite ways to eat.

Every night when we sit down to dinner, the smell of olive oil and oven smoke clinging to our hair and woven through the fabric of our clothes, my roommates and I applaud ourselves on yet another culinary achievement. Our kitchen is caught in a flurry most evenings as us four girls take our new-found chef skills for a spin; pasta boiling on the stove, chicken baking in the oven alongside a pan of sliced potatoes, a medley of vegetables sautéing in a frypan. Often accompanied by a varied playlist to satisfy all of our musical appetites, we cook. Whatever happened during the day, whatever trials and tribulations we may face, no matter the scale, they all seem to fall by the wayside as dinnertime comes around.

Answering the call of our stomachs, we gather ingredients at the English Market in Cork city center, a wonderful market brimming with stalls selling only the freshest and finest of fare. Some of our favorite finds include fresh baked Irish stone ground wheat bread, pizza dough, Cajun-seasoned chicken breasts and kabobs, and one chocolate birthday cake. Do not get me started on the abundance of beautifully decorated pastries displayed temptingly on the counters! After supplementing our goods with a few necessities from Tesco, the local grocery store, we somehow find a way to puzzle-piece four people’s perishables into one tiny refrigerator.

While most of our evenings find us dining together yet cooking our own meals, my favorite nights involve a collaboration of skills, tastes, and fixings as we prepare a delicious dish together. From chicken parmesan to pizza to mashed potatoes to enchiladas, we have conquered the exploration of many a culture through food, constantly surprising ourselves with just how good we can make ‘em!

Though I have been cooking since I could stand alongside my mom in the kitchen, I haven’t cooked for myself as much as I would have liked to while in college. My hectic schedule often sent me scurrying from class to Kappa meetings to Bible study to the library, and the ease of a meal in the SLP just a swipe away kept me from the kitchen more nights than I wanted. Here, my blissfully empty days leave me with plenty of time to cultivate my passions: not just for writing, but for food.

A meal shared with another is one of the best ways to nurture a relationship. You can learn so much from another person through what they like to eat and the conversation that a good dish (or even a bad one!) inspires. Cooking with my roommates here has made me three new, close friends. Already bonded by the adventure we call “studying abroad” in Ireland, our dinners together offer an atmosphere where walls crumble down and honesty plays alongside humor, providing us with a comfortable place to simply share life with one another. Along the way, we teach each other new cooking styles, learn an appreciation for new foods (thanks to Megan I now enjoy mushrooms and artichokes, and Sam has me eating my veggies almost every night!), hear stories from childhoods brought on by a recipe straight from Mom’s kitchen, and maybe even break a dish or two. No matter what the adventure may bring, it always leaves our stomachs full, our hearts closer, and our kitchen an absolute mess. I wouldn’t trade these meals for one dish at the finest of restaurants in Cork! Well, maybe just one. Maybe.