Zucchini QuesadillaSince they're so easy to make and such a hit with kids, quesadillas make a great go-to dish for lunch at home or the occasional quick dinner. But without a little variety, they can get old fast. Luckily, the basic ingredients of this quesadilla - a tortilla and a mild cheese - both have flavors that can be complemented by a wide variety of ingredients, making it easy to keep this dish fresh. One of our favorite ways to keep quesadillas fun is to add a seasonal ingredient like zucchini to the mix. This zucchini quesadilla recipe is not only nutritious and tasty, it's also a snap to prepare -- a perfect summer treat.



Zucchini Quesadillas
serves 2

2 whole wheat tortillas
½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
½ zucchini, washed, trimmed, and cut into a fine julienne
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
thinly sliced red onions for garnish (optional)

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1) Place a 10 or 12 inch

Virginia TechThe Daily Meal went big, setting out to determine the best in campus dining across the nation - from small liberal arts colleges to Big Ten mega-universities. In an epic study, we examined the dining programs at every four-year college in America - more than 2,000 of them. What we found was both frightening and impressive.

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From blind taste tests to ensure the highest-quality products and locally sourced tofu to a schedule of rotating pan-Asian cuisine, when it comes to food at least, colleges are providing students with plenty to write home about. Many are even giving local restaurants a run for their money.

Our methodology? To come up with The Best College for Food in America, we looked to several sources - college dining services awards, respected college lists like the Princeton Review, news stories, and our own interviews. Our focus was not only on the actual food, but schools' dining programs as a whole.

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At Food52, we love recipes -- but do we always use them? Of course not. Because once you realize you don't always need a recipe, you'll make your favorite dishes a lot more often.

Today: Food52'er pierino shows us how to grill any steak like a pro.

Some of the best steaks I've eaten in my life were not cooked in New York, nor in Chicago but in Italy. Specifically in Tuscany off of the A1. The A1 in this context is not a steak sauce, it's the autostrada that runs through the center of Italy and through the heart of Tuscany. The most esteemed meat for the grill there is chianina beef. Domestically, the closest cut would be a double-thick porterhouse steak. For seasoning you need nothing more than coarse salt, pepper, and lemons to squeeze at the table.

What is important is that you cook this over real wood charcoal. Propane and briquettes are for sissies, okay? Gas grill? No! In Tuscany they might throw dried vine cuttings on the coals. An alternative is to add wine

Jane BruceAs the weather heats up, one food item seems to jump into everyone's mind: ice cream. Everywhere from the truck that rolls down your block playing its familiar jingle to your favorite local ice cream parlor to the frozen food aisle at the grocery store offers the frozen treat, and for good reason. According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), more than 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream and similar frozen foods were produced in the U.S. in 2011 alone!

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Our panel of tasters tried each ice cream in a blind taste test and ranked them from 1 to 9 (with 1 being their favorite and 9 being their least favorite), taking detailed notes about the texture, density, vanilla flavor, smell, color, and overall enjoyment level. We also took into consideration products labeled gelato, because even though it might be considered a "super-premium" product due to its higher density, it's still a form of ice cream. There were plenty of

Jane BruceBarbecue sauce is one of those products that can make or break a summer cookout, and even when it's cold out there's nothing that can ruin a sandwich or burger quicker than the application of crummy barbecue sauce. When shopping for sauce, though, there's always that moment when you're faced with a decision: standing there in front of a seemingly endless selection of barbecue sauces, the choice can be a difficult one.

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We here at The Daily Meal decided that choosing at random is an unworthy compromise, though. That's why we picked up 10 leading brands, the vast majority of which are available nationwide, and put them to the test. We tried each of them straight, unadulterated, right out of the bottle, and ranked them in order of overall flavor, smokiness, balance of sweet to tangy to salty to spicy, consistency, and whether or not they hit that place in your brain that says, "now that's good barbecue sauce."

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DiguWedding cakes are a rite of passage for any newlywed couple. On the big day, the cake is sliced and admired, and a year later, the couple breaks out the leftovers to celebrate their first anniversary. Though the ritual remains, the appearance of a wedding cake has not stayed the same. In recent years, the classic three-tiered tower with all the bridal fixings has taken a turn… for the crazy.

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While the quintessential tiered tradition is always accepted and still seen at many weddings, it's the creative, out-of-the-box cakes that are catching everyone's attention. These extravagant confections come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, depending on the couple's hobbies, interests, and themes

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With shows like Cake Boss, Top Chef: Desserts, and Ace of Cakes taking over the airwaves, it's nearly impossible for viewers and engaged couples alike to not want to take their cakes to the next level.

Related: 10 More

flickr_ianmalcmAs the local food movement becomes more popular, many agricultural and economic experts are beginning to question whether small, local farmers and businesses will be able to hold up in a capitalist economic structure, and whether they should even be elevated from a small-scale movement at all.

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The local food movement has been praised for its ability to forge connections between farm and table and to give consumers a better sense of where their food comes from. Additionally, consumers are beginning to realize that local produce tastes better and is more nutrient-dense than the produce that arrives at their supermarkets in the back of a truck. This heightened sense of connection, however, comes at a steep cost, causing tension between the farmers who would like to bring in maximum revenue for their efforts and consumers who are accustomed to buying the cheapest food possible.

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Are the

Flickr/Sean Rogers1Around this time of year - that is, shorts and swimsuit season - you tend to see a lot of buzzwords for the body-conscious being thrown around in the food-writing arena. Things like "waistline-friendly" and "calorie-burning" and "metabolism-boosting." And why not? For those who've been hard at work at the gym getting ready for a warm-weather wardrobe, it seems only fitting to support a healthy lifestyle with a diet that works toward that same calorie-burning goal.

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As it pertains to food, this often means consuming metabolism-boosting dishes packed with so-called "warming" ingredients like chiles, ginger, and spices. But why not complete the equation with drinks that can also help give your metabolism a bump?

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Some choices are obvious: Coffee, green tea, water - but did you know that if you drink any of those iced, you'll get even more metabolism-boosting benefits? According to Dr. Oz, "Iced