WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Ramen noodles — again?

Get out of your dorm-room dormancy, and learn to cook adult food. If you've got a full kitchen at your disposal, don't bother reading this: Go out and get a decent cookbook, and get off your duff. But if you're limited to dorm cookery, read on.

With an iron and a coffee maker, even a freshman can serve up gourmet treats.

With small appliances and ingenuity — and the cooperation of your roommate — you can cook things like shrimp, lamb kebabs or teeny paninis for your movie-night gang or study group.

It doesn't require a major in nuclear physics, either.

If you can make ramen noodles, you can make a nice couscous.

If you can cook a grilled cheese sandwich, you can make a much tastier prosciutto panini.

And if you can make a pot of tea or coffee, you can boil shrimp.

Teeny Panini

Makes 4 servings.

You can make the large version of these and serve with a mug of cold gazpacho (no cooking needed) for a casual dinner such as movie night. Add carrot chips and celery sticks with tzatziki dip (no cooking, see recipe below) as a healthy munchie.

What you need

Iron

Heavy-duty aluminum foil

Ciabatta bread or Italian loaf bread, sliced thickly

Olive oil or butter spread

4 prosciutto slices

4 slices Fontina cheese (can use provolone for budget)

Bunch of arugula (important for flavor)

Sharp knife

How to do it

Lay out a large sheet of foil; fold it in half and cover your table. Brush 4 bread slices with olive oil or butter spread. Place two slices on the foil, butter side down. Brush lightly with oil. Place 2 slices of prosciutto on each. Cover with 2 cheese slices. Add a few leaves of arugula. Top with bread slice, butter side up. Set iron to high heat, no steam.

Cover each with a folded square of aluminum foil and iron each sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip sandwich, using foil, and iron again, for 3 minutes, pressing to flatten sandwich.

If bread slices are large, move iron around to grill evenly.

Remove sandwiches from foil; slice diagonally in half, then diagonally again to create four panini from each sandwich.

Serve as a starter. These are good with a little espresso cup filled with chilled tomato soup (buy an organic kind for best flavor and stir in a little chopped basil if you want more flavor.

Cook's note

Take care to have a wide sheet of foil folded up with a lip under these sandwiches as you grill them to prevent cheese and oil from dripping out.

Tzatziki

Makes 1 1/3 cups.

Make this Mediterranean dip

ahead of time to chill. It can be used on sandwiches or with vegetable strips or toasted pita points for a party dip.

Tip: Sprinkle pita bread, cut into two layers, with cumin and garlic powder. Bake to a toasted crisp in a toaster oven for great flavor.

What you need

1 cucumber, peeled, sliced very thin

Salt

1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt (or regular plain yogurt)

2 crushed garlic cloves, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

How to do it

Put the cucumber slices in a bowl or a pan and sprinkle salt over all. Let stand for about 1 hour; drain and rinse. Pat dry with paper towels.

Mix the yogurt and garlic in a medium bowl. Chop the cucumbers finely and add to yogurt; stir well. Refrigerate.

Serve with pita points, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips or celery.

Coffee Maker Boiled Shrimp

What you need

A drip coffee maker with glass carafe

1/2 pound of medium shrimp (fresh is best: get the fish market to peel them for you if you can't deal with it, or buy frozen, peeled shrimp; defrost under cold running water)

1 box or packet of crab boil or 2 tablespoons seasoning blend of your choice

How to do it

Put the cleaned shrimp in the carafe of the coffee maker (fill it only 1/3 full; you may need to do it in batches). Pour a full carafe of water into the machine and turn it on. Once the water has dripped through, let the shrimp sit until opaque, about 15 minutes. Drain, and serve.

Cook's note

It's going to smell up your room, and the coffee pot will smell as well. Burn incense for the room; scrub the pot out with baking soda and dry coffee grounds on a wet cloth; rinse very well. And take the trash out before your dinner party! Be sure to turn all appliances off.

Grilled Pineapple and Brown Sugar

You need a dessert for your party: This is one of our favorites. You can do it on a sandwich grill (or with your trusty iron). These are best served immediately after cooking.

What you need

Sandwich grill or iron

Aluminum foil

1 fresh pineapple, cleaned and sliced (they're sold in bags in the supermarket, but you can use canned in a pinch)

1 box light brown sugar

Butter

1 pint Haagen-Dazs pineapple-coconut ice cream

How to do it

Fold 2 large squares of foil in half.

Place 2 slices of pineapple on the foil. Sprinkle with brown sugar; add little pieces of butter on top of the pineapple. Top with second square of foil. Fold each edge together, twice, into a packet to seal all around. (You want to contain all the juices.)

Place foil with pineapple into sandwich grill and cook on high for 5 minutes. Remove and check, but be careful because steam is hot.

If browned and sugar is completely melted, serve at once, or return to grill for another 3 to 5 minutes.

When done, pineapple will be lightly browned and sugar slightly caramelized.

Repeat with remaining pineapple. Serve with juices in a bowl, with a small scoop of pineapple-coconut ice cream over each hot slice.