By: Hyde Moua

One of the best dishes to try in Minnesota is the “Jucy Lucy”, which is a burger with melted cheese in the patty. Matt’s Bar & Grill was just a neighborhood burger eatery in 1954, but shortly after they opened they created the famous “Jucy Lucy”. “Jucy Lucy ” got its name after a customer in 1954 said “Oooh, that’s one juicy lucy!” after taking a bite out of the burger. “Jucy Lucy” is typically made with two beef patties, spices, American cheese, and brioche buns. The “Jucy Lucy” can be bought for $9.75 at Matt’s Bar and Grill in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The second best dish to try in Minnesota is the “Tater Tot Hotdish”. One of many places to try the “Tater Tot Hotdish” is at a restaurant called Stray Dog for $16. A typical “Tater Tot Hotdish” would be made of ground beef, topped with tater tots and flavored with thick cream of mushroom soup sauce, or ground beef, green beans, tater tots, and melted cheese. This dish was invented during the Great Depression to create a more filling meal. The origins of the “Tater Tot Hotdish” is found in the Upper Midwest of Minnesota and the very first printed recipe of the Hotdish was found in a cookbook, This cookbook was distributed in 1930 and was spread throughout the community of Mankato, Minnesota.

The third best dish to try in Minnesota is “Walleye”. This fish is known for its mild, delicate flavor, flakey texture and is often in many traditional Minnesota dishes. One of many places to try “Walleye” is at Tavern On Grand. where many people recommend trying out the dish they serve. Tavern On Grand was opened in 1990 by a man named David Wildmo and they serve up to 2,000 pounds of walleye per week! Typically, you would eat “Walleye” with lemon wedges, tartar sauce, coleslaw, wild rice, herbs, and seasoning. All of these can enhance the experience without overpowering the flavor of the walleye itself.

By: Calla Fragassi

For spring break, people traveled all over the world to get a break from the harsh winter and stress of work and the school year. These are some of the most popular spring  break destinations.

1. Cancun

Coming in at number 1 is Cancun. This is no surprise due to its warm weather and perfect beaches for tanning and swimming. The main tourist area in Cancun is called Zono Hotelera, which is where the most popular resorts in the city are located. It is known for being the “all-inclusive spring break capital of the world”, and is the perfect place to spend a couple days or whatever time you have!

2. Hawaii

Hawaii features many different islands that all offer different activities and sights. The marine life and breathtaking views are just two of the many highlights of the islands that draw people there. Swimming with whales, dolphins, turtles and other animals is a serene way to embrace your time in Hawaii. Make sure to stop by a traditional luau to see the different cultures of indigenous peoples in Hawaii come to life through food and dancing!

3. Costa Rica

In recent years, traveling to Costa Rica has become a popular destination for people during spring break. Similar to other tropical countries, Costa Rica offers stunning scenery and beaches, and is famous for their many national parks like Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja, which features some of the tallest and most active volcanoes in Costa Rica. There are over 500,000 different species of wildlife, and it is one of the happiest countries in the world. Costa Rica is full of different activities for people of all ages and can give anyone the vacation of their dreams!

4. Jamaica

Jamaica is known as the “Heart of the Caribbean” to many, and has something for everybody. The nation’s tropical climates and vibrant culture is bound to give you an experience and a trip you will never forget. The beaches on the coasts of the island are one of the main attractions with endless water activities from taking boat tours, to jet skiing or parasailing. If you’re looking for relaxation and adventure, Jamaica is the perfect spring break destination for you!

5. Miami

If you’re looking to stay in the country for your spring getaway, the most popular city during March and April is Miami, Florida. Miami is famous for its beaches, rivers, parks and bays that set you up for a perfect vacation. Miami Beach, South Beach, and North Beach are some of the more popular spots known for their incredible blue waters, and perfect sand for beach volleyball, tanning or any other activities you want to do while soaking up the sun. The boardwalk is also the perfect place to splurge your money and buy souvenirs!

Each of these amazing places have something different to offer, whether it’s relaxation or adventure. Be sure to reference this when planning out your next trip, and I hope you had a great break no matter where you were!

By: Austin Bailey-Zimmerman

This is by far the best edible cookie dough recipe I have ever tried. It isn’t grainy at all, it’s smooth and there is just the right amount of chocolate.

I got this recipe off of Pinterest from the Corrigan Sisters. Their page is all delicious desserts you can also try. You can use this dough for anything really. You can freeze it into balls and eat that as a dessert, you can put little chunks of it into your ice cream, or you could just eat it by the spoonful!

