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It was an intense day of cooking.  We didn't sit down from early in the morning until it was time to eat, but everything turned out pretty good!  I started by soaking the beans on Saturday morning and made the pie crust Saturday night, but we did everything else on Sunday.  The morning involved prepping the cole slaw and dressing, making the vanilla ice cream, and cooking the beans.  We made the barbecue sauce which included a molasses base, then chipotle peppers, red wine vinegar, and stout.  And there's the rub! The rub included chipotle powder, cayenne, brown sugar and garlic salt.  Yum!  

The afternoon involved boiling the ribs, prepping and slow cooking the collard greens, and frying the potato chips.  Ugh! The potato chips!  My boyfriend decided he wanted to deep fry them instead of baking, but we made so many that it was a project that took about 3 hours of constant supervision and work.  They were delicious though and we made so many that now we have a snack to crunch on! The hamhock for the greens boiled in chicken broth for an hour, then broke down the meat off the bone and slow cooked the greens for another hour with red pepper flakes, onions, the broth and some vinegar.  I've always been afraid of colard greens, but these turned out so good.  They were everyone's favorite thing we made all night (except dessert). 

The cornbread was the last bit to work on and we found a recipe that we stuck really close to.  It involved jalapeno, fresh corn kernels off the cob, and creamed corn.  It turned out super moist with a great combination of sweet and spice.  Finally, we threw the ribs on the grill, and cooked over low heat while we coated with the barbecue sauce over and over.   Unfortunately, the ribs did get a little overcooked on the surface because the sauce caramelized a bit too much, but the meat fell off the bone and the flavors were sweet and spicy. 

I had made the pie earlier in the afternoon and put it in the oven about 30 minutes before we ate.  After about 90 minutes and full bellies from dinner, I pulled the pie and let it rest. The sweet and tart apples were tossed with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and a little lime juice and I sprinkled the crust with a cinnamon and sugar blend.  If I do say so myself, it was really good.  The bite from the nutmeg, the sweet from the cinnamon and sugar, and the combination of sweet and tart apples made the flavors layered and rich.  The homemade crust turned out light and flaky and the color was perfect.

I've added some pictures of the dinner.  I wish it had been easier to get some of the pictures before people started eating, but I think you'll get the gist!