Browned Butter Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

We are in our fourth heat wave of the summer according to New York City weathermen.  They define a heat wave as a sequence of days with highs over 90 degrees.  I define heat wave as any sequence of days where the high is over 82.  I have been in a perpetual heat wave since May.   I have been told that I need to ‘embrace summer’ and that I am ‘from the South where it is even hotter!’ which are valid arguments except I have never experienced as suffocating a heat as when you are waiting on the D train at Broadway/Lafayette subway station with no air circulation and the only breeze that could possibly exist comes when the train I do NOT need pulls in but is then stifled due to the heat that the multi-ton metal machine exudes in your face before pulling out.  Try to embrace that, I say.

Nevertheless, I am trucking away with our window air conditioning units (thank God for those) and seeking relief by plotting my walks to the subway via routes that include doormen-operated apartment buildings and clothing stores that keep their doors open.  This allows me to stand idly in front of them for three-minute stretches before moving to the next one and eventually heading down into the inferno of the subway platform. 

 

You can imagine how the last thing I want to do then is turn on an oven.   My daily pension for a baked treat is taking a severe beating.  However, I have found these little goodies satisfy me – they are just as basic and warm-fuzzy inducing as a cupcake and have a fancy twist thanks to the browned butter.  And they come from one of my favorite blogger's first cookbook!  

Browned Butter Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

Adapted (moderately) from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

1 stick butter

1 bag mini-marshmallows (10 ounce)

½ cup smooth, natural peanut butter (I used JIF naturals)

¼ teaspoon salt

6 cups of crispy rice cereal

Butter an 8 or 9-inch square pan.  In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter until browned over medium heat.  Butter will become foamy and frothy before you notice browned bits on the bottom.  As the browned bits form, stir in the marshmallows, peanut butter and salt.  Stir until the marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy. Turn off heat, remove pan from the heat and add rice cereal.  Stir fast so that the cereal is coated evenly.  Turn mixture into your buttered square pan and, using your fingers, press mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Let cool before slicing. 

Pulled Pork BBQ

Just when I was getting a little homesick for North Carolina summers full of fresh picked strawberries, days by the pool, and easy access to central air conditioning, New York City opened its doors to a dozen or so bbq joints complete with their own grills, smokers, staff and pigs.  The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party had arrived!  Or, as I like to call it, Robbie and Mary Jordan's version of the perfect date.  My homesickness was a distant memory as I tried way too much pulled pork, ribs and brisket.  My only complaint is that they need to bring some Western Style North Carolina BBQ next year.  I would recommend this, this or this.

Being the Southern gal that I am, I know how to get me through some bbq lulls.  I may not have a pit smoker, but I have a slow cooker and that is sufficient for me.  It satisfies me enough to fix my bbq craving but also doesn't make me smell like the inside of a fireplace.  Top it with some creamy slaw and heaven comes to me on a plate.

This recipe calls for a 2 1/2 pound pork shoulder.  I went to my neighborhood butcher and asked for a 2 pound pork shoulder.  I picked it up, all New York-like, and when I unwrapped it, I saw that it still had a pretty thick layer of fat on it so had to do a little trimming (next time I'll ask for it trimmed of all excess fat).  A little fat is good in life (I'm having that stitched on a throw pillow next week) but too much in a slow cooker had me worried.  This piece of meat also had the bone still in it which can be challenging when you have a smaller slow cooker like mine.  I wedged it in and by the end of the twelve hours, it was pretty darn cozy.  

Barbecued Pulled Pork

From Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes

*No, I did not make my own barbecue sauce - this recipe offers a nice shortcut.  If I had any patience, and hadn't already waited twelve hours for it to cook, I would have eaten it the day after I made it to let the flavors meld even more.  The onions had wilted much more the second day and the meat had absorbed a lot of the juice when we had leftovers.  

1 2 1/2 pound pork shoulder rost

1 bottle of barbecue sauce (at least 14 ounces, more if you like it saucy)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon brown onion

1 medium onion, chopped

Place roast in a slow cooker and cook on low 10 - 12 hours or on high 5 to 6.  Remove roast from the slow cooker and discard the cooking liquid.  Shred the pork from the pone and return the meat to the slow cooker.  Add the remaining ingredients mixing to be sure they are evenly distributed.  Cover and cook on low for two more hours or high for one more hour.