End of Year Grill Out - Newspaper Students at Catawba College

Here's my 2010 college newspaper class. This group took us from print to online with The Pioneer, so I am super proud of this hard working group.



We like to end the year with a cook out. I do that now, because students were a bit challenged with grilling for groups. Hum. Let's see. One forgot to bring gas. Another had damp charcoal, and I had to run in and microwave the hot dogs before we starved. So, it works out for me to go ahead and do the grilling.

The class period is only 50 minutes, so I keep it simple. This year, I went with griled burgers and hot dogs. Those always go over well, especially my hand patted grilled hamburgers. One student said she never really liked hamburgers much but that mine were delicious.



I went with Weber Kettles - one 22.5 inch and the Smokey Joe tailgater. They are easy to use, so I don't have to watch close with these models.

The large grill was charcoal, but I used FlamdDisk from my OpenSky store in the smaller one. It's an alternative to charcoal and a fuel that I think works well for college students and for tailgating. It's super easy to light (like a candle), burns out clean, and there is no clean up. Hard to beat that.



The students had fun playing cornhole while the food was grilling. Cornhole is getting super popular here for tailgates or just on sunny days. It is a lot like horseshoes, but you throw bags filled with corn at holes in the game boards. A lot safer I'm sure than tossing metal, and you don't have to put up stakes or dig pits.



For dessert, I'd made peanut butter fudge. I usually put M&Ms on top, but some of the students asked if I could do chocolate chips. Easy enough. So, this batch had chips instead of the candies. Very tasty. This is also my boys' favorite dessert. It's easy to make and always turns out nice and creamy.

Some of my students have already tried making the fudge and some of my other recipes online. I always try to go for things that taste great and are easy to make. Also, I add tips, because there seem to be little things that make a difference when grilling of cooking that they just don't mention in the recipe books.



We had a great time at the end-of-year cook out. Most of my students this year are graduating, and I am sure going to miss them. It is amazing how fast four years go.