For Dan Whalen, Comfort Food Is Doubly Tasty

This locally stuffed pasta was an annual holiday tradition of the Whalen family, who purchased large orders of handmade tortellini to go in a special soup served on Christmas Eve. Thousands of pieces of pasta later, Dan Whalen, 30, founder of the blog Thefoodinmybeard.com, decided to take matters into his own hands and make the family favorite himself. Today, Whalens recipe for homemade tortellini is one of 60 stuffed foods featured in Stuffed: The Ultimate Comfort Food Cookbook. While the homemade tortellini soup is arguably one of the tamest dishes in the cookbook, each recipe is easy to follow and clearly described in the tone of a helpful, albeit more gastronomically-gifted, friend. The author, chef and menu designer of Cafe Burrito on Trapelo Road, offers inventions like meat-wrapped corn on the cob (he happened to have all the ingredients on hand and put them together), and mac and cheese-stuffed burgers (another favorite). Stuffed is arranged in six parts with categories like stuffed pasta and rice, stuffed veggies and fruit, and stuffed meats. At first, Whalen had trouble coming up with a complete concept for his cookbook and his first proposal was turned down. After some brainstorming, he realized that the presentation of food was just as important as the food itself. The assembly of stuffing food into other food, he says, helped incorporate all the styles of recipes that he wanted to feature, including signature dishes from Thai, Mexican, and Indian cuisines. His experience blogging gave him a solid base of ideas for his book, but only 20 or so recipes were featured on his blog. The rest are new ideas that he decided to try: Cuban sandwich empanadas, chicken pretzington, and cherry pie-stuffed chocolate cake. Whalen, a Springfield native, studied computer science at Bentley, then worked in IT in Boston and later moved to work in Bermuda with his girlfriend. With little access to the good restaurants and high-quality ingredients found in the states, he started cooking at home and learning to be flexible in the new kitchen. He launched the blog in 2008 as a food diary to help them remember their culinary discoveries while living on the island.
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a Fun College Application Essay Will Be Remembered

There are lots of mind-boggling questions swirling around students' minds, as they hold their pen and wonder what to write for a piece of paper called College Admission Essay. Some of the questions that bother them are the following: what is the style of writing they should adopt for this specific kind of essay, what is the tone to use, and what topic to talk about. The students are really interested in knowing what the admission officers would like to read in a College Application Essay. For them, hitting the bull's eye with their College Application Essay will definitely increase their chances of admission to their desired university. Entrance to a top university is a tough competition that one has to outwit, outplay, and outlast everybody with their creatively written essay.

Writing one's College Admission Essay is not the same as writing a research paper. This means that one's essay should not be formulaic as though one is just stating facts about oneself. There's a tendency for most admission essays to be boring and lifeless if one writes it in the form of research paper. The moment that the admission officers discover that one's writing and essay is a complete drag, they are likely to miss the important details contained in the essay even though the credentials are excellent. The first thing an applicant has to remember is that Admission officers want the essay to be personal and imaginative. The next thing they have to take note of is how to write something personal without making it appear as a lifeless paper. The trick for this is to make the tone of the essay a conversational one. Since one is talking about his life, narrate it in a light humorous tone as though one is talking to another person like a friend. In this way, one will definitely get the focus and the hearts of the admission officers. People should freely express themselves. It is observed that the grammar is not given so much concern because the Admission officers are not reading an essay to find out if the applicant knows about subject-verb agreement. The application essays were created so that the Admission officers will know the applicant's attitude and outlook in life.

The student's goals in writing their College Admission Essay should always be to make it memorable. The applicant should ensure that the readers will peruse the essay from beginning up to the end. One can use witty catch phrases as well as funny stories and jokes as a springboard to start introducing one's topic. Speaking of topics, it is best to stick with personal experiences rather than re-stating one's resume or academic transcripts. Admission Officers are on the prowl to find unique personalities that will blend with the school's standards and environment. They are after the authentic person behind the numbers and statistics i.e. grades. Another thing that the students have to remember in writing College Application Essay is to be original and individual. This means that their writing should reflect the unique individual creature that they truly are. Being creative and imaginative does not really have to be fictional. One's admission essay should be true, honest, and most importantly sincere. The Admission officers can go beyond the beautiful words and detect if it's true or not. Aside from that, Admission officers read thousands of essays, and they can't recall everything they read. Thus, it is the applicant's job to make a real impression on the reader. Make your essay fun and exciting. Don't simply provide a lifeless detailed paper about yourself; instead show them colors and wonders of your personality.