While making new friends, settling in, and paying attention in class are important pursuits, locating - and experiencing - the dining hall should be a top priority. And discovering which schools have the best ones has been ours.

The Worst College Food in America

The 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 that spanned many months, 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.

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.

10 College Towns with the Best Food

After connecting with surprisingly candid - and

We're going beyond the grilled cheese sandwich and inspiring you with different recipesIf the words "melt sandwich" only bring to mind turkey and tuna, then you're missing out on a whole world of meats, cheeses, and vegetable mash-ups.

A melt can be more than just cheese and turkey, and here is an introduction, with a compilation of melts ranging from sweet to savory, all with gooey melted cheese in common. Let these recipes be your inspiration to any kind of melt you desire.

10 Great Sandwich Melts

The key to making the perfect melt is twofold. First, you have to choose the right cheese. Selecting a cheese with superior "melt capacity" is crucial. Your best bets include: American, Cheddar, Gouda, provolone, Swiss, asiago, mozzarella, and Gruyère. Once you've decided what cheese you're going to use to glue the sandwich together, all you have to do is melt your sandwich.

There's no need to run out and buy a panini press to cater to all of your melt sandwich needs, and we'll show you why. There are several ways to ensure crisp, but not burnt, bread - with warm insides

By Elizabeth Sheer, Cheapism.com

Cooking al fresco is one of the great delights of summer and cries out for cheap meats for grilling. Although you can cook just about anything over the coals, the centerpiece is usually a piece of meat.

Rib steak and T-bone are made for grilling but priced above many consumers' budget constraint. Cheaper cuts of beef, along with budget-friendly pork and poultry, are not only fine but potentially glorious. In a search for the best cheap meats for grilling we informally surveyed a random group of butchers and ardent outdoor cooks who pointed us to cuts that please the palate and reduce the cost of feeding a crowd.

Related: Recommended BBQ grills under $250

Beef. A grill aficionado who hails from South America, where grilling is very serious business, says the meat should be as plain as possible but accompanied by spicy and flavorful side dishes and dipping sauces. Many cheap meats for grilling are tough, though, and require a soak in a

Iconic and popular fast-food recipes you can try at homeAdmit it - you love a good cheeseburger. Or a steaming cinnamon bun drizzled in frosting. Or a miniature breakfast sandwich. Or all three. But maybe you feel a little shy about walking into a McDonald's or a Burger King or a Denny's because the market today is flooded with so many sustainably harvested, seasonal, macrobiotic food options, and everyone's on board with the trend. Or maybe you don't feel that way, but the craving for something stacked, juicy, and, chances are, overwhelmingly cheesy, strikes at the most inconvenient of times - say, when you're in your pajamas cuddled up on the couch and about to turn in for the evening. Suddenly, fast food doesn't seem so fast.

Whichever camp you belong to, we have the answer. To sate your appetite, we spoke with the experts - some of the major fast-food chains as well as those who are replicating (and occasionally putting a twist on) their recipes - about how to interpret the meals that have worked their way into our country's collective

Flashing lights, bright colors, loud noises, sticky fingers: these are the hallmarks of state fairs and carnivals, the real signs that summer is coming. While there's nothing quite like a freshly fried Oreo from red-pinstriped tent, here are 10 ways to recreate our favorite carnival foods at home. We can bet that they'll taste better -- and without a roller coaster chaser, they won't make you queasy!

More from Food52

• Not enough carnival food for you? Check out our recipe for Yum Dogs.

• Try making your own ice cream with this recipe for Foolproof Ice Cream.

• Got a question in the kitchen? The Food52 Hotline is here to help!

Brought to you by the spirited home cooks' community at Food52.

10 baby-friendly avocado recipesAvocados have always been an integral part of my diet - mainly because I'm Chilean and well… it's true, we Latin Americans LOVE our avocados! When my son began eating solids, I was one excited mama. I still remember seeing his face when he first tasted pureed apples - it was priceless. I was very happy to see how well he responded to the foods I was giving him because it propelled me to come up with more combinations and recipes. Naturally, avocado was on my list of foods to give him, and as the months went by, I would mix it with his other foods. Not only is it tasty and easy for babies and toddlers to eat, but as Avocado Central states, they are packed with nearly 20 essential vitamins and nutrients such as fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid.

Here are 10 different ways you can prepare and introduce avocado to your baby or toddler - be warned, they WILL most likely love it and so will you!

1. Avocado on Toast - A personal favorite! (as shown in picture above)
One

I LOVE dessert. I have a sweet tooth to beat the band. The only thing is that I am trying to loose the baby weight and I need to keep my dessert intake in check. That means I try and concentrate on skinny desserts, or things that satisfy my sweet tooth without filling me up with a billion unnecessary calories. This is not always easy, as you might imagine, but I manage. Here are a few of my favorite sweet and skinny spring desserts! - Kelsey Banfield

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Cooking with watermelon is always a pleasure in the summer months. Watermelon is naturally sweet and refreshing due to the high water content of the fruit. So many great treats can be made from its sweet juices. Usually these treats start from watermelon that has been pureed and strained so the juice is collected. Once you have a pitcher of sweet juice on your hand you can make almost anything. Here are some of our favorite refreshing watermelon treats that are perfect for kids and adults alike! - Kelsey Banfield

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