What sort of event are you planning? A party for him and his friends? A family dinner?

How about a food rolled up like a diploma, like a cookie or a cannoli or an enchilada?

I'll have to think about this one!

sushipup, It will be a party for family and friends. You have great ideas! Thanks!

Last week I grilled 6 whole pork loins, sliced them and baked them for an hour with a "brothy" BBQ sauce of my own devising. This was a favor for a neighbor.....she froze it in smaller packages and it will go into roasters for her daughters graduation.....the cookies decorated in school colors are not my deal, But I can make casseroles and sandwiches for the masses.
Linda C

Last week I grilled 6 whole pork loins, sliced them and baked them for an hour with a "brothy" BBQ sauce of my own devising. This was a favor for a neighbor.....she froze it in smaller packages and it will go into roasters for her daughters graduation.....the cookies decorated in school colors are not my deal, But I can make casseroles and sandwiches for the masses.
Linda C

Linda, oh those whole pork loins sound sooooo good. So you grilled them first, then baked them in the oven--I'd love to know exactly what you did? Your neighbor is very lucky!

Thank you!

I cut the whole loin in half ( easier handling) rubbed the outside with a mix of Tony Couchere's, Cookie's BBQ rub and for the 3rd part a mix of Old Bay, garlic powder, and black pepper.
I rubbed on both sides of the meat an hour before grilling...
Started tham on the grill at 500 degrees and immediatly turned the fire down to just above low.....when the temp went down to 300, I opened the grill and turned them.....then gave them another 20 to 30 minutes until the temp was 150 to 160....

Linda, oh my, even at 10:30 in the morning that looks soooooo delicious. That is what I am going to make!! Thank you for the pictures too--you are amazing!

Thank you!

This is from someone who LOVES to cook so don't take this the wrong way - hire a caterer! Order food and have it delivered!

I've given up on cooking for a large crowd at an event like that. I found I was so stressed about the cooking I didn't enjoy myself. Plus, if you're like me, the house has to be spotless too with everyone traipsing in and out to use the bathroom or in case of inclement weather. How many times does your kid graduate from college? Order the food and relax and enjoy the day and your guests.

If you really want to make something, make a special treat - those graduation cap cookies sound adorable!

Then again, you might just have more energy than I do!!

Lisa

trudymom, I did all the cooking for both of the girls when they graduated from high school, then Elery and I did all the cooking for our own wedding reception.

Every single time it was pulled pork, LOL, because it was fast, easy, cheap, and it holds well in a big electric roaster!

We also made "diplomas", with flour tortillas, spread with herbed cream cheese and wrapped around a slice of turkey and a spear of asparagus. Some tortillas got ham and dill pickles instead and each got tied with ribbon in the school colors because I just couldn't figure out a food substance to tie the darned things with.

One of Ashley's friends made diplomas out of those little pirouette wafer cookies tied with ribbon, lots easier than the tortillas, but I had a cake for dessert and didn't need another sweet.

With the pulled pork I made homemade buns and served some sliced ham and turkey on the side for those who would prefer a cold sandwich, since I already had those things for the "diplomas".

I also made a huge roaster of baked beans because it's another thing that cooks well in a big electric roaster. (grin) Another roaster full of sauerkraut and sausage, some potato salad and we were good to go.

I did find out at both graduations and again at the wedding party that green salad just doesn't get eaten, we had a ton of that left over.

Annie

lisazone6, I am taking your advice on the big party--we are ordering bbq and I am just making some cookies. But we are also going to have a smaller party that would be fun to cook for. I am like you and don't have the energy for a large one, but I do admire people who can cook for a crowd. I have a friend who doesn't bat an eye when she cooks for 50 people but stresses out when she has to cook for 4 people.

annie, do you have a good recipe for the pulled pork? That does sound good. And the tortilla recipe is so cute--I am going to do that too. And the piroutte cookies--just perfect! I'll make sure not to have any green salad--thanks for the hint!

I just knew I could count on you guys--you are the best!!!