I made this recipe with my friends because we wanted a sweet dessert, but we didn’t have any, so we took the simple ingredients it takes to make this and we made it in 10 minutes! It’s very quick and easy. We were very satisfied with our results, so we ate all of it while watching a movie. This recipe isn’t very specific to a season, you can eat it whenever, and wherever you want! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups of flour
• 1⁄4 cup milk
• 1⁄2 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Gather ingredients
2. Microwave butter for 30 seconds to soften
3. Combine sugar, butter, salt, flour, vanilla extract, and milk in a medium sized bowl
4. When all mixed together, add chocolate chips
5. Optional: roll into balls and freeze for later!
6. Enjoy!!

By: Cleo Newton

1. The Art Institute of Chicago
This art museum is a great place to view many different artworks, writings, and is also a great place for research. The Art Institute of Chicago has artworks such as, “The Bedroom” made by Vincent Van Gogh in 1889, “Water Lilies” made by Claude Monet in 1906, and “The Old Guitarist” which was made in late 1903 and early 1903.

Tickets here are around $19 to $25. Last time I visited Chicago, my mom and I had planned on going here but we didn’t find time to do it.

2. Willis Tower
The Skydeck Experience is a fun activity to do here. It includes an interactive museum, and it’s both fun and educational. After that, you ride a huge elevator up to the 103rd floor. There you can take pictures in a glass ledge that overlooks the city and take pictures.

As fun as that last part sounds, I don’t recommend doing this on a rainy or cloudy day because the 103rd floor is pretty much in the sky and you won’t be able to see anything through clouds. Also, lots of people like getting their pictures taken here, so be prepared to wait in line for a while.

3. Buckingham Fountain
If you don’t want to spend money on anything, you should go see the Buckingham Fountain. It’s totally free and it’s very beautiful. This fountain is very large, and is located in Grant Park. I recommend visiting it at night because that’s when they turn on the lights to the fountain.

Last time I went, I didn’t have enough time to stay around until night time to see the lights, but next time I go, I’ll make sure to set aside time to do this.

4. Millennium Park
Millennium Park is near the Buckingham Fountain. It’s a great park for both kids and adults. According to Choosechicago.com, It has lots of green space and many activities such as ice skating, rock climbing, and it also has the Cloud Gate statue (a giant silver bean).

Although, last time I was there, that giant bean statue was closed, and I don’t know when it’s going to open or if it’s already opened again.

5. Chicago Children’s Museum
If you’re traveling to Chicago with a kid, Chicago Children’s Museum is a good place to visit. This museum has an art studio where you can make clay sculptures, a place called the Pritzker Playspace, and a tinkering lab where you can build buildings made of cardboard.

They are open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 10am-2pm and Friday through Sunday, 10am-5pm. I’ve never been there before but I think it would be fun, even if I’m not a little kid anymore.

By Addie Strack and Sophie Johnson

When we are looking for good food in St. Paul, one of our favorite places to go to is Raising Canes. They have arguably the best fast food chicken, and an amazing lemonade as well. If we can’t agree on a restaurant to go to, we always know that Canes will end up being our destination.

Our favorite thing to get from Canes is the three chicken finger meal which includes three chicken fingers, one piece of perfectly toasted Texas toast, crinkle cut fries and their signature sauce called Canes Sauce. This meal is a 10/10 because the sauce adds so much delicious flavor to both the fries and the chicken and even the toast. The only thing that is bad about this meal is that it doesn’t come with enough sauce. If it came with two sauce cups, that would be the perfect amount. This meal is affordable with a price of $9.23 and will keep you full throughout the day.

The box combo is another menu item at Raising Canes that we really enjoy. This one is slightly more expensive at a price of $10.99 and includes all the items in the three finger combo and more. It includes four chicken fingers, crinkle cut fries, one piece of Texas toast, a container of coleslaw, as well as a fountain drink. This meal is still pretty affordable and has a good price for the amount of food you are getting. This meal is our second favorite out of all the meal combos at Raising Canes but we would still rate this meal a 10/10.

When deciding which Canes to go to in our area, we agree that our favorite location is the one in Rosedale. This Canes has some of the best service, and their food is always served fresh and hot. We have been there countless times, and never get tired of it. We usually both order the three finger chicken meal, because you can never go wrong with it. Neither of us have ever had a bad experience at this Canes, and agree that it is very convenient, because it has not only a sit down space, but a drive through as well. If you are in a rush, it’s the perfect place to stop to grab a quick substantial meal.

Another great Canes location in the area is the one on Lake Street, in Minneapolis. This location has a drive through like the one in Rosedale, making it another great place to go if you don’t want to get out of your car in this cold weather. This location also has great service, and their employees make your experience very fun. Last time we stopped at this Canes, the employee in the drive through had made his own jingle for the restaurant and sang it to us. He said “Yo yo yo can I get you some chicken to go?” This made us laugh, and enjoy our food even more, because we were having a great time. Either of these locations are great, and we would definitely recommend stopping in.

