Gilled Hamburgers and Hot Dogs for My Kid Home from College

First visit Home from College - Happy to See the Fat Cat



Hand Patted Burgers in Marinade - Waiting for an Afternoon Cook Out



Hamburgers and Hot Dogs on the Charcoal Weber Grill


GREAT TO SEE MY KID AGAIN AFTER ALMOST TWO MONTHS!

My son is now at UNC Chapel Hill, and this weekend was the first time he's been home since he left for college. The first thing I noticed, of course, was that he had lost weight. He's a good size, but this did give me an excuse (like I need one?) to cook up a storm this weekend.

When he first got in, I fried up some pork chops and hash browns and made a big skillet of corn bread. He really loves homemade cornbread, and it's hard to find good cornbread other than made at home.

For breakfast, it was biscuits and gravy with Frank Corriher sausage. That's the best sausage I've ever had besides what my Poppaw made at home.

I told my kid to tell his buddies to plan on a cook out for lunch. When you send a kid off to college, you kind of lose a whole lot of kids at once - the ones who hung out at your house. So, it was good to see the guys again - all of them.

I had most of the stuff I needed but did run up to the IGA and got some extra ice and some buns. Pineapples were on sale, and my son loves those, so I got a fresh pineapple. I often grill the pineapple, but I decided to save that for dinner to go with crab cakes and corn on the cob. I also got some Pepsi with lemon. That wasn't on purpose. They don't label the bottles very well. That wasn't so great, but oh well. I guess Pepsi likes to try some new stuff from time to time.

The guys all hung out and shot pool and played basketball.

Then we had my hand patted hamburgers (much better than pre-patted) and hot dogs as well as some chips and peanut butter fudge.

Whew! I'm about stuffed, and I'm sure the boys are too. It was a beautiful day for grilling and extra nice with both my boys at home.

Barbecue Luau - Graduation Party for My Son

My Brother Found Some Real Cool Luau Decorations Up in Dayton, Ohio.


Here's a Wide Shot of the Luau Barbecue As Things Are Starting to Crank Up.


I Told My Son He Could Lei Everhyone, Since It Was His Big Day.


The Big Kids Like The Kiddie Pool Too.


My Aunt Decided to Be a Swinger at the Barbecue Luau.

I was up and about around 6:30 a.m. - marinating hamburgers, making dip, and getting things together. We kept the menu simple - burgers, hot dogs, grilled pineapple and then a lot of finger foods, but it still took some juggling to get everything ready by lunch time.

My brother came over and got things decorated. He had all kinds of great blow up toys with tropical themes and garlands plus the poster pictured above. I got some leis from Oriental Trading Company as well as those little umbrella picks to stick in the cheese and rub on glitter tattoos.

The kids had fun playing basketball, splashing in the wader pool, and shooting each other with water guns. They also made bubbles with some big wands from Wal-Mart and with flyswatters. If you dip the old type flyswatters in the bubble stuff, you can make millions of tiny bubbles. Everyone thought that was cool.

Grilled Beer Burgers - Barbecue Hamburgers with Beer Sauce

Heat up some barbecue beer sauce, and give your grilled hamburgers some extra gusto. The barbecue sauce goes on after the grilling, so it is served on the side for those family members or party friends who enjoy spirits with the meat. The kids and the teetotalers can still enjoy the burgers sans the beer dip.

Beer Burgers are easy to make, and they taste fabulous. These are great for tailgate parties or just for a fun evening at home.

If you need help with making your own hand patted Burgers on the Grill, check out my Yes You Can Grill Hamburger Guide. Then just add the beer sauce.

Great weekend for grilling - Burgers and beer

After a cold snap here in North Carolina, we've got a great weekend going. Naturally, I rummaged around in the freezor and pulled out some meat for grilling.

My oldest son wanted hamburgers, so that's what we cooked up last night. Generally I hand pat my burgers using the recipe I posted at Yes You Can Grill. Man, those are some killer burgers. I'm the official burger maker for our family gatherings. Some of the family men will buy the meat if I'll prepare it. I even had the same deal going in college. When the fellows wanted a good home cooked meal, they'd buy up the beans, and I'd cook.

This time, though, we had some burgers from Omaha Steak. They offer some good deals from time to time, so I've ordered from them several times. I'd give thumbs up on the meat and the service. The only note I'd make is that the portion sizes seem a tad small. Then again, we're from the south where food is always served super sized.

Tonight we're looking at making pork chops. My favorite way to do those on the grill is with barbecue sauce (put that on the last 5 minutes or so). That's another recipe I need to post up. Pork is a little trickier on the grill than beef, but it's delicious when you get it right.

We'll probably round out the weekend with steak. If you want to grill the perfect steak, then you've got to plan a bit ahead. The marination makes a huge difference. And, it's fine to use bottled Italian dressing.

In other news, we're getting tickets to see Jimmy Buffett. Yippee! If you've never been to a Buffett concert, then you're missing out. It's like one big family reunion--inluding all the very odd relatives. We always tailgate (as do most Parrot Heads). Hum, now to decide on what to cook when we hit the concert.