Dr. Pepper Ribs

It's Memorial Day today and that means the pool's OPEN!  On Saturday, our little town will celebrate itself with all sorts of games and fireworks in the evening.  It is the best fireworks show I've seen and you basically get to sit right underneath them.

For the past few years, we have taken a break from the daytime activities, come home and had dinner "on the collective" with our good friends and neighbors.  This year, we will be without our good friend Riley and we continue to miss him every day.  Riley would often grill ribs for the collective, low and slow for a long time.

Here's a recipe from the Pioneer Woman that might be worth trying.  The recipe calls for baking the ribs, but I bet they would be good on the grill, maybe with some of her onion straws.

Spicy Dr Pepper Ribs
Prep Time: 8 Hours
Cook Time: 3 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup Brown Sugar 
• 1 can Dr. Pepper 
• 1 can (5 Ounces) Chipotle Peppers Packed In Adobo 
• 1/3 cup Brown Mustard 
• 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar 
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced 
• 2 packages Pork Baby Back Ribs 

Preparation Instructions
Prepare the marinade by gently boiling the first 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan until reduced and thick, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Divide into two containers and refrigerate one container for later.

Place ribs on a large baking sheet lined with heavy foil. Brush half the marinade all over the ribs on both sides. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 8 hours to marinate.

When you're ready to cook the ribs, preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the pan, still covered in foil, into the oven for 2 hours. Remove the foil and increase the temperature to 300. Using the other half of the sauce, brush another generous layer all over the ribs. Return the pan to the oven and continue cooking for another 30 to 40 minutes, brushing on another layer of sauce as it cooks.

Remove the ribs when they're fork tender (keep cooking until they are). Slice and serve!

Butterscotch Pudding

I am lucky enough to have one of the best neighbors ever. Last week, when the Brave Astronaut clan found itself without the ability to stay home for LBA's last day of Christmas break, our neighbor took LBA in and took him to the movies with his kids - it helps that LBA and the boy next door are the best of friends.

Mrs. BA is going to set out to reward our good neighbor, with some of his favorite butterscotch pudding.  Not this recipe - but this one sounds really good, too (the Brave Astronaut is a sucker for toffee)

You have all heard me here mention what a great little town the Brave Astronaut lives in - that was reinforced tonight when I came home and found a letter from the mayor that the Launchpad had been recognized as one of the best decorated homes in the town!  I can go to the Town Meeting on Thursday and pick up my certificate in person!

Butterscotch Pudding with Toffee Crumbles
Author: Jennifer Hill
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp salted butter 
• ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 2 cups milk 
• ⅓ cup cornstarch 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• 2 large egg yolks 
• 1 tbsp Scotch or whiskey 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 

For topping:

• ¾ cup cold heavy cream 
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar 
• ½ tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 chocolate-covered toffee bar (such as Heath or Crunchie), crushed 

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a saucepan, then add brown sugar and stir until all brown sugar is wet-looking. Stop stirring, and let the mixture bubble and caramelize until it becomes liquid (rather than like thick wet sand) and it smells nutty and caramelly. This should take about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 cup of heavy cream. Set aside. 
2. In a large saucepan off of heat, whisk together milk, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and whisk in butterscotch. 
3. In a glass measuring cup, beat yolks with a fork. In a very slow, steady stream, pour about 1 cup of hot pudding mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly. Whisk yolk mixture back into remaining pudding and stir over medium-low heat until it thickens and a few sputtering bubbles appear at the surface, about 5 minutes. Transfer pudding to a large bowl (pressing it through a fine-meshed sieve if it looks curdled at all). Stir in scotch and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours in advance. Just before serving, beat cream on high speed of an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar and vanilla extract. Top individual servings of pudding with whipped cream, sprinkle with toffee crumbles and serve.