I have had great luck with the pulled pork as everyone likes it and it can be frozen if left over. Also you can use the pull and peel string licorice for your ties for the diplomas be it the wafers or tortillas. I found with both of my girls that if your guests will be going to numerous parties, that a tray full of a variety of cookies goes really well as people want something they can pick up and not have to have on a plate. Hope you will have fun and enjoy the day. Deanna

I like the idea of asking the graduate to name some of his favorites he'd like you to make. I think the pork tenderloin will be perfect and I also agree about lots of finger foods.

Congratulation to your son! Graduating college is a very big deal.

Tracey

Deanna, the licorice whips are a great idea! Where were you when my girls were graduating? LOL Of course, Ashley has another year of college which will be spent in her internship, then I'll probably have to have a party for her, so I'll try to remember that.

trudymom, I used pork butt (which is actually shoulder) for the pulled pork, Elery just put them into the electric roasters and cooked them with some white wine, although I usually use root beer, apple juice or just water. When they fall apart they are ready to "pull" into shreds with a fork.

I left some plain with homemade sweet relish on the side for those who don't like a tomato based BBQ sauce, and then made a big batch of BBQ sauce for the rest of it, then stirred the sauce into the shredded pork and let it simmer for another hour or so before it was ready to serve. The plain pork I kept simmering on low with some chicken broth to keep it from drying out.

For the wedding I cooked pork about a month ahead, shredded it, cooled it and packed it into ziplock bags and froze it. On the day of the party I thawed it, dumped it into the roaster and added sauce. It worked very well, but I think LindaC's step of putting the pork on the grill would give it a great smoky flavor.

Annie

deannabsd, the pork idea is sounding great. And the licorice will be perfect.

annie, thank you for your pulled pork recipe!

Any thoughts on what I could wrap around tortillas like the licorice I would wrap around the cookies??

Thank you all for the good wishes! Now if he just had a job... ;-)

For the tortillas - green onions, cooked a bit first to soften them up.

My suggestion was/is leeks. Long and can be wider. Probably sturdier. Same as with green onions though, you have to make sure you don't overcook them so they don't fall apart.

I also think the idea of ribbons in the school colors might be nice. Should be easy enough to find ribbon with both colors on it? Maybe even with a little super cheap trinket on it then it could be kept as a sort of favor? Craft stores probably have tons of little graduation caps and such this time of year. Raffia or paper twist would work to tie them up with also. The paper twist sounds food safe to Me..

This is totally no help, but every time I see the title of this thread, I think about Mark Twain's comment: "Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." LOL

I had a funeral lunch yesterday, served a sort of turkey tetrazinni casserole.....and a green salad.
And that salad really went.
I am also planning on serving a tossed salad to the college kids....I hope they will like it.
Linda c

LindaC, maybe you got a different "mix" of guests, or maybe people in Iowa eat more salad but I've had a LOT left over all three times. Each time I bought less and each time I ended up throwing it out because it can't be frozen or kept for long. I had over 100 people at the wedding party and bought 6 heads of lettuce (3 iceberg and 3 romaine), cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and red/yellow/green pepper strips. I had at least half of the stuff left at the end of the night.

Now, raw vegetables and dip, like carrots, cauliflower, radishes, those got eaten right up. Except the raw broccoli, no one would eat that either, LOL. Not even me, I only like broccoli cooked, fortunately I cooked the leftovers and ate them that way.

Annie

Oh I forgot something else that was a favorite was cookies that were decorated with m & m's of the school colors. I know every schools colors aren't available in your basic packages but I was fortunate that the high school colors were red and college blue and yellow. I have an easy chocolate cake mix cookie that looks nice with a few m & m's on it--or you can always do anytype of bar/rice krispies bars/brownies, etc. and use the m and m's. Of course, then you always have to eat all the brown ones while you are decorating.!!!

We had college graduation last year in a motel room with a a little nook and it was a pain to haul everything but so much fun to meet her friends,etc. We will do another one next year when she completes her doctorate in pharmacy.

Have fun. Deanna

Great ideas from everyone.
I'd add the thought to do at least one thing that makes it seem like a real celebration. By that I mean something a little unusual. Maybe a special dessert that you come with candles, sparklers etc, or even better a champagne toast that everyone shares in (with some sparkling juice for the little ones) but everyone gets to toast the new graduate and give him a hurrah.

Grace