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(Catherine Lamy, Buzz illustrator)

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Bacaro »
Address: 113 N. Walnut St. Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 398-6982
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Ramen noodles and microwave dinners can only keep a college student content for so long. After a few years of dorm food and freeze-dried fare, you begin to yearn for something real to put in your mouth. But how can you make it happen with your limited budget and tiny apartment kitchen?

Thad Morrow, executive chef and owner of Bacaro Wine Bar and Italian Restaurant in downtown Champaign, has compiled a list of ingredients that students can both find locally and, with a willingness to splurge just a little for quality, can afford.

"The idea behind these things," says Morrow, "is that they keep well in your fridge or pantry and you can make a wide variety of things with them."

One dozen eggs

"These should be good quality eggs," Morrow says, "something farm-fresh." You can find farm-fresh eggs at almost any grocery store or at the Urbana Farmers’ Market, which is every Saturday from mid-May to mid-November.

Price: about $4

A hunk of Parmesan cheese

"The real thing," Morrow says. "Not anything that comes in a green bottle." Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap — the less air that touches the cheese, the longer it will stay good — and stick it in your freezer. If sections on the outside become hard or moldy, you can just cut off those sections and use the good cheese inside. Real Parmesan cheese can be found at Lincoln Square’s Art Mart in Urbana, a shop that imports cheese weekly from Italy, France and England.

Price: about $10 for half a pound

Good quality bacon

"And if you’re really serious about it, you can look for some pancetta," says Morrow. Pancetta is Italian bacon — pork belly that has been cured, salted, spiced and then rolled. Unlike bacon, it’s not smoked. However, bacon can be substituted for pancetta in most recipes. Both bacon and pancetta can be found in most grocery stores.

Price: about $5 for a 12-ounce package of bacon,

about $5 for a three-ounce package of pancetta

Two boxes of pasta

Get one box of a short pasta, like penne, and a long pasta, such as linguine or spaghetti, Morrow says. Spaghettini is a good choice because it cooks quickly. "If you come home drunk and you want some pasta, you can just boil some water and have pasta in like five minutes," he says. Good quality pastas can be surprisingly inexpensive. Try Barilla, which for about a dollar per box cooks to an almost foolproof al dente and does not easily become starchy or sticky. Barilla can be found in most grocery stores.

Price: about $2 for two boxes

Two cans of tomatoes

Try to find San Marzano canned tomatoes, which are imported from Italy, Morrow says. Otherwise, almost any brand of canned tomatoes will do. Get one can of crushed tomatoes and one can of whole peeled tomatoes.

Price: about $6 for two 20-ounce cans

Vanilla ice cream

Again, good quality is the most important aspect. Try to find something with natural flavors. Vanilla ice cream, not vanilla flavored ice cream. "You can even go to Jarling’s Custard Cup (in Champaign) before they close for the season, so you can have a nice tub of custard instead of just ice cream," Morrow says.

Price: about $5

Two chocolate bars

One with nuts and one bar of dark bittersweet chocolate. "You can use them to make things, or, you know, if you just want to eat some chocolate ... There you go," Morrow says. Art Mart in Urbana also carries a wide variety of specialty chocolate, although most grocery stores carry high-quality brands such as Ghirardelli and Godiva.

Price: about $8 or less for two bars

One bottle of champagne or sparkling wine

"You don’t have to shell out a bunch of cash for an expensive bottle of champagne," Morrow says. "If you go to Corkscrew — or even Bacaro — in downtown Champaign and let them know what you’re looking for and how much you’re willing to spend, they can usually help you find something really good that’s within your budget." For those whose budgets still don’t allow for champagne, Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine, or Prosecco, which is Italian, are worthy substitutes.

Price: about $35 for champagne or $10 for cava or Prosecco

Other kitchen necessities

"There are some things you should always have around," says Morrow, "like garlic, onions, honey, a good baguette — which you can get from Mirabelle’s Bakery in Urbana — and maybe some English muffins, just because they freeze really well and thaw excellently in the toaster or microwave." Extra virgin olive oil is also a good investment, he says, and if you ask at most grocery stores or at Art Mart, you can get a decent bottle for about $15.

MIX-AND-MATCH

Breakfast

Of course, you can combine some eggs and bacon with an English muffin. You can make scrambled eggs and top it with some salsa and some Parmesan. Or you can do it like the Italians do and poach an egg in canned tomatoes, garlic and onion. Just crush some garlic and chop some onions, sauté them with some olive oil, add the tomatoes and simmer. One-by-one, break eggs into a bowl and slowly slide them into the sauce. Simmer until eggs are cooked and serve with sliced and toasted baguette and grated Parmesan.

Lunch

Keep it simple. Put some olive oil in a pan over low heat and drop in some minced or crushed garlic. (The smaller the pieces of garlic, the stronger the flavor.) Let the garlic soften and infuse the oil, but don’t let the garlic brown. Toss with some cooked spaghetti and top with grated Parmesan.

Dinner

Sauté bacon, sliced into small pieces, with chopped onion and minced or crushed garlic — and some red chili flakes if you want to spice things up — add canned tomatoes, toss with cooked penne or spaghetti, and top with grated Parmesan. Brush or drizzle sliced baguette with olive oil and toast. "Serve it with champagne, and you have a decent enough dinner to serve to your parents when they visit," says Morrow.

Dessert

"Serve the chocolate bars with some of the champagne. Easy dessert," says Morrow.

Or you can top some vanilla ice cream with your melted chocolate. "Melt the chocolate bars in the microwave," he says. "It’s a lot harder to burn chocolate in the microwave than on the stove." Other foolproof dessert ideas: Toast a baguette or some English muffins and top with melted chocolate and honey for a delicious yet simple chocolate sandwich. Pour honey over the vanilla ice cream. Or break off bite-sized pieces of Parmesan and drizzle with honey for cheese dessert.