Eliot Flannery shows some of the recipes he made in his rice cooker with the help of Karin Calloway as part of his senior project. He said he plans on doing a lot of cooking in his dorm at Rice University in Houston in the fall. JENNIFER BRUNO/STAFF

Dorm-room gourmet

Web posted August 2, 2000

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By Karin Calloway
Special Columnist

For many college students, dorm-room dining means late-night pizza delivery and microwave popcorn. But with a few small appliances, utensils and recipes, your rising coed could become a dorm-room gourmet.

In May I received an e-mail from Eliot Flannery, a graduating senior at Augusta Preparatory Day School. Eliot had been accepted to Rice University in Houston and wanted to learn how to cook in his dorm room. He also planned to use the information he learned as his senior project at Prep.

Already armed with a handy rice cooker, Eliot and I spent the better part of three days together shopping, chopping and developing dorm-room recipes.

Much to my amazement, an electric rice cooker is a versatile kitchen appliance. It not only cooks a perfect batch of rice but can also be used to boil pasta, cook up a stew, make an omelet, pancakes and even bake a cake. Prices range from $14.99 to $39.99, depending on size and features.

Eliot has exotic tastes and loves ethnic and vegetarian foods. His ``homework'' one evening was to prepare a three-bean stew recipe, adapting it to the rice cooker. The recipe can be simmered on top of the stove instead of in a rice cooker.

Visit Karin Calloway's Quick Cooking recipe archive

The stew is a combination of fresh and canned ingredients. Chopped onions and carrots are sauteed in a bit of vegetable oil. Then cans of corn, chopped green chiles and three varieties of beans are added. The stew is seasoned with salt, pepper and a bit of vinegar.

The stew can be rolled in flour tortillas one evening, then served over rice another.

Rice cookers cook in cycles. First, they heat up and bring whatever liquid is in the cooker to a boil. Then, the heating function automatically cuts off, and the ingredients in the cooker gently simmer. To get the cooker to heat up, you simply push down the ``rice cook'' lever.

OMELETTES: Making an omelette in a rice cooker is as simple as beating two eggs and pouring them in. If you want vegetables in your omelette - green bell-pepper cubes and sliced mushrooms, for example - add them with the eggs.

Push ``rice cook'' and allow the eggs to cook until it switches to ``keep warm.'' Sprinkle half of the omelet with grated cheese and carefully remove from the cooker and fold over. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

PANCAKES: To make pancakes, heat the rice cooker while you whip up the batter. Add ¨ cup of batter to the cooker. Cook two minutes on one side, then flip and cook one minute on the other. This makes a nice, big 4-inch pancake, and leftover batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

We even prepared a small cake in Eliot's rice cooker. A small Jiffy Cake Mix, prepared according to package directions, took 20 to 25 minutes to bake.

Eliot's 3-bean stew

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup sliced carrots

2 jalapenos, chopped (optional)

10 ounces frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained, or 1 can of corn, drained

1 16-ounce can black beans, undrained

1 16-ounce can red kidney beans, undrained

1 16-ounce can chickpeas, undrained

1 4-ounce can diced green chilies

1 tablespoon balsamic or sherry wine vinegar

Salt and black pepper to taste

Place the vegetable oil in the rice cooker and press ``rice cook.'' Add the onion and carrots and saute until tender. Add the jalapenos (if using), corn, beans and their juices, and chilies and simmer on ``rice cook'' for 20 minutes. Add vinegar and simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, wrapped in flour tortillas or over rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Note: The recipe also can be prepared in a saucepan on the stove.

Sandwiches and salads

Are sandwich suppers your claim to fame? E-mail Karin at karingca@aol.com by Friday with your family's favorite way to build a better sandwich. Include your name and city, and she'll include your special sandwich in her column next week.

Karin is also seeking unique salad ideas. Please e-mail your special salad tips to her by Friday, Aug. 11.

Crockpot rice

Last week's recipe for crockpot jambalaya called for parboiled rice - a term unfamiliar to some cooks. Parboiled rice is a type of long-grain rice that's less starchy and holds its shape better when exposed to longer cooking time. The most common brand is Uncle Ben's.

Karin Calloway is a Web chef for Viking Range Corp. (www.vikingrange.com) and a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. You can write her in care of Newsroom, The Augusta Chronicle, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, Ga. 30913. Or send her an email to karingca@aol.com.