This past weekend, a friend and I had the crucial task of bringing appetizers to a family Easter celebration. The average college student presented with this challenge would probably head for the frozen section of Trader Joe’s for taquitos and egg rolls, but we wanted to take the road less traveled. Considering the fact that we’re big fans of the McDonald’s breakfast menu, sorority girls don’t always strive for sophistication and class in our culinary choices. Regardless, we decided that we wanted to make the appetizers ourselves.

We knew that creating an acceptable (and more importantly, edible) dish might be a challenge but we headed off to Whole Foods where we encountered obstacle one.

OBSTACLE ONE: Savory Seduction.

Although we were armed with credit cards and optimism, navigating Whole Foods proved to be a Magellan-worthy challenge. Dangerous distractions in the form of cheese and pita bread samples lurked around every corner. In a matter of minutes the task at hand wasn’t quite dead, but it was certainly on life support. Our honorable appetizer intentions completely fell off the radar when we encountered the aisle of oils. The allure of the shiny, little bottles of black truffle oil, and Napa Valley pear vinegar was more than we could handle. Considering the fact that all girls love pretty things that are overpriced, and contain the word “truffle,” we knew that our cause was not looking good. How would we ever escape this place alive?

Did we succumb to the truffle oil seduction? Yes. But after 15 minutes, we gathered the strength to carry on.

OBSTACLE TWO: What to Make?

With a newly revived focus, and a burst of energy from the Gouda samples, we were ready to shop for ingredients. The fact that we didn’t know what they were going to be yet presented a slight problem. But this issue was resolved in the produce section. Inspired by the fresh fruits and vegetables, my friend suggested we make stuffed tomatoes wrapped in prosciutto. It sounded delicious, clever, and hard to mess up. Perfect.

After we found our ingredients, I’m proud to say we made it out of Whole Foods alive.

OBSTACLE THREE: Navigating the Kitchen.

(I’m going to take an extended pause from my story right now to increase your understanding of the following paragraph. I know that most of you in your early twenties are probably thinking, “What is this thing you call ‘the kitchen?’” Allow me to explain. You know that place where you store your Coors Light and Doritos? Believe it or not, it can actually be used for various food preparation activities including: washing, chopping, mixing and heating.)

When we arrived at our final destination, the kitchen, we had the ominous task of making stuffed tomatoes that looked presentable. While I lack talent in the cooking department, luckily my cohort is a creative visionary. She decided we should half the tomatoes, remove the innards, fill the shells with goat cheese, wrap them in a fold of prosciutto, secure them with toothpicks, and brush the tops of each masterpiece with a basil-olive oil concoction that she would blend in her mini, pink Cuisinart. I must admit I was impressed by her ambition, but I had my doubts. Would we be able to pull this off?

Time was of the essence, and considering our long Whole Foods distraction, we didn’t have a second to waste. With stealth we chopped, we squeezed, we filled, we wrapped, we impaled, we brushed, and finally we finished.

It was a long, arduous journey. There were times when I didn’t think we could do it. There were times when I wanted to give up. But we persevered and ended up with delicious appetizers that didn’t come out of a box encrusted with freezer burn. We were both satisfied with the final product, and I’m proud to report that these appetizers were a hit among the other Easter guests. Martha Stewart would be proud.

In the words of Rachel Ray… “Delish!”