We're planning a high school graduation party for my son this weekend. Here's the menu:

What am I forgetting?  We'll find out soon! 

Desert will be s'mores by the fire and chocolate cake.  Seattle is supposed to have beautiful weather this weekend…we really lucked out since our house is small but we have large sunny decks.

I'll update this post with tips and what I learned about this event.

2011-06-04_14-59-23_230 Update 6/4/2011:  

3 Days Before: Brine pork overnight.

2 Days Before: Remove pork from brine and rub down with favorite dry rub (I used a Tom Douglas "Pork Rub with Love" for this party).

1 Day Before:

  • Mixed all ingrediants for the mini-macs.  Served my tired son (senior party was the night before) a test bowl before the yolk is added and he said that it's best mac and cheese ever.  It's ready to scope, bake and serve.
  • Mixed most of the ingrediants for the antipasta salad. I drizzled some olive oil on the pasta to prevent it from sticking but did not add the dressing (I don't want it to separate) or the chopped parsley and basil. I want the herbs to be as fresh as possible. I also added roasted peppers to this recipe.
  • Smoked my 8 lb pork shoulder for over 10 hours and it never reached 180 internally. I'm going to try finishing this in a crock pot so it will also stay warm during the party.

Update June 7, 2011:

This menu was a huge hit.  Even the Deconstructed Ceaser Salad (which was so easy it's ridiculous) received rave reviews…my guest loved the presentation and snacked on whole romain leaves topped with the dressing, cheese and croutons.  With the mini-macs, the only change I would make would be to add a smidge more paprika…however it was super easy to scoop into the mini-muffin cups and bake as needed.  

DSC00701