A Different World: The Hillman Dorm Room Starter Kit
The Hillman Dorm Room Starter Kit
For a lot of millennials, A Different World entered our lives before we were old enough to understand half of what was happening at Hillman College. We were babies, toddlers and little kids watching college students navigate friendships, relationships, careers and adulthood. I was not even born at its premiere but was a new born/ toddler myself when the show was still being aired. Still, somehow, Hillman became part of what college looked like in my head.
By the time many of us were actually old enough to go to college, we already knew the assignment! Requirements were dorm rooms full of personality, friends who became family, questionable decisions, big dreams and late-night conversations that solved absolutely nothing and everything at the same time.
So when I had the opportunity to celebrate A Different World on Chattin’ with Chelsea on FOX, I wanted to bring a little Hillman nostalgia into the kitchen. Naturally, I started with food. I asked a simple question. What would a college student actually eat in a dorm room? Not the fantasy version with a four or six-burner stove and fully stocked pantry. I’m talking mini-fridge, microwave, zero to limited counter space and a budget that has absolutely seen better days.
For breakfast, I made a high protein yogurt bowl with fresh berries, granola and honey. Thick Greek yogurt makes it substantial, berries bring freshness and granola gives it crunch. It’s easy, affordable and just elevated enough to make dorm-room breakfast feel like you tried. And yes, presentation still matters. Even in a dorm room.
An iced coffee handles the other essential college food group… caffeine! Then there are the midnight nachos, because no respectable conversation about college food ends at breakfast. Chips, cheese and whatever toppings happen to be living in the mini-fridge can become dinner, a study snack or the meal you make at an hour when nobody should technically be eating nachos. In this case a microwaveable pouch of Spanish rice, seasoned black beans, sour cream and green onions from the university salad bar cafe lol.
That’s what still works about A Different World. Hillman never felt perfect. It felt lived in. We may have been too young to understand everything happening there the first time around, but we grew up with it anyway. It became part of our identity and our version of college.
And decades later, apparently we’re still trying to get into Hillman! Can I please get a full ride?
High Protein Yogurt Bowl made with High Protein Greek Yogurt, High Protein Granola with Almonds, Fresh Berries and Citrus Infused Honey.
For a lot of millennials, A Different World entered our lives before we were old enough to understand half of what was happening at Hillman College. We were babies, toddlers, and little kids watching college students navigate friendships, relationships, careers, and adulthood. I was not even born at its premiere but was a new born/ toddler myself when the show was still being aired. Still, somehow, Hillman became part of what college looked like in my head.
By the time many of us were actually old enough to go to college, we already knew the assignment! Requirements were dorm rooms full of personality, friends who became family, questionable decisions, big dreams, and late-night conversations that solved absolutely nothing and everything at the same time.
So when I had the opportunity to celebrate A Different World on Chattin’ with Chelsea on FOX, I wanted to bring a little Hillman nostalgia into the kitchen. Naturally, I started with food. I asked a simple question. What would a college student actually eat in a dorm room? Not the fantasy version with a four or six-burner stove and fully stocked pantry. I’m talking mini-fridge, microwave, zero to limited counter space, and a budget that has absolutely seen better days.
For breakfast, I made a high-protein yogurt bowl with fresh berries, granola, and honey. Thick Greek yogurt makes it substantial, berries bring freshness, and granola gives it crunch. It’s easy, affordable, and just elevated enough to make dorm-room breakfast feel like you tried. And yes, presentation still matters… even in a dorm room.
Then there are the midnight nachos, because no respectable conversation about college food ends at breakfast. Chips, cheese, and whatever toppings happen to be living in the mini-fridge can become dinner, a study snack, or the meal you make at an hour when nobody should technically be eating nachos. In this case, a microwaveable pouch of Spanish rice, seasoned black beans, sour cream, and green onions from the university salad bar cafe lol.
That’s what still works about A Different World. Hillman never felt perfect. It felt lived in. We may have been too young to understand everything happening there the first time around, but we grew up with it anyway. It became part of our identity and our version of college.
And decades later, apparently we’re still trying to get into Hillman! Can I please get a full ride?
Fried Chicken and Champagne
Southern Fried Chicken with Vintage 2008 Dom Perignon (with Hot Honey Sauce on the side)
Fried chicken? Sure. Champagne? Absolutely. Fried chicken and Champagne? Hell yeah.
There is a special part of the culinary arts devoted to pairings. We see it all the time with wine and charcuterie, steak and red wine, and, where I’m from in the South, even chicken and beer. But what about beloved, crispy, perfectly seasoned fried chicken? What beverage would be so lucky to pair with her? If you ask me, it’s a nicely chilled Brut.
Dare I say rosé.
