A Dash of Creativity + Daly’s = Voila
Creating their own recipes, students use their heads to keep stomachs happy

By Kerri Weidler


“Don’t play with your food,” is one rule that doesn’t seem to apply to college
students.

When they were freshmen, senior Kristin DeStefano and her friends used to combine a little something from each of their meals into a cup or bowl, mix it together and put it on the conveyor belt just to see the reaction they got from the Daly’s workers.

“Most of the time, it was the disgusting food that Daly’s made that day that we
would use for our special concoctions,” DeStefano explained.

It’s not unusual to see a group of so-called “adults” throwing food at their friends who are sitting at different tables in Daly’s, or pouring all the salt and pepper on their leftover food — doing almost everything they were told not to do at the dinner table when they were young.

“We always combine different foods at Daly’s and dare each other to try it,” said senior Caroline Kelly. “One time I was dared to eat broccoli and ketchup; it didn’t taste that bad.”

Many students have come up with their own unique Daly’s recipes by playing with their food. And because Daly’s doesn’t always have the best selections, culinary creativity is a must to survive your four years of dining hall food. Almost every student can tell you what he or she does to endure eating the same food on a regular basis.

“I make a salad with sunflower seeds, crispy noodles, croutons and honey mustard dressing, but with absolutely no vegetables,” said senior Laura Johnson. “I made
this so often that if I ever got a traditional salad, my friends would actually ask, ‘is that lettuce in your salad?’”

Another student favorite is using tortillas and grated cheese on the George Foreman Grill to make quesadillas. Some add grilled chicken and top it off with salsa and sour cream for extra flavor. Sticking with the Mexican theme, senior Jess Presuto has her own unique Daly’s recipe. She microwaves chili, cream cheese and grated cheese in a bowl and then eats it with tortilla chips. She even came up with a name for her dish — Presutles.

Another tired student decided to just throw things together in an attempt to add
new life to an old favorite.

“I heard of people putting french fries in their salad,” said senior Esi Sapara-Grant. “I tried it and it actually tastes pretty good.”

The grilled chicken is probably the most used ingredient at Daly’s. You can almost always see someone using the grilled chicken to make their own wraps, chicken sandwiches or adding it to salads. Kelly makes her wraps with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and honey mustard.

“It’s good as long as the chicken that day is all right,” said Kelly. “Plus, the wrap is healthier for you.”

Even dessert is a do-it-yourself course at Daly’s. By mixing Rice Krispies cereal and marshmallows in a bowl and microwaving it, students can get their own Rice
Krispie treat. Instead of using Rice Krispies, one can add Cookie Crisp cereal and marshmallows to make a Cookie Crisp treat.

Making homemade Chipwiches is also becoming increasingly popular. By sandwiching vanilla ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies and covering the sides in Oreo cookie crumbs, senior Janine Vasconcelos makes her own Chipwich instead of overpaying for one in the C-store.

In all fairness students should also be warned about the not-so-good food choices
what should be avoided at all cost in the dining hall.

“The worst thing I ever ate at Daly’s was the macaroni and cheese,” said DeStefano. “I get indigestion just thinking about it.”

According to Sapara-Grant, although the choices in Daly’s are repetitive, the menu
is not as bad as some students make it out to be.

“It could be worse,” she said.

Next time you’re in Daly’s and there is nothing to eat, don’t be afraid to try something different — how about a lettuce-less salad?

“You gotta make the best out of what you got,” said Kelly.

Have your own Daly's creation? Tell us by sending an e-mail to ridernews@rider.edu. The five best creations will be posted on the Rider News Web site. To check out the results, log on to http://www.rider.edu/ridernews.