A Taste of Italy: Dorm Style
How to make Italian tasting cuisine with nothing but a microwave
Hello, fellow dorm room chefs!
Welcome back to another week of “Deliciously Inexpensive Dorm Dish Discoveries.” I hope you’re excited to discuss this week’s theme of food because it is one of my personal favorites and something you wouldn’t expect to be made inside a dorm. Last week was all about sweet treats and chocolate but fasten your seatbelts and secure your passport because today’s post will transport you through a taste of Italy’s finest dishes: pizza and spaghetti! These staple European dishes originated in Italy but I’m here to show you how to prepare them straight from your dorm room microwave. You may be asking yourself, “How do you bake pizza dough with no oven?” Well, stay tuned to find out my unconventional secrets on how to achieve this dormified Italian combo!
Before we begin this voyage through the taste of Italy, I want to start out by warning you that these dishes won’t be the traditional version of spaghetti and pizza. While I tried my best to honor some of the practices and traditions in authentic Italian cuisine, boiling tomato sauce and sautéing onions can get a little tricky inside a dorm. A large part of dorm cooking is becoming innovative and substituting the homemade marinara sauce for a jar of pre-cooked sauce. Some may say that using pre-cooked ingredients is cheating, but I call it a step up from the usual PB&J or ramen. In terms of taste, making your own sauce is the way to go, but it’s hard to whip up a fresh sauce with no access to a hot plate. A microwave would be great for heating up a sauce, but a pan and skillet is needed to char the vegetables and mesh the olive oil and tomatoes together. Some students are brave and sneak their portable skillets past the R.A., but I haven’t worked up the nerve to do this quite yet. For now, I’m going to stick to my microwave, waffle iron, and crockpot and build up to the hot plate (baby steps).
Since I’m unable to show you how authentic Italian pizza and spaghetti are typically made, I thought I’d point out some of the major ingredients and recipe steps we mistake for Italian-style cuisine. Believe it or not, there is a big difference between American-style spaghetti and pizza versus the food served at Italian restaurants.
https://www.mashed.com/30509/eat-spaghetti-like-true-italian/
Now that you know some fun facts about Italian-style cuisine, you can transform your spaghetti and pizza to feature their traditional customs. However, for the cooks that are limited by a dorm room, here are some recipes to get you through the days where you can’t afford Olive Garden or Dominos delivery. Or in my case, these dishes are perfect for pasta lovers like me who wish the cafeteria could make pasta day every day.
Dorm Room “Pita”za
Can you believe there is an alternative to a no-bake crust? I bet you would never guess that your pizza can be made on a piece of ordinary bread. Don’t believe me, check it out down below:
Estimated Cook Time: 5 mins
Ingredients:
1. Pita Bread (I know these are Greek, but this is dorm room cooking, what can you say? I had to get creative)
Or Flour Tortillas for thin crust (If you’re looking for an authentic Italian crust, the tortillas are great for mimicking the cracker-like crust)
Price: $2.50
Price: $2.76
2. Pizza Sauce
Price: $1.66
3. Pepperoni
Price: $2.50
4. Cheese
Price: $2.20
5. Olives
Price: $1.38
6. Mushrooms
Price: $0.88
Price: $1.98
8. Olive oil
Price: $4.76
Instructions:
1. Place pita bread or tortilla on a plate and drizzle olive oil in the middle
2. Microwave for 15-30 seconds
3. Optional step recommended for people using tortillas: If you have a waffle maker or flat iron, you can cook the crust for 1-2 minutes to make it crispy.
4. Drizzle pizza sauce in the middle and spread around. Leave room for a crust on the outer edges
5. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of the sauce
6. Sprinkle cheese, place pepperoni, and add any additional toppings
7. Place in microwave for an additional 15-30 seconds
8. Enjoy!
Dormified “Pita”za
Okay, I’m going to be honest. When I discovered this pita bread alternative on the Web, I thought the recipe was going to be a complete disaster. I kept telling myself “this pita bread is going to be a soggy mess and it’s not going to taste anything like crust.” However, I was pleasantly surprised with how this turned out! It was light, fluffy, and tasted like traditional pizza crust. Finding a no-bake crust is hard to come by, but the pita bread is something you need to consider when trying to make pizza in a dorm. I recommend toasting it in some way, whether it be a waffle iron (sorry, I know I promised to give it a break) or a flat iron press of some sort, to give it a light crunch. As for the sauce and toppings, I thought it was great and I loved being able to customize it to my preference. The toppings I included are completely optional, but the olive oil drizzle and the Italian seasoning give the sauce an herby flavor similar to traditional Italian pizza. This meal was quick and easy to make, and I enjoyed being able to make it on the weekend when the cafeteria wasn’t open. Overall, I would give this dormified pizza an 8 out of 10.
Dorm Room Spaghetti
Most college students assume that you can’t make things like spaghetti because it’s impossible to boil noodles, but I’m here to prove you wrong! Quit buying the soggy pre-cooked noodles in a bag and follow these tips below:
Estimated Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1. Half-Length Spaghetti (I had no idea these noodles existed, but I’m convinced they made them for students cooking in a dorm)
Price: $0.82
Price: $1.00
3. Parmesan Cheese or Shredded Cheese
Price: $2.20
Price: $1.98
5. Salt and pepper (Fun tip: collect the small salt and pepper bags that are given with plastic silverware or provided in your cafeteria if you don’t feel like spending money on salt and pepper shakers)
Instructions:
1. Place half-cut noodles in a microwave-safe bowl and fill with water until it covers the noodles
2. Add a generous amount of salt to the water
3. Microwave four times in 3-minute intervals. Stir between each interval.
4. When noodles are cooked to your liking, drain water from the bowl
5. Place a large spoonful of spaghetti sauce on the top of the dish
6. Add cheese or parmesan if desired
7. Enjoy
Dormified Spaghetti
Like authentic Italian spaghetti, I honored the tradition of not adding meatballs to the dish. However, if this is something you prefer in your spaghetti and you have no way of properly cooking them, you can purchase microwaved meatballs. I prefer shredded cheese rather than parmesan, but I tried to be sparing when adding cheese to the dish. I’m a big fan of cheese, so believe when I say this was hard to do. Overall, I thought it tasted pretty good. It’s not the homemade spaghetti I make in my kitchen, but it does the job. It’s dorm-worthy and great for the days when you’re craving a warm bowl of pasta. If you’re not a fan of spaghetti sauce, this could easily be made into an alfredo with milk, cream cheese, and parmesan. I have made alfredo in my dorm countless times and I can vouch for its tastiness. As for this dish, I would rate it a 7 out of 10. This has been one of my lowest scores, but I’m really spoiled when it comes to a good pasta dish.
Well folks, that’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed these fun recipes, and I can’t wait to see your version of dormified “Pita”za and spaghetti! Next week’s post will be the final post in this series, and we will be going out with a bang, so stay tuned for some exciting recipes next week!
Brianna (your amateur dorm room chef)
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I love seeing your comments! Comment down below and tell me what your favorite pizza topping is. Mine is olives and chicken!
My favorite pizza are toppings are pepperoni, onions, and peppers. I am not sure if you like balsamic vinaigrette, but adding that on top of your pizza is a game changer!
This looks really good! I definitely wouldn't mind giving it a shot. I do love pizza quite a bit, so perhaps one of these days I will try it out. Thanks for sharing!