What we are trying to say is that we think if you like chicken, Canes is the place to go. They have the basics, and meet all our needs, and probably yours too. Our only recommendation is to order extra sauce, because you will want to put it on everything! Of course, we would give Cane’s chicken a rating of 10/10, and we would never get sick of it!

By: Judah Gregory

With the holiday season wrapping up and us going back to the regular non-seasonal food, it would be a good idea to go over my personal top Christmas/Thanksgiving foods of this year.

7. Twice baked potatoes

With my number seven spot I chose twice baked potatoes because they are first off, my favorite form of potatoes other than French fries, but also that it is basically an oven stuffed potato but more crispy with the extra stuff that is usually put into it like bacon, chives, sour cream, and other things. It’s definitely one of my favorite Christmas foods.

6. Ham

Ham would be higher on my list if it was made honey glazed, typically but usually, the ham is smoked so it isn’t really the sweet flavor that I prefer on ham that’s made during Thanksgiving. I also liked smoked ham because of the salty flavor that’s already in it when it gets smoked.

5. Yams

One of my favorite sweet things over both the holidays are yams. Candied usually is how they are made, but this year we used lemon juice, orange juice and the zest for the yams that made them really good. We also make brown sugar bark that goes onto the yams to add another texture to them.

4. BBQ ribs

Usually, I wouldn’t put ribs on this list but since I had them for the first time this year, and they were really good, I decided to put these on my list. I don’t know how they were made specifically but ribs are just good in general.

3. Oxtails

Oxtails are definitely a top three on this list because of how they are made. Depending on how they are made they can come out way different, but marinating them for at least a day makes sure that they hold all the flavor, because you braise them in beef broth and water for at least an hour and a half before they are tender enough.

2. Lobster mac ‘n cheese

This is an easy second choice for me here because I like lobster and adding it to baked mac ‘n cheese is already going to make it better. Overall, it’s just easy to make and tastes great so it’s an easy two.

1. Brisket

For my number one it’s brisket since it can be used in so many different foods after it’s cooked. Usually, it’s made smoked but you can also grill a brisket as well. It takes a long time to cook so the meat comes out really tender and it has a good bark to it that adds a different, almost a little burnt, smokey flavor but isn’t bad.

By: Natalia Gercheva & Persephone Pond

Have you noticed that when the holiday season rolls around, there is a much larger variety of Hershey’s Kiss flavors available? This article will go over the different kinds, and our opinions on which ones are the best.

The original Hershey’s Kisses are available year round, but they get special packages for the holiday season. There are 6 other holiday flavors that Hershey’s releases during this time of year, which are: Candy Cane, Sugar Cookie, Cookies and Cream, Cherry Cordial, Hot Cocoa, and Mint Truffle.

The original Hershey’s Kisses have the basic milk chocolate flavor, and are always a favorite among large crowds. The classic taste makes for a lovely treat. Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses are a white chocolate based kiss with red stripes of candy cane flavoring, and little crunches of candy cane inside. These also seem to be a favorite, and are classics in many families for the holiday season. These are packaged with small candy canes on the wrappers.

Sugar Cookie kisses and Cookies and Cream kisses are both white chocolate based like candy cane, with different flavors. Sugar Cookie kisses have a sweet and artificial flavor of a sugar cookie with chunks of colorful cookie inside. Cookies and Cream has chunks of cookie that add a wonderful texture to the kiss. The Sugar Cookie wrappers are decorated with stars, hearts, Christmas trees and ornaments, and the Cookies and Cream kisses are packaged with wrappers decorated with small snowmen.

Cherry Cordial, Hot Cocoa, and Mint Truffle are the filled Hershey’s Kisses, and Mint Truffle has a dark chocolate base while the other two are both milk chocolate. Mint Truffle has a very strong taste and smell of mint, and the flavor between the creamy filling and the dark chocolate is a perfect balance. These wrappers are decorated with snowflakes. Hot Cocoa kisses have a creamy marshmallow filling that balances with the chocolate very nicely, and the wrappers are decorated with marshmallows. Cherry Cordial has a more runny filling, staying true to classic cordial cherry truffles. The smell and flavor is very strong cherry, but it’s a wonderful balance. These are decorated with small pictures of cherries.

