Planning Your Backyard BBQ with a Recipe from The Last Stop Gift Shop!

The Last Stop Gift Shop is home to all kinds of unique Georgia’s Rome gifts. From pottery to jam and jelly, the little gift shop on Jackson Hill is your last stop for all things Southern and local. We even have recipe books! To highlight our collection of awesome Southern recipes, we took The Georgia Hometown Cookbook and made our own backyard barbeque out of the recipes!

The Main Dish

We decided to go with a classic: burgers. But these aren’t just regular burgers– these are spicy Jalapeno burgers. With Jalapenos, chili seasoning, AND taco seasoning, these burgers are just the spicy kick that the summer needs.

Hamburgers are an excellent family option because of how versatile they are. You can pair them with the basic lettuce, tomato, onion combo or slide some homemade guacamole and salsa on top for a little something extra. But the cookbook also has excellent ideas for soups, seafood, and chicken dishes, as well!

The Side

What pairs best with hamburgers? French Fries!  Luckily for us, the cookbook had a fun twist on the regular fry: sweet potato fries! When sprinkled with salt and fried or baked in oil, these fries provide the perfect combination of salty and sweet. They are also a healthier option than the regular fry! Looking for white potatoes? The Hometown Cookbook also has some tasty options like Cast-Iron Skillet Cheese Potatoes, Creamy Ranch Potatoes, and Homemade Scalloped Potatoes! Thinking pasta for a side? Grab the book and try out Mac’s Ultimate Mac and Cheese!

The Dessert

Can you guess what we decided to make? Peach Pie, of course! While the cookbook boasts tons of recipes for things like Cornflake Raisin Cookies, Powdered Sugar Wedding Cookies, and squares and cobblers, we decided that a pie fit the bill perfectly. What’s great about this recipe is that you don’t even have to make your own crust! Therefore, you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time outside enjoying your family and loved ones!

The Set-Up

We recommend pairing this meal with a fresh pitcher of strawberry lemonade on ice. This will also provide a nice base for an adult cocktail! We found a cool vintage tablecloth for the spread, which made the food absolutely pop. 

The Last Stop Gift Shop is THE place to shop for the next addition to your recipe book collection. While the Georgia Hometown Cookbook provides recipes from all over the state, the gift shop also sells cookbooks dedicated to our region! As you prep for the future backyard parties, reunions, events, and barbecues of the summer, don’t forget to stop in the gift shop and see what they have!

About the Author

Our Georgia's Rome tourism team works hard to curate content that you find helpful! We want to keep you in the know of all the cool things to see and explore in Rome! We take pride in ensuring our content is up-to-date and accurate; so please let us know if we ever overlook an important detail! This blog originally written by Morgan Stansell is updated by staff.