It sounds a little unexpected until you actually put the two together. Fried chicken is hot, salty, crisp, and rich. Champagne is cold, bright and bubbly, cutting through all of that goodness just in time for you to take another bite. They shouldn’t look this good sitting next to each other, but they do. Champagne gets ceremony. Fried chicken gets a paper towel. I happen to think there is room for both on the same table.
For this particular table, I brought out a bottle of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008 that I bought duty-free in London years ago. And before anyone panics, no, I did not open it with the chicken. Not yet. The 2008 is considered an exceptional Champagne vintage and a bottle made to age, so mine can wait a little longer. Still, I loved seeing a bottle with that kind of history sitting next to a platter of fried chicken. Not because the chicken needed dressing up. It didn’t. One spent years becoming Champagne. The other spent about 14 minutes in hot grease. I respect them equally.
That may explain why this pairing feels so natural to me. I love beautiful restaurants, good china, proper glassware and a thoughtfully set table. I also love fried chicken straight from the pan while I’m still cooking the rest of it. As my world in food has grown, so has my table. Restaurants, travel, chefs, wine, culture, fashion, business, and the stories behind all of it interest me just as much as what is on the plate.
Food has never existed by itself for me. It carries culture, memory, travel, style, business, family, and occasionally a little gossip if you have good friends. It gives us somewhere to gather while all the interesting parts of life happen around it. That is how a plate of fried chicken and a bottle of Champagne became something larger than dinner, and eventually, the perfect name for the kind of table I wanted to create.
So I fried the chicken, chilled the Champagne, and figured we might as well start the conversation.
Welcome to Fried Chicken & Champagne.
The Fish Sandwich, Dressed Up
For a lot of us, our introduction to a fish sandwich came through a drive-thru. Crispy fried fish, a soft steamed bun, a blob of tartar sauce, and, depending on where you ordered it, a half slice of cheese that may or may not have been centered on the sandwich. Nothing fancy was happening, and nothing needed to. The simplicity works.
That’s what I love about classics! A fish sandwich already knows what it came to do. So when I decided to make my own, I wasn’t interested in deconstructing it or serving tartar sauce as a foam on an enormous white plate. I wanted a fish sandwich. I just wanted mine to dress up and have somewhere important to be.
I beer-battered the fish with a cold Stella Artois, put it on a sweet, perfectly toasted brioche bun, and I made the tartar sauce from scratch, of course. It was creamy, acidic, and bright, still doing exactly what tartar sauce has always been hired to do, just in a cuter outfit. Then… things got slightly out of hand.
Black tobiko entered the dressing room and brought little pops of salty texture. The fries got Parmigiano Reggiano and summer truffle because of the salt. And apparently once I started dressing things up, nobody was going home in sweatpants. I even had a perfectly poured Stella Artois alongside it, and suddenly my humble fish sandwich had acquired a passport and a first-class flight across the pond!
Was it still a simple fish sandwich? Absolutely not. Let’s not lie to each other. But it was still unmistakably a fish sandwich, and that’s where elevating a classic gets interesting.
The goal isn’t to see how far you can move away from the original. It’s understanding what made the original work in the first place and then deciding where you have room to play dress-up. Make the sauce yourself. Buy the higher-quality bread. Add the “good” cheese, if you want to. Open the caviar IF it actually makes the bite better. Just be careful not to bury the dish underneath your creativity.
A classic already has a soul. The fun is seeing how beautifully you can dress it without making it forget its own name.
Mine was still a fish sandwich. It had just come a very long way from the drive-thru.
Archives: Muna Luchi Serenade Houston
I was given the amazing opportunity to design an incredible menu fort the Houston Edition of the Muna Luchi Serenade where we celebrated two Houston Couples’ recent Engagements! Chef Cassi’s Table planned an extravagant evening full of culinary surprises. Darryl Moore, the Mastermind of the theme for the Serenade, “Around the World”, executed flawlessly in curating this amazing experience for our beautiful couples. The Five Courses did not disappoint!! Mexico, Italy, France, China and Ireland made for a delectable culinary visit right here in Houston! D’Concierge and 19Eleven Events pulled out all the stops for the amazing Table Scape, but dinner would be not be complete without the mixings and perfect pairings from our very own Mixologist provided by J Martini Services. This breath taking night was so eloquently captured and made into an instant Klasik with a special touch from Klasik Kreatives. They pieced these awesome moments together with perfect photos and videography. I can’t wait for the next one!!
NOW….. PRESS PLAY and enjoy the sightings…. :)
Archives: Bohemian Dinner Party
Ahhhhh... The Summer of 2017! The Bohemian Dinner Party hosted by The Best Life Brand was such an amazing experience. I am extremely honored to have been apart of such an amazing experience. This was the very first time I stepped out and tested my limits! This EPIC dinner party consisted of a three course dinner presentation for 75 eager and hungry guests. The drinks were incredible and the vibe was indescribable! I cant wait to be apart of another magnificent event. Here is some pretty dope video footage from the event.