Overall, these flavors are delicious, and help bring variety to Hershey Kisses during the holiday season. Our final ratings (with notes) are:

7. Sugar Cookie: 4/10
● Silly positive wrapper, crunchy bits not evenly distributed, love the crunch, too sweet and artificial

6. Original: 6.5/10
● Nothing special, basic wrapper

5. Cherry Cordial: 7.5/10
● Strong smell, not quite red, very overwhelming flavor

4. Candy Cane: 8/10
● LOVE the little crunchy bits, like the pattern, pretty and fun wrapper

3. Hot Cocoa: 8.5/10
● Nice simple wrapper, creamy filling, good ratio of filling to chocolate, maybe not the most distinct flavor

2. Cookies and Cream: 9/10
● Cute wrapper, stands out, good amount of crunch, flavor so yummy

1. Mint Truffle: 10/10
● Wrapper is cute, very distinct smell, darker chocolate elevates the mint flavoring, love the cream filling

We’re very aware others may not agree with these ratings, so we posted polls on Instagram and here is how the Highland Park community ranks the flavors:

7. Sugar Cookie
6. Cordial Cherry
5. Cookies & Cream
4. Hot Cocoa
3. Mint Truffle
2. Candy Cane
1. Original Milk Chocolate

This was a very fun experiment to lead, and figuring out our favorite holiday flavors was worth the time and effort. We hope our knowledge and opinions are valuable and we strongly recommend everyone to try these flavors if possible, but not Sugar Cookie since, as you can see, no one really likes Sugar Cookie.

By: Chloe Rocha

During the Christmas season there is one tradition that many people like to take part in: that is making Christmas cookies. You don’t need to know a lot about baking to be able to make these cookies, you just have to be able to be able to look up “Christmas cookie recipes”.

Here is a list of 10 popular cookies to make during the Christmas season. Attached to the title will be a recipe to make the cookie, so if they sound good you can make them yourself at home. I’ve also included a little fact about the cookie.

1. The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie

– The chocolate chip cookie was actually made by accident in the 1930s. A baker added broken chocolate bar pieces into a cookie recipe thinking that it would melt but instead the chocolate chip cookie was made.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10813/best-chocolate-chip-cookies/

2. Sugar Cookies

– When Protestants settled down in Nazareth, Pennsylvania they improved the recipe, but before that the sugar cookies were actually named Nazareth Sugar Cookies.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9870/easy-sugar-cookies/

3. Snickerdoodle Cookies

– Snickerdoodle cookies are actually just sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar.

https://www.modernhoney.com/the-best-snickerdoodle-cookie-recipe/

4. Gingerbread Cookies

– Ginger cookies used to be made up of honey and breadcrumbs. The honey would be boiled and they the breadcrumbs would get mixed in.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17165/big-soft-ginger-cookies/

5. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

– The first recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies was made in 1896.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/soft-chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/

6. Pizzelle Cookies

– Pizzelle cookies are one of the oldest cookies and may have been developed from ancient Roman crustulum (which is a small cookie-like cake).

https://www.culinaryhill.com/pizzelle-italian-cookies/

7. Saltine Cracker Toffee

– Toffee is believed to have been invented in the 19th century in England.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/11376/saltine-toffee-cookies/

8. Caramel shortbread squares

– Shortbread was originally Scottish, but the more refined and modern version is attributed to the Queen of Scots in the 16th century, Mary.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/15347/caramel-shortbread-squares/

9. Peanut Butter Blossoms

– Originated in Gibsonburg, Ohio in 1957. The cookie recipe can be easily adapted if you want to create it in a different way.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/classic-peanut-butter-blossoms/

10. Peppermint Meringues

– The meringue was invented in 1720 by the Swiss pastry chef Gasparini

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9857/peppermint-meringues/

Although it’s past the holiday season, cookies aren’t something that are set to just one time of year. You can enjoy them at any time!

By; Austin Bailey-Zimmerman

In honor of Christmas time which just passed, I decided to bake these delicious peanut butter blossoms. They were so easy and fun to make, and I even decided to double the recipe because I enjoyed them so much!

I made these with my grandmother and my mom. It’s a family tradition for us to make these every Christmas. We have had this recipe in our family for a very long time, and I am glad because they make my mouth water every time.

I have these cookies as dessert, with some hot tea, or just as a snack. They are perfect bite-sized cookies, and the savory peanut butter cookie is paired perfectly with the sweet chocolate kiss on top. The outside of the cookie is crunchy, and surrounded by sugar, and the inside is soft and chewy. I have enjoyed these so much, so I shared them with the rest of my family and friends. You can do the same with this recipe! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
• 1egg
• 1 1⁄2 cups flour
• 3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1 Bag of Hershey’s kisses milk chocolate candies, unwrapped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, beat the sugars, peanut butter, butter and egg with an electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with a spoon, until well blended.
3. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder until dough forms.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar.
5. On ungreased cookie sheets, place the balls about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 8-10 mins or until edges are light golden brown.
7. Immediately press 1 milk chocolate candy into the center of each cookie.
8. Remove from cookie sheets to a cooling rack. (Put in freezer to cool faster)
9. Enjoy!