Graduation Recipes

Use your favorite dry rub and barbeque sauce to make this succulent pork. A little trick I like is to put 2 ramekins with liquid smoke flavoring in with the meat and roast it slowly. Do your patriotic American duty and serve this on the cheapest, lightest white hamburger buns you can find.

These taste amazing and are quick to make! You can play around and substitute different milks, oils and extracts; just about any will work. I've listed my favorites. Unfortunately, this recipe doesn't rise well as a cake, but cupcakes are more fun anyway! These are great with a simple frosting of cocoa powder, powdered sugar and orange juice.

Cucumber is the perfect complement to the traditional summer lemonade. Display it in the pitcher with cucumber and/or lemon slices.

Chocolate cream cheese cupcakes, rich and gooey. Serve these little gems with a tall glass of ice cold milk.

I received this recipe from an old Southern cook, a copy of a copy of a typed-up sheet from long ago, annotated with her notes (which included the word oleo instead of margarine). I've never seen another chocolate cake recipe like it, which instructs the cook to heat part of the cake batter on the stove, and pour the cooked icing over a hot cake. The result is a wonderfully rich (yet surprisingly light) chocolate sheet cake topped with a cooked chocolate and pecan frosting. This cake has an incredible homemade taste, yet is foolproof! Will make you forget Duncan Hines®!

Here is a recipe I use for beautifully delicious lemon cupcakes. Ideally, you'd use buttercream frosting to ice cupcakes, but I tried these with Lemon Cream Icing for a less buttery icing, and they were perfect! These cupcakes are truly lighter than air and will melt in your mouth.

'If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed', ye shall make and enjoy this simple, tangy, delicious grilled chicken dish!

Sometimes the best things are the most simple. Nothing rings of summertime more than lemonade and iced tea. The Arnold Palmer brings them together.

This is without a doubt the best punch I've ever had! Makes enough for 2 punch bowls. This is our Christmas Eve punch tradition, and there is never a drop left!

In the 1800's this is how people made lemonade—you can do it too! It's not that difficult, and tastes wonderful!

This is a great side dish with anything!

A must have at holiday parties. Easily prepared and delicious!

This is a multiple prize-winning master recipe. It has several steps that can be used on pork spareribs, country-style ribs, or pretty much any other type of pork rib; simply adjust oven time up for meatier cuts. Use some soaked wood chips on the barbecue. The smokier the grill, the better the ribs will taste!

This dip is a hit whether you serve it at a block party or a formal dinner party! It really tastes like a BLT. You can cut the fat down if you want to use low-fat or fat free ingredients. Serve with crackers or chips.

Light, creamy, and delicious; impress your guests with this angel food cake and Mandarin orange trifle.

Mini phyllo cups filled with a creamy, cheesy jalapeno filling are a more sophisticated version of the jalapeno popper.

These make real mouth-watering 'Pig-cicles'! They take a while to cook, and when you eat them, you'll have pork fat smeared from ear to ear! Mmm! Mmm! I like to smoke with hickory wood, but any of your favorite will suffice.

A classic steakhouse-style spinach salad with the absolute best warm bacon-mustard dressing I've ever had! Looks and tastes like a lot of work, but can be prepared in no time! This salad can easily be converted to a main dish salad by adding strips of grilled chicken breast.

Delicious and simple to make, a creamy filling is piped into chocolate cupcakes with a pastry bag. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting.

Savory chicken served on skewers with a slightly sweet peanut sauce.

Seriously, I'm a cupcake aficionado and these cupcakes are amazing! I saw them on a bakery menu and decided to replicate them.

One of the most popular appetizers I know of. Fruit always disappears first, especially when served with this dip! Goes especially well with cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries and honeydew melon.

A refreshing change from lemonade. If you don't care for pulp in your drink, feel free to strain the juice before you add it to the water.

Moist, mellow, and full of almond flavor.