This past weekend was all about college football. While other teams in the SEC managed to post some wins at my house it was all about the Rebels playing in Memphis.

As soon as that win was in the record book I had my calendar out planning the menu for our tailgating in Oxford for the first home game. The first few home games are hard to predict weather wise, often we are shedding our jackets and rolling up the shirtsleeves until the sun finally goes down. Our first game is a night game and that is different than preparing for a day game.

A night game means more food in the Grove because we get there early, setup, hang out with friends and eat, then we go to the game. When the game is over we come back to the tent, rehash the game while eating some more.

So a night game basically involves two meals. And with the weather running a little warm that means really thinking ahead and having food items that can sit out and still be eaten or kept easily in an ice chest until you are ready to serve them.

Chicken fingers from Abner’s are a staple on the table, after that all of the kids have their favorite things they like for me to bring. I try to cook on Thursday night but sometimes it gets so crazy getting from a Greenwave game on Friday night to Oxford that I have stopped at Sams and bought every single item I served the next day. Until cold weather hits I rarely serve anything that requires a fork or spoon.

Transporting food can be a little tricky also. I have an ice chest that rolls that we call the Grove box, it is always full of plates, cups, napkins, table clothes, trash bags, paper towels and things of that nature. In the other rolling ice chest goes all the food.

I put ice in big Ziploc bags and that in the bottom, next in goes all the cold food. Then I fold up a beach towel place it on top of the cold food and put in any hot food that I have. I don’t heat food up until it is almost time to leave Matthew’s and go to the Grove so it works out just fine.

Then in a large picnic basket goes all the serving pieces I like to use on my table. You learn quickly after a few games what transportation techniques work and what doesn’t.

One that does, I learned from a friend in the tent next door, is how I transport bar cookies and brownies. When I bake them in a 9 by 13 pan, I spray the bottom of the pan with a little non-stick vegetable spray, then I press in a piece of parchment paper, making sure the ends hang over a little.

After the cookies or brownies bake I let them cool completely, pull on the ends of the parchment paper and out comes the 9 by 13 uncut cookies or brownies. At this point I wrap them well in plastic wrap and place them in a disposable 9 by 13 aluminum pan, I often stack them two deep in the pan and then wrap it in plastic wrap. When I get to the Grove, I pop them out, cut them into squares, place them on a plate and throw away the plastic wrap and pan. They stay perfectly shaped and I don’t have to worry about them crumbling during transport. And this is one of my favorite recipes to make and transport in this fashion, these bars have all the taste of traditional lemon squares but don’t get as soft in the warm weather.

Lemon Bars

1 cup butter

2 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, beaten

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with Pam (use parchment as described above if you are transporting or don’t want to cut in your pan). Combine the butter, 2 cups of flour, powdered sugar and salt with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is coarse like a streusel topping or coarse crumbs. Reserve one cup of the crumb mixture and press the remainder into your pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool. Meanwhile mix the eggs, lemon juice, sugar, 4 tablespoons of flour and baking powder. Mix well and pour over the crust. Sprinkle on the remaining cup of crumb mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cut into bars and serve.

Christina Hall writes a weekly column for The Democrat. She can be reached at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com.