Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Sisterly Love of Food ~ Alpha Chi Omega-style

So this past weekend, I was feeling a bit nostalgic for my college days, and especially for the time I spent in the lovely Alpha Chi Omega, Gamma Chapter Sorority on NU's campus. I think the fond memories were sparked by a recent trip to the grocery store, where I happened upon the cereal aisle, and once there happened upon the box of Golden Grahams cereal.  I seriously thought that they didn't make Golden Grahams anymore, but thank goodness I was proven wrong.  So I put the box of golden loveliness in my cart, and I remembered that I had some ingredients at home including chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows.  With these sweet items in mind, I started to reminisce about my sorority girl days as an "Alpha Chi," the friendships, the sisterhood, the bonding experiences, Chapter dinners, living in the Quad with JoMama, Curly, & Jen, or the Bowling Alley which barely was lived in (right, Jo? tee hee), or rooming with Crazy in the room all the way down the hall on the 3rd floor, Winter Rush, the frat parties, the trips to the Keg, the Monday nights during senior year at Nevins, and quite fittingly the comforting "homemade" food made for us sisters by dear Iola, the House's cook de cuisine.

Iola made Monday Night Chapter meals at the House really special.  She had a way with taking "Mom's" classic recipe and making it as lovingly as "Mom" would and have enough to feed nearly 50+ girls all with varying tastes, and yet succeed in all feeling wonderfully satisfied with the puff pastry chicken or the tri-delt chicken or the chicken gerbils (or were they hamsters) or the Amy's chicken sausage & pesto pasta, and other culinary creations...Apparently, we Alpha Chi gals liked our chicken, though.  But one standout recipe that always has me thinking of the House that was such a special treat were the Golden Graham S'mores Bars that Iola made.  So simple in terms of ingredients but so profound in terms of the joy that each member's face showed with every delicious bite taken of these sweet treats.  Although I never got a chance nor thought at the time to take down my favorite Alpha Chi recipes including the S'mores Bars recipe, I did a quick search for one that might do the trick since I happened upon the box of Golden Grahams and other ingredients I had handy, and here's what I found courtesy of a recipe on Betty Crocker's website:

Ingredients:
  • 1 box of Golden Grahams (approx. 8 cups)
  • 1 bag (10.5 oz) of mini-marshmallows (approx. 5-1/2 cups)
  • 1-1/2 cups of milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet to cut the super sweetness of the recipe~ha!
  • 5 TB of unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup of light corn syrup
  • 1 tsp. of vanilla
Basically do the following to yield a delicious, nostalgic treat:
  • Grease a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter
  • Place the (8) cups of Golden Graham cereal in a large bowl & set aside
  • Set aside 1 cup of mini-marshmallows to sprinkle into the mixture at the end of assembly
  • In a sauce pan, on LOW heat, melt together the butter, chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows (4-1/2 cups), light corn syrup, & vanilla
  • Pour the melted sweet sauce onto the cereal and mix thoroughly, though gently & add the remaining cup of mini-marshmallows
  • Spread the mixture into your greased baking pan and pat down with the back of a buttered wooden spoon and let it cool for about 1 hour before cutting out gorgeous bars of goodness.
  • ENJOY!
Here's a look at how my Little Miss E & I  put it all together...








Perhaps this recipe is not exactly the way Iola made it for the Alpha Chis, but goodness it sure tasted memorable!  I especially love that my Little Girlies & the Dude love these special treats as much as I do.  Although their fondness for them doesn't stem back to fun & crazy sorority life at Alpha Chi Omega ~ Gamma Chapter, my family's love of them is just as sweet.  And to my Alpha Chi Sisters from 637 University Place, thanks for the sweet memories we created together on NU's campus, while enjoying Iola's take on our yummy GG S'mores Bars! You know the letters that should follow here.... :